Introduction to Social Media & Social Media Strategy Albert Qian Product Marketer, Social Media Consultant Twitter: @albertqian #IgnitionSM on Facebook/Twitter and @ignition501c3 on Twitter

About Albert Qian 26-year Silicon Valley resident here my entire life. Social media consultant and product marketer with past experience at Cisco and Santa Clara University. Currently at HP. Built vibrant social media communities on Twitter and Facebook. Author of The Social Media Ecosystem, available on Amazon.

Objectives Understand how social media fits within the marketing and business mix (for startups, SMBs, and more) and personal branding. Connect the dots of social media within content, engagement, and analytics. Learn how to think critically with social media, beyond posting on Facebook and liking things. Write a simple social media strategy that you can start applying tonight.

Social Media Overview Trends The Industry Landscape Charts, charts, and more charts!

Social Media: A Long Time Coming Jesus Christ founder of Christianity, healer He had a message He had followers He spawned massive engagement His ROI lives on until today

Emerging Industry Trends (Part One) Social media marketing budgets will double in the next 5 years. Employee advocacy for social media is becoming a major issue. Roughly 56% of millennials wont accept a job where social media is banned in the workplace. 1 in 5 consumers think companies respond to complaints the right way on social media. On Twitter, the 55-to-64 age demographic is biggest, growing 79% since 2012. 45-to-54 year olds love Facebook and Google+. YouTube reaches more U.S. adults aged 18-34 than any cable network.

Emerging Industry Trends (Part One) 66% of people are visual learners, and were hungry too. Food accounts for 57% of postings on Pinterest. For those aged 18-34, 80% believe bloggers can be influential in shaping product purchasing decisions. In the B2B world, 84% of marketers use social media. Integrated marketing

Emerging Industry Trends (Part Two) Even though social media is just another communications medium its impact has been wide-ranging. Consider: Facebook has over 1 billion monthly mobile users. Social media also means more niche communities. The collaborative economy Social media plays a part in divorce proceedings and can change who gets what. See also: job seeking, apartment hunting, politics And were only at the tip of the iceberg

Where Do We Fit In Here? Content creators Influencers Conversationalists Media hubs You might be good at this and not even know it

And here? Making money still matters. Most companies still have no idea how to do so via social media. Its a crazy world out there.

And here?!! Taking advantage and understanding the ecosystem is also an important aspect of being able to succeed in this NOISY world. Content Engagement The Sweet Stuff Money ($$$) Relationships Opportunities

And this is what we have.

Social Media Marketing: Content Crafting Your Message Content Calendars and Creativity Tools of the Trade

Section 1: Core Values and Virtues Start with why? Social media not just media, but also an overall experience It comes down to messaging Whats the why? Expressing mission and vision

Practicing Core Values All of these organizations have core values. What are yours?

The CIA on Twitter

US Soccer on Facebook World Cup

Messaging for Personal Twitter Account

Exercise 1: Practice your company or your own personal brand messaging. 1. Write down the message youd like your social media presence to get across, or the experience youd like your brand to create. 2. Apply that messaging to a social media profile (Twitter, Facebook Page, LinkedIn, etc.). If necessary, create the profile too. 3. Share that message with someone around you.

Section 2: Content Marketing Content marketing is a major part of any social or branding strategy today. Its not the beginning of sales, it is the sale. What is content? How do people utilize content nowadays?

Content Calendars Many companies and brands utilize company calendars to schedule in content throughout the year. Content can be blogs, videos, social media campaigns, and much, much, more. Its all about being creative, delivering value, and delivering an online experience (ie; humorous, serious, etc). Content types Seasonal Evergreen Campaign-oriented

Content Examples: Bad

Content Examples: Better

The Rules for Good Content Be memorable Be visual (On Facebook especially) Be consistent and on message Be relevant Remember: You can turn anything into a marketing opportunity using social and what people are interested in. Do it wisely. You also have a lot of content already. Think about past blogs, white papers, collateral, etc.

Exercise 2: Lets do some content brainstorming. 1. Create a year-long content calendar where you will leverage campaign and content ideas. Think of how holidays and events play into your business and how your audience might relate. 2. If youre working on a personal brand, think about blogging topics you can explore throughout the year that relate back to your career.

Section 3: Putting Content Together In order for your content to be most effective, go where your audience is. Not surprisingly, you dont need to be on every social network to reach your audience. You just need to be on the right ones. What if your audience doesnt use Facebook? In addition to your social networks, your own personal website matters as well. Modern marketing is very involved

You Social Media WebEmail Marketing Communities In todays marketing, everything must work together. If one part falls off, the whole marketing strategy faces collapse. Maximize your content for your networks.

Tools of the Trade Content marketing however, should not be a manual task. Luckily there are content tools to help in the process. Tools range anywhere from free to a few dollars per month, and help you save time, which is the most important. Lets take a look at a few.

