nwtwc presentation

Social Media Workshop:

The , ,

, ,

World

for Freelance Writers

OR IS IT?OR IS IT?

Blogs…Social Media… and gYou... OH MY!

Following the Yellow Brick Road to Social Media SuccessRoad to Social Media Success

Think of the Internet as OZ

Potentially Dangerous but full of rewards

Social Media in the Land of OZSocial Media will help you connect with the with theright people :

•Writers•Editors•Publishers

You can be the Wizard!

Gain Friends and share ideas

Why Social Media?y Soc a ed a?

• Social Media helps you:– Connect with

• Editors

• Writers

• Publishers

Drive Traffic to your Income Producing Blogs and– Drive Traffic to your Income Producing Blogs and Websites

Helps establish you as a thought leader in your– Helps establish you as a thought leader in your Niche

Stats on Social Media Marketing

Community and Social Networking Tools Employed and Planned (% of Respondents)

Anticipated TimingNetwork or Tool Today Next 12 Months Beyond 1 Year No Plans to

Employp yFacebook fan page 86% 10 3 1

Twitter 65 19 7 9Customer reviews 55 26 13 6

Blogs 55 25 12 8gViral videos 50 22 13 15

Facebook connect 43 31 10 16Social listening 36 31 19 14

Q & A 29 20 25 26Community forums 27 18 23 32

Product suggestion box 19 26 20 35

Source: e‐Tailing Group, September 2009


Top 3 Sites or Tools Expected to Yield Greatest Sales Increase(% of Respondents)S i l M di T l l % R k 1% R k 2 % R k3Social Media or Tool Total

Response% Rank 1% Rank 2 % Rank3

Customer reviews 100 78% 14% 8%Q & A 43 16 49 35Q & A 43 16 49 35Facebook fan page 39 13 36 51Viral videos 34 18 44 38Community forums 33 6 45 49Community forums 33 6 45 49Blogs 30 10 47 43Social listening 22 14 27 59Facebook connect 19 26 32 42Facebook connect 19 26 32 42Product suggestion box 17 41 24 35

Twitter publishing 14 7 57 36

Source: e-Tailing Group, September 2009

Social Media MarketingSoc a ed a a et g

The vast majority of respondents said socialThe vast majority of respondents said social media did not influence their travel or vacation decisions, but there is evidence that travel companies can do well among the 23% who said they were influenced by social media.


Though sales declined 6.7% in 2009, eMarketerpredicts US online leisure and unmanaged business travel sales growthtravel sales growth will begin to accelerate this year

http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007654

accelerate this year, peaking at 7% in 2012, when sales will http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R 1007654hit $105.4 billion.

So, What is Social Media Marketing?, g


Social media sites fall into different t icategories:

Social “bookmarking” sites such as:Social bookmarking sites such as:

a) Digg

b) reddit

c) StumbleUponc) StumbleUpon

d) del.icio.us


Identity-based sites are totally based on de t ty based s tes ywho you are and the type of business you’re in (freelance writing) and are based on connecting with networks of friends connecting with networks of friends, associates and contacts you know.

Social Media Marketing – Linked InSoc a ed a a et g ed

Social Media Marketing - FacebookSoc a ed a a et g aceboo

Social Media Marketing - BloggingYour own Blog is an identity-based social media site if you open up comments.

http://www.southwestwashingtonzest.com/

Social Media MarketingSoc a ed a a et gMessage boards, forums, and newsgroups (such as Yahoo! Groups and Google Groups)g p

Social Media Marketing - TwitterSoc a ed a a et g tte


Today we will discuss:1. The importance of Creating a Social Media Plan

2. Blogging and Travel Websites

3. Social Media Networks

1. FaceBook1. FaceBook

2. Linked In

3 Twitter3. Twitter

Creating a Social Media PlanC eat g a Soc a ed a a

If you enter into social media ith t l ill f ilwithout a plan, you will fail.

Period.Period.

http://outspokenmedia com/social‐media/social‐media‐planning/http://outspokenmedia.com/social media/social media planning/


Understand your audience:1. What is your niche?

2. What does your niche need?

(D ib h i d NOT h ff )(Describe their needs NOT what you offer)

3. What are your reader’s pain points?

(Li t ll f d ’ i i t )(List all of your reader’s pain points)

4. What emotions are evoked by their big pain?

5 What do you do? (How do you solve your reader’s problems?)5. What do you do? (How do you solve your reader s problems?)

