Social Media 101

October 2009

Part 1: What is Social Media? B2B Social Media How is it being used in the food industry? How competitors and customers are

employing it?

Outline

What is Social Media?Participatory online media that utilizes the group to write and direct content, rather than a read only media. Allows for direct contact of media. (urbandictionary.com)

Stand out Have a personality Don’t be professional Use humor, shared experiences, stories,

and human emotions Give people reason to learn more about

your product, or visit you by making a special offer or free trial available to them through social media

Important Characteristics to know about Social Media Networking

93% of Americans believe a company should have a presence in social media

85% believe a company should not only be present, but also interact with consumers via social media

56% of American consumers feel both a stronger connection with and better served by companies involved in a social media environment

(Source Hubspot: How to Use Social Media to Attract More Customers)

Facts on Social Media

The goal of social media is not profit, but to lure interested consumers into the company’s website and/or store. Social networking is low-cost advertising that consumers have accesses to 24-7. The content put up on social media networks should not just be business related. You want people to feel that they are a part of your community. There should be more listening, sharing, and participating than selling and marketing.

Social Media Goals

Social Media Networks

B2C B2B

• Facebook• Yelp “real people, real

reviews”• Twitter “tweets”• Iphone/blackberry

applications• Blogs• You Tube• Flickr• Pongr

• Ryze• Tribe.net• Linkedin• Podcasts• Hubspot

B2C social media is a very popular low-cost advertising method being implemented by most brands names. B2B social media is different in that it needs to be able to communicate to two audiences at once.

B2B Social Media

1. Leverage traditional media to support social media marketing activitiesExample: Vitamin Water

2. Anything can be interesting when you focus away from the product and toward how customers use it. Example: King Arthur Flour

3. Bridging online and offline communications generates engagementExample: Molson

Guidelines For B2B Social Media

Instead of focusing on how great their flour is, they showcased all the great things you can do with their flour. They have a corporate blog that has developed a community of supporters who regularly leave comments and feedback.

Facebook Twitter A+ Website-community, blogs, recipes

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/

King Arthur Flour

King Arthur Flour does a very good job of stimulating interest in their product through Facebook & Twitter to pull the consumer to their website.

Social Media in the food industry has started to take off with Facebook, Twitter, Yulp, and FoBoh. Although these social media networks for branded companies have taken off to provide information to consumers, currently B2B social media is not as present as B2C social media networks in the food industry.

Social Media in the Food Industry

Mr. Cookie Face Matterhorn Group Ice Cream Specialties Fieldbrook Farms Brothers

CompetitorsAfter evaluating the competitors’ websites, none of them focused on really engaging people to look at their website and did not provide a lot of information about their company. Ice Cream Specialties was the only company that had a truly virtual experience, but the information on their site was limited. Non of the competitors use Facebook or Twitter.

Ice Cream Specialties

Fieldbrook Farms Yelp is a blog that lets consumers write reviews

for anything in the food industry. It is the most popular-used for restaurants reviews, but is gaining movement in all areas of food.

The Good News: Rhino doesn't have any bad reviews, the bad news is no one has reviewed Rhino.

Ben n’ Jerry’s, Breyers, Mars, and Nestle: utilize social media networks of Facebook & Twitter.

600 lB Gorilla Cookie Company: currently does website. They have a website that creates a fun and virtual atmosphere to explore and have a blog.

Customers

M&M’s Website

The End