Sample Tools Buffer App www.bufferapp.com Schedule content to your social media accounts from RSS feeds and more. HootSuite www.hootsuite.com Schedule content to your social media accounts, get metrics, and manage your networks. Canva www.canva.com Create graphics for your social networks, fast and free (with upgrades).

Exercise 3: Lets turn our ideas into content. Taking your current social media presence and your messaging 1. Create a graphic using Canva and associated assets. 2. Schedule some content using Buffer (free 30 day trial).

Social Media Engagement Networking and Customer Service Audience Growth Tools of the Trade

What is Social Media Engagement? Employee Advocacy Customer Service Networking Sales Funnel Fulfillment Social media merges together multiple communications concepts into a singular area. The end goal: building relationships

Engagement Types Social Media Engagement Earned Engagement Paid Engagement Networking Guest Blogging Webinars Live Events Employee Advocacy Influencer Marketing Content Sharing #FollowFriday Sponsored Tweets Facebook Ads Search Ads Paid Content A healthy mix of both is necessary for a successful social media strategy

Best Practices Audience matters Spend money where its relevant Sometimes silence isnt always best (community moderation) Be consistent Practice human to human

Engagement: Customer Advocacy

Engagement: Sponsored Content

Engagement: Conversation

Engagement: Audience Discovery (ManageFlitter)

Engagement: Paid Advertising

Tools of the Trade You can automate the way you discover relationships with others. That said, you still must build relationships after. Tools range anywhere from free to a few dollars per month. Remember, just because these are tools, does not mean you become one.

Sample Tools Manage Flitter www.manageflitter.com Auto-follow Twitter users based on interests, tweets, and more. HootSuite www.hootsuite.com Manage multiple feeds from one place. Triberr www.triberr.com Share the content of people who are similar to you and your interests.

Sample Tools Nimble Social CRM www.nimble.com Integrate social media with leads Twitter Ads www.analytics.twitter.com Manage your Twitter advertising Facebook Ads www.facebook.com/advertising Manage your Facebook ads from one place

Exercise 4: Lets Use Social for Engagement 1. Explore ManageFlitter with your Twitter account to find your audience. 2. Sign up for a site like HootSuite and add one of your social networks that you can manage. 3. Optional: If youd like to start, try your hand at creating a Facebook ad targeted at a specific audience.

Social Media Analytics Analytics Basics Tools of the Trade

Analytics Overview Big data is a big deal The bottom line is still what matters

Analytics Types Social Media Analytics Vanity Analytics Business Analytics Likes Comments Shares Retweets Klout Score Engagement Followers Sales Revenue Click-throughs Conversions Appointments Your social media should help your business, not be a time-suck activity.

Strategizing Analytics What social media metrics do I really care about? (Awareness? Clicks? Likes? Etc.) What signifies good analytics, what is bad? (Was it a holiday? Did a national event happen?) How much am I willing to spend on an analytics platform? Luckily many social media tools have all-in-one capabilities

Sample Tools Klout www.klout.com Measure and track influence, build brand through content Twitter Analytics www.analytics.twitter.com Manage your Twitter analytics favorites, RTs, etc. Facebook Page Insights www.facebook.com Manage your Facebook page insights from one place

Sample Tools Bitly www.bit.ly Track links and clicks HootSuite www.hootsuite.com Manage analytics and total account growth TweetStats www.tweetstats.com Graph your Twitter Analytics

Exercise 5: Lets Measure Social 1. Determine a very basic social media analytics strategy that youll follow. Set a goal for the kind of metrics you want to see. Share with a partner. 2. Connect your social media accounts to a Klout account and measure your score as well as what you might be influential about

Putting it All Together Crafting Your Strategy Further Reading and Considerations

Putting Your Strategy Together You now have a comprehensive social media / personal brand strategy. It should contain: Content marketing Audience Engagement Analytics and Success Measurement Strategies are for the long term. One bad week should not inspire you to change what you are doing.

Strategy (Other Considerations) Understand that the industry is constantly in flux. We are in the age of technology convergence. Pay attention to the changes in technology as well as culture (memes, events, etc.) and adjust your strategy to fit-in. Continue to maintain your brand through an integrated marketing strategy.

Strategy (Other Considerations) Master the basics what creates success on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn is likely similar with YouTube, Pinterest, Google+, etc. Deliver value. Focus on the positive. Be human.

Further Considerations Suggested Books Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, Gary Vaynerchuk Human to Human, Bryan Kramer Maximize Your Social, Neal Schaffer Enchanted, Guy Kawasaki

Further Considerations Blogs to Follow Social Media Examiner www.socialmediaexaminer.com Social Media Today www.socialmediatoday.com SmartBrief TechCrunch www.techcrunch.com (general tech and social) People to Follow Mari Smith (Facebook Pages) Jon Loomer (Facebook Ads) Gary Vaynerchuk (Strategy, Management) Neal Schaffer (Sales, Advocacy)

Thank You! Website: www.albertqian.com Twitter: @albertqian LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/albertqian albert.qian@gmail.com