Using Social Media

for Business

Kennesaw State MBA Decmester

Josh Neckes, MS&LKristin Parrish, Ogilvy Public

RelationsKatherine Malone, Fleishman-

Hillard

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Introduction

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Intro to Social Media

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Intro of Social Media

Social networks are the 4th most popular online activity Ahead of email, behind search

Facebook has more than … 350 million active users 700,000 local business Facebook Pages

Twitter has had a growth rate of 752% in 2008 (Compete)

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Using Social Media for Business

Customer Relations

Product Promotion and Sales

Event Activation

Crisis Management

Corporate Reputation Management

Issue Advocacy

Getting Started: Tools

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Strategic Approach to Social Media

Listen>Plan>Engage

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Customer Service

Anyone who has customers – B2C, B2B, G2B, G2C, etc... – can use social media to quickly listen and respond to customer feedback before problems escalate and to activate brand ambassadors….

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@comcastcares

Frank Eliason at Comcast started @comcastcares in April 2008 in

response to the customer conversations he and his team found on

Twitter through monitoring. Offers customers specific troubleshooting

tips, online resources, new product info and a key customer relations

personality (i.e. Frank’s).

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Product Promotion and SalesA successful sales and promotion plan is based on identifying your audience, providing useful content, and being prepared to engage in the conversation. When done right, influencers can be activated to not only become loyal customers, but also evangelists for your brand and your promotions.

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Coca-Cola Zero

Building upon the launch of Coke Zero, Coca-Cola has developed and maintained a strong

Facebook community of fans. As a key to building a strong Facebook community is ongoing

and quality engagements, Coca-Cola has developed a sharable application – the Facial

Profiler – that entertains fans and encourages word of mouth about the product with other

Facebook users.

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Event Activation

The real-time ability to connect with others and share experiences makes social media a great outlet for individuals, or companies, to use during a major event.

Live, online coverage of an event can be used to create a completely new channel of conversation and a way to enhance the physical experience of the event. Combining Twitter with blogs, video and other social media efforts provides more ways to interact with the content and experience you’re creating.

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@fordfiesta

To build buzz around the upcoming launch of the Ford Fiesta in the 2010 US market, Ford developed

the Fiesta Movement - recruiting 100 online influencers to receive a new Ford Fiesta with the

instruction to complete a series of missions, or challenges, throughout the course of a year with their

Fiesta. To build momentum and allow these drivers, as well as the larger general audience to interact

with Ford, the @fordfiesta Twitter handle and #fiestamovement hashtag were created, to publish

challenges, get updates from drivers and engage in an ongoing conversation around the Fiesta

Movement.

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Crisis Management

Using social media for crisis communications is as much about preventing an isolated issue from becoming a full-blown crisis as it is about communicating to the public once a crisis has hit.

Social media can be used as a fast way to respond and maintain an open channel.

Social media monitoring and response should be integrated into the broader crisis communications strategy.

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Additional Thoughts…

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Uh oh.

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Pre-Established Social Media Architecture, Response Plan in Place

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Story Broke on Morning of 3/6/2008 – Real-time Response

It might be a bumpy ride…

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…but the process works.

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Again, and again, and again…

Corporate Reputation Management

Social media offers a an opportunity to portray the “face” of your company. Social media can help businesses create relationships with those online – making it easier to communicate with industry peers and target audiences.

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Boeing’s B2B Blog – Randy’s Journal As the basis of Boeing’s social media presence, Randy’s Journal

was started over 4 years ago to build the online conversation around commercial aviation. Creating a

personality, and a “face” to Boeing, Marketing VP, Randy Baseler (now authored by new VP, Randy

Tinseth) cultivated relationships and engaged over 500,000 viewers in its first two years.

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Issue AdvocacyThrough online communication platforms, message boards and communities, social media provides the ability to connect people with similar interests can be harnessed for the greater social good with non-profits and issue advocacy organizations.

Creating a community of support by providing useful information to those they serve, volunteers, donors and other supporters.

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LiveStrong

Led by the LiveStrong Blog, @lancearmstrong and @livestrongceo, the LiveStrong

Foundation spreads the word about cancer and provides people with the tools they need to

“live life on their own terms.” These communication platforms are aimed to provide

communication and support to those dealing with cancer, while also building awareness and

raising funds for the foundation and cancer research.

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A Strategic Approach to Using Social Media

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ENGAGEPLANLISTENSTRATEGY

Customer Relations

Crisis Management

Corporate Reputation

Management

Event Coverage

Product Promotion & Sales

Issue Advocacy

Your customers and potential customers

Content relevant to your customers: tips, company info, etc.

Answer questions, respond to comments about your brand

Your brand, products and relevant issues

Direct to additional resources, updated information, explanation

Answer questions, respond to comments, raise issues, provide info

Industry