Social Media for Business

What is Web 2.0?

It is a design philosophy, it is not any one application

• Perceived second generation of web development that facilitates communication, secure information sharing and collaboration on the World Wide Web.

• Led to the development and evolution of web based communities, hosted services, and applications such as social networking, video sharing sites, wikis, blogs, etc.

Conversation Prism

Social Media Platforms

• Blogs• Facebook• LinkedIn/Plaxo• Ning• RSS• Twitter• Wikis

What is Social Media?

• Some say “social media is like teen sex. Everyone wants to do it. Nobody knows how. When it’s finally done, there is a surprise it’s not better.” - Avinash Kaushik, Analytics Evangelist

Social Media Defined

• Social media is an umbrella term that:– Defines the various activities that integrate technology,

social interaction and the construction of words, images and audio

• Communication has shifted from one to many – or one-way broadcasting to a true dialogue and conversation (many to many)

• People have transformed from content consumers into content producers– Interactions can include chat, e-mail, video, file sharing,

blogging and discussion groups• Information sharing is immediate and viral

Social Media Use

• According to Cone’s 2008 Business in Social Media Study:– 60% of Americans are using social media– Of those, 59% are interacting with companies

online– 93% of social media users believe companies

should have a social media presence• eMarketer expects the number of U.S. adults

using social media to grow to more than 76% this year

• Think of it as a gazillion conversations happening online 24/7

It’s Here to Stay

It’s Global

Mind Blowing Stats• 3,000,000

• The average number of Tweets per day on Twitter.

• 100,000,000• The number of YouTube videos viewed per day.

• 1,000,000,000 • The amount of content shared each week on Facebook.

• 3,600,000,000• The number of photos archived on Flickr (6/09).

• 5,000,000,000• The number of minutes spent on Facebook each day.

Why Use Social Media?

• 3 out of 4 Americans use social technology – Forrester, The Growth of Social Technology Adoptions, 2008

• 2/3 of the global internet population visit social networks – Nielsen, Global Faces & Networked Places, 2009

• Visiting social sites is now the 4th most popular online activity – ahead of personal e-mail – Nielsen, Global Faces & Networked Places, 2009

• If Facebook were a country, it would be the 4th largest – between the U.S. and Indonesia – Podcasting News, 2009

• In 2010, Gen Y will outnumber Baby Boomers, and 96% have joined social networks

Social Media Can Impact Business

• Public relations• Customer service• Loyalty building• Collaboration• Networking• Thought leadership• Customer acquisition too

Evolving Communication

Social Media Spending Up

Measurement

Insights

Source: MarketingSherpa Social Media Marketing & PR Benchmark Guide 2009

Social Media Platforms

• Blogs• Facebook• LinkedIn/Plaxo• Ning• RSS• Twitter• Wikis

BlogWhat it is:• An online journal, short for “Web log”• Can be open to comments or closed• Can be customized with widgets and link to corporate Web

sites and/or social media

Why it’s important: • 77% of all Internet users read blogs• Almost half (45%) of all Internet users have started their

own blogs• 36% of Internet users think more positively about

companies that use blogs• 32% of Internet users trust bloggers' opinions on products

and services (Source: PRNews, March 2008)• Frequent blog posts can increase search engine rankings

Blog

Technorati is a leading blog aggregator and

search engine

Facebook

What it is:• The largest social networking site, with more than 122M

unique visits, June 2009• Users create a profile and share photos, videos, events,

messages and more

Why it’s important: • 300M active users • Global visitors spend 8 billion minutes on the site each day• Fastest growing segment is 35 years old+• Drives added traffic to corporate site• Frequent changes improve search engine optimization

Elements of Facebook

Pages

Groups

Applications

User Profile

Security Settings

X

X

Facebook

Personal Profile vs. Business Page:• Create a Personal Profile first, then create a Business Page

that you administer• Personal Profiles have friends (mutual acceptance) and

Business Pages have fans (one-way opt-in)• Business Pages offer rich customization/integration tools:

• Analytics• Integrated advertising• Can be extended with custom 3rd party Applications

Profiles are for people, not companies

LinkedInWhat it is:• Social networking platform for business

professionals & executives• More than 43 million members

worldwide

Why it’s important:• Content updates improve SEO• Business organizations benefit from

their employees’ professional connections

• Form connections at a professional level vs. solely personal level

• Position SMEs as thought leaders by creating or joining appropriate groups

Plaxo

What it is:• Platform that offers a mix of

professional and personal connections; a “hybrid” social network

Why it’s important:• Content updates improve SEO• Gain a deeper understanding of your

customers’ online lives through rich sharing among users (blogs, Twitter, Flickr, etc)

NingWhat it is:• Allows users to join and create new social networks for

their interests and passions• Enables brands to develop their own unique social

network that integrates with other Web 2.0 platforms

Why It’s Important:• Listening and research opportunities among your most

engaged customers and/or prospects

Ning

More than 3,300 social media

networks dedicated to

national credit reporting are registered on

ning.com

TwitterWhat it is:• A microblogging platform that

allows users to post short, 140-character updates

Why it’s important: • Twitter had 23.5 million unique

visitors in August 2009 (Source: Compete.com)

• Marketers can create a community of followers to which they push information while developing a corporate personality– Follow, Retweet, Respond, DM