6. Who are your competitors?

7 What differentiates your writing from the competition?7. What differentiates your writing from the competition?

Creating a Social Media Plan

Niche Example:C eat g a Soc a ed a a

Myrna Oakley’s Beat is the Pacific Northwest

Within her beat she has created several niches:

• Bed And Breakfasts

• Small Inns

• Small Towns & Big Towns

• Live Local TheaterLive Local Theater

• Historical Places

• Small cafes, coffee shops, and b k ibakeries


Once you have Decided on your Niche:

C eat g a Soc a ed a a

Once you have Decided on your Niche:

Create your brand!

Secure your brand!

Creating a Social Media PlanC eat g a Soc a ed a aBrand Examples - Ronda Roaring

http://www.ilovethefingerlakes.com

Creating a Social Media PlanC eat g a Soc a ed a aBrand Examples: Jan Jackson

http://www.countrytraveleronline.com/


Secure your brand http://knowem.com/

C eat g a Soc a ed a a


Determine how you will measure your successsuccess

Blog comments ?

Conversions ?

Links ?Links ?

Twitter talk ?

Better brand recognition ?


Understand your readers;hang out where they hang outhang out where they hang out.

Are they on:Facebook?

Linked In?

Twitter?

Why the need to follow your readers? Why the need to follow your readers? You want to know what your readers want and

place yourself ahead of the competitionplace yourself ahead of the competition

Creating a Social Media PlanC eat g a Soc a ed a aThey could be somewhere more niched:http://www exploroo com/http://www.exploroo.com/

Creating a Social Media PlanC eat g a Soc a ed a aOr:

http://www passportstamp com/http://www.passportstamp.com/


Additional Social Networking Travel Sites:Additional Social Networking Travel Sites:

TravBuddy: http://www.travbuddy.com/

Travellerspoint: http://www.travellerspoint.com/

WAYN: http://www.wayn.com/waynsplash.html

CouchSurfing: htt // h fi /CouchSurfing: http://www.couchsurfing.org/

Wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/

Creating a Social Media PlanC eat g a Soc a ed a aWhat about the Editors and Publishers?Where are they hanging out?Where are they hanging out?

www.woodenhorsepub.com

Creating a Social Media PlanC eat g a Soc a ed a aWhat about the Editors and Publishers?Where are they hanging out?Where are they hanging out?

http://www demandmedia com/http://www.demandmedia.com/

Ways to Make Some Moneyays to a e So e o ey

Once you have created your plan, check out some of these incomecheck out some of these income producing sites:http://www.helium.com/If you are tired of having to read publishers’ minds for query letters that get ignored or if you want to break into freelancing but don’t have a body of clips g f y f g y f pto show yet, Helium’s Marketplace is for you.

http://yousaytoo.com/Y S T i t l f i ti di i tiYouSayToo.com is great place for communication, discussions, meeting new friends, liberalizing, getting famous on the web, making posts on YST and earning money from Google AdSense ad rotations!

Ways to Make Some Money

More Sites that pay YOU for Content:

ays to a e So e o ey

http://www.xomba.com/Xomba is an online community for people to share ideas make friendsXomba is an online community for people to share ideas, make friends and get paid to write. Xomba has been designed for people looking for information and aspiring writers who are trying to get published.

http://www.flixya.com/A social network that puts 100% ad revenue in your pocket. We’ve built p y pthe tools for you to share your videos, photos, and blogs. Your place to make friends, earn money, network and more.

A Word on Affiliate Marketingo d o ate a et g

Affiliate marketing is a marketing practice in hi h b i d ffiliwhich a business rewards one or more affiliates

for each visitor or customer brought about by h ffili ' k i ffthe affiliate's marketing efforts.

E l i l d d i hExamples include rewards sites, where users are rewarded with cash or gifts, for the completion f ff d h f l f h h i

http://www.affiliateideafactory.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate marketing

of an offer, and the referral of others to the site.

p // p g/ / _ g

A Word on Affiliate MarketingThe industry has four core players:

1 Merchant (also known as 'retailer' or

o d o ate a et g

1.Merchant (also known as 'retailer' or 'brand')

2.Network (an Intermediary)

3.Publisher (also known as 'the affiliate')

4 Customer4.Customerhttp://www.affiliateideafactory.com/http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affiliate_marketing

A Word on Affiliate MarketingThe market has grown in complexity to warrant a secondary tier of players including affiliate

o d o ate a et g

secondary tier of players, including affiliate management agencies, super‐affiliates and specialized third parties vendorsspecialized third parties vendors.

Selling Ad SpaceSe g d Space

Selling Ad SpaceSe g d Spacehttp://www.quantcast.com/

Bloggingogg g

The Blogger is the Main Charactere ogge s t e a C a acteYour Social Media efforts should lead people back to your website or blog

SO, What is a Blog?SO, at s a og?