Twitter• Tweets are permanent (cannot be deleted)• The content is so easily digestible that users can

follow hundreds of micro-bloggers• Like other social media, the proof is in more

nebulous measures– Number of followers– Re-tweets– Changes in opt-in rates or visits

• Provides a window into a company’s culture, personality

• Improves SEO by using keywords in posts

RSSWhat it is:• Real Simple Syndication• Provides “feeds” of full or summarized

text of new Web content

Why it’s important:• Allows you to easily push information

to your consumers on their terms• Allows readers to subscribe to timely

updates from favored Web sites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place

• Content can be delivered to multiple platforms– Web-based, desktop-based, mobile

RSS SymbolRSS

Symbol

RSS

Feedreader.com, an easy-to-use feed

aggregator

Google Reader

WikiWhat it is:• Sites that support multiple

contributors with a shared responsibility for creating and maintaining content (Groundswell)

Why it’s important:• Corporate-developed Wikis

educate/engage customers on specific topics most important to them

• Public Wikipedia pages can appear in the top few results on Web searches based on frequent changes

• Contributors discuss content and issues in “talk pages” associated with each Wiki

13 million articles on Wikipedia

How Do You Begin?

Know Your Audiences

• Creators make social content go. They write blogs, upload music, video or text

• Critics respond to content from others• Collectors organize content for

themselves and others using RSS feeds, tags, etc.

• Joiners connect in social networks like Facebook

• Spectators consume content, including blogs, podcasts, user-generated video, forums, etc.

• Inactives neither create or consumer social content of any kind

Among U.S. men & women, ages 18-55:73% - Spectators51% - Joiners37% - Critics24% - Creators21% - Collectors18% - Inactives

Source: Forrester.com

Forrester's Social Technographics® defines six types of social media consumers:

Start by Listening

Connect InfluenceListen

Spark Conversations:Share the stories behind the work and help educate others:Tag Community contentUpload shareable content: videos/photos/ podcasts

Create Opportunities:Trial small events of interest and invite the community

Engage Conversations: Analyze the mood and drivers behind the conversation

Participate in the Activity:Attend and join in other people’s events and happenings

Monitor Conversations: Blog monitoringTag watchingConversation tracking

Create an Individual Presence:Join the communities to learn who’s out there

Twitter ToolsTwitter Search: • Real-time search of keywords

and topics being discussed• Links to Twitter profile pages

(@abc123)

TweetFeel:• Track the positive/negative

sentiment associated with keyword mentions

• Links to Twitter profile pages

TweetDeck:• Program that facilitates

remote updating and feed management from desktop or iPhone

So, What Do You Do?

• Define your company’s social media strategy

• Think in conversations not campaigns• Ask for help if you need it

Really, What Do You Do?

• Social media should be part of a marketing PR strategy. Social media…– Is not a panacea– Must be authentic– Must be consistent/frequent for maximum success

• Determine who should own social media?– If possible, integrate it across marketing, sales, PR

and even HR• Establish specific metrics

– Measure # of conversations and quality, not sheer fan volume

The Avenue Affordable Luxuries

• Goals– Grow Facebook fans to 1,000– Engage a new community of

shoppers– Gain feedback on The Avenue

brand• Tactics

– Leveraged Affordable Luxuries advertising campaign to create a promotion for ShopTheAvenue Facebook page

The Avenue Affordable Luxuries

• Tactics– Developed valuable prize package– Created easy to enter contest – join, take an action– Promoted contest via online and traditional marketing PR

• Press releases, e-mails to more than 60,000 recipients, event listings, listed on corporate Web site, advertising and onsite signage

• Results– Grew fans from 65 to 1,300 in 3 weeks– Fans posted ~100 photos/200 comments on deals– 95+ unsolicited, positive comments about the brand– Reached a new audience of shoppers

• 70% of fans were not e-mail recipients– Media coverage value totaled $19,500 – more than twice the

project budget – and resulted in 339,000 media impressions – Social media results helped to secure a new tenant for The

Avenue

United Linen

• Oklahoma-based SMB– Uniform and linen

services for the hospitality and healthcare industries

– Family-owned, founded in 1936

• Social media goals– Lead generation– Customer retention

United Linen

• Tactics:– Blog (must-see napkin

folding demos)– Facebook– Flickr– Twitter– YouTube

United Linen• Results:

– Major business-media buzz• National coverage for a

regional small business is invaluable

– Enhanced customer service• Twitter used to update

customers during bad weather

– Building new business relationships• Reaching new audiences

Dive In• Determine the tools to use• Adapt traditional metrics

– Set sights on low-hanging fruit• Set employee policies

– Set expectations for behavior, educate your team, keep rules simple /focus on transparency

– Interactive agencies can help to draft policies for HR review

• Track the impact on other channels– Web traffic, media coverage, sales

• Be flexible to change tactics with new technology

Don’t Be Anti-Social

Contact Us

c21i is c21’s dedicated interactive practice area, specializing in social media, e-mail marketing,

pay-per-click advertising and interactive marketing services.

Sharon Goldmacher, President & CEOMarlena Reed, VP, Interactive Services

(404) 814-1330sgoldmacher@c21pr.com

mreed@c21pr.com http://cwordblog.wordpress.com/

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