• Short for Web Log.

• A blog is a type of Web site with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.

• Entries are often displayed in reverse chronological p y gorder.

• Some blogs contain commentary or news on a particular• Some blogs contain commentary or news on a particular subject, where other blogs function as more personal online journals. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogj p // p g/ / g

Blogging PlatformsBlogging Platforms

• http://www.blogger.com/p // gg /

(Free hosted)

• http://www.movabletype.org/http://www.movabletype.org/

(Free download)

• http://www typepad comhttp://www.typepad.com

($5‐$30/month)

• http://wwwwordpress org• http://www.wordpress.org

(Free download)– They provide templates or you can use your own– They provide templates, or you can use your own.

Blogging PlatformsBlogging Platforms

The Best Blogging Platformhtt // dhttp://www.wordpress.org • Pro’s

– Considered industry standard by web marketers so it is easy to find support– Highly customizable, but will need the support of a programmer– Ready made themes and widgets available– Active community support in forums

Get help from real users from the open source fraternity– Get help from real users from the open source fraternity– Easy to set up a forum along with the blog, directory support– TAGS are supported by search engines hence more traffic– Easy to use widgets like related posts, popular posts, recent comments etc.

• Con’s– Difficult to set up by yourself

ll h f h h d d ( f b h l )– You will have to pay for the hosting and domain (if bought separately)

Powered by Wordpress

http://wanderlustandlipstick.com/

Tips for Bloggers

Make sure to give your blog post a l h l llcaptivating title. The title will appear as

part of the name of the page.

Examples:

Need Sunshine in Oregon? No way!(Write about the benefits of the rain in Oregon)

Popeye Muscles Help Find Hood Canal Mussels(Write about the hard to find spots for digging mussels)

Tips for BloggersSet up an easy category structure for archive purposes.

A Category Structure within a Blog on the Pacific Northwest might be:Pacific Northwest might be:

• Bed and Breakfasts• Small Inns• Small Inns• Small Towns• Big TownsBig Towns• Live Local Theater• Historical Places

Tips for Bloggers

Post to your blog on a regular basis.

Link to pages on your site from your blog using appropriate link text. Example:

http://seotrainingnw.com/seo‐essentials‐workshop

Tips for Bloggers

While most blog posts tend to be short, there are benefits to longer blog posts there are benefits to longer blog posts (interviews with newspapers; blog posts being p blished in books etc ) being published in books, etc.).

Tips for Bloggers

As a Travel Blogger, include images that support your postsupport your post.

Tips for Bloggers

If the post is long, use the “more” feature to show only a portion of the post on the to show only a portion of the post on the page.

Tips for Bloggers

Mary Bowling and Carrie Hill f l d kfrom Blizzard Internet Marketing wrote an excellent whitepaper

Mary Bowling

on SEO for WordPress Blogs.

Download the PDF file at this Download the PDF file at this URL:

Carrie Hill

http://www.blizzardinternet.com/seo-for-wordpress-blogs-free-marketing-whitepaper

Tips for Bloggers

You’ll often find that your blog is one of the most visited areas of your site by the search engines.

You’ll often get found under numerous highly competitive keyword phrases highly competitive keyword phrases from your blog entries.

To Retrieve this information, make sure to set up Google Analytics on your Blog.to set up Google Analytics on your Blog.

Tips for Bloggers

Once you have your Social Media Plan in

Order, and your blog is up and running,

it i ti t t t t t t th it is time to get your content out to the

world through Social Media Marketing.

Let’s take a look at:


Finding the heart and soul of people and h i b itheir businesses

Social Media Marketing Soc a ed a a et g

This is what your visitors seevisitors see when they visit your page


Wh lWhen people connect with you, you will receive requestsq


You can search for friends and Facebook offers friend suggestions


The Wall is a compilation of activity generated by you and your friends


Be sure to selectBe sure to select your custom username.

Use your Brand.


Help Causes thatHelp Causes that are important to you with the Causes app.

Support causes that support your niche.your niche.


Promote your yCause by sending emails to your subscribers


Create a Group around your niche


•Considered more social than business•Lots of Quizzes•Lots of Quizzes•Can add your Twitter Feed•Fan PagesFan Pages•Lots of Apps•Can organize your friends in categories

•Writers•PublishersEdit•Editors

•Family, etc.


Ways to build your presence on FacebookFacebook

•Create a Cause•Develop a GroupDevelop a Group•Post Videos, Photos and Links•Design a quiz•Post your Events•Create a Community or Business PageE ti it bl t h•Every time you write a new blog post, share it on Facebook


The brainiac of Social Networking


Your publicpublic profile


Goal is toGoal is to develop a 100% complete profile


Start developing your connections


Recommendations build credibility


Build your ownBuild your own Community through the Groups Function


Join groups like thisJoin groups like this one for Pacific

Northwest Writers


Get Answers


Build your position as an expert by

answering questions


Share your world through a variety of apps


Post your events for

free

Social Media Marketing Soc a ed a a et g

Keep track ofKeep track of Company Buzz


Easily change your settings at any time


•Considered for business networking •Great place to find jobsGreat place to find jobs•Develop business•Promote projects and opportunities•Keep track of your competition

•Ways to market a business on Linked In•Start a GroupJ i G•Join Groups

•Complimentary•Directly related

•Post your Eventsy•Answer Questions•Ask for recommendations•Post updates


It takes courage to build a followingbuild a following


Sharing ideasSharing ideas 140 characters

at a time


Hash tags allow you to search for topics on which people are tweeting and for which you are interested


Direct Messaging allows you to communicate with only one person directly

Social Media Marketing ToolsSoc a ed a a et g

You can see who is talking about you and reply back to them

Social Media Marketing ToolsSoc a ed a a et g

Automate your

itweeting

Social Media MarketingSoc a ed a a et g•Considered a micro-blogging network

•Great place to research trendsd f l f h i id•Wonderful for sharing ideas

•Excellent for getting the word out about what you do

•Ways to market a business on Twitter•Ways to market a business on Twitter•Be sure to follow the 80/20 rule when tweeting.•Craft an appropriate Twitter Policy, and encourage your employees to sign up for accounts on Twitter.g p•As the owner of your business, register your @companyname and use it for all your tweets.•Use Twitter Search to find and respond to tweets about your products or your brandor your brand.•Ask for feedback on your products and then follow up with the responses you get.

http://webcommunityforum.com/2008/09/21‐ways‐to‐market‐your‐business‐on‐twitter/

Steps to Take

Social Media OptimizationSoc a ed a Opt at o

Rules to guide your thinking:

• Increase linkability(write content that people will want to link to)

• Make tagging easy(include tags as well as links to social media sites)

• Reward inbound links(link back to people who link to you)

• Help your content travel(include a bio; mention your content to others)

First Stepsst Steps• Focus on the Basics

• Social Media Marketing• Social Media Marketing– Establish your goals for Social Media and develop your profile and content around that goal (see: y p g (http://www.chrisbrogan.com/starting‐a‐social‐media‐strategy/)

St t ith l tf d b f t bl– Start with one platform and become comfortable before adding another

– Employ the 80/20 rule: 80% content that will help p y / pothers, 20% or less self‐promotion

Next Stepse t Steps• Focus on the Basics

• Social Media Marketing– Share specials on Writing Conferences, Travel Material and Guide Books

– Incorporate terminology on your profile that is ti i d foptimized for:» travelers» fellow freelance writers

di» editors» publishers

– Form a group for your writing niche and invite ll t j icolleagues to join

– Add upcoming events being held in your field and share them with your “friends”

Next Stepse t StepsImplement a Social Media Listening Tool

• Google Alerts– Google Alerts is the steady rock in the sometimes white water world– Google Alerts is the steady rock in the sometimes white‐water world of monitoring. You can easily target keywords that are important to your brand and receive streaming or batched reports—choose your own adventure.

• TechnoratiTechnorati– Billing itself as "the leading blog search engine," Technorati has been helping bloggers and those with their fingers on the blog pulse stay informed for years.

• JodangeJodange– Tracking your brand or a product is one thing, but turning that tracking into a measure of consumer sentiment about your brand or product is something completely different. For that, Jodange has TOM (Top of Mind), which tracks consumer sentiment about your ( p ), ybrand or product across the Web.

http://www.marketingprofs.com/9/essential‐social‐media‐listening‐tools‐mcdaniel.asp

Final Worda o d

• Focus on the BasicsR b S i l M di– Remember, Social Media is about helping others

– Make sure to temper selfMake sure to temper self promotion with a healthy dose of useful information for yourinformation for your friends. It will pay off in the long run!

(You don’t want to be (viewed negatively by promoting

yourself too much.)yourself too much.)

In no time you’ll be following the yellow brick road to social media success!

Questions?Q

Thank you!

Contact InformationInformation

Colleen Wright

[email protected]. seotrainingnw.com

Get a copy of the Presentation pyat

http://www slideshare net/sheenalenahttp://www.slideshare.net/sheenalena

info@seotrainingnw [email protected]. seotrainingnw.com

Twitter: @sheenalena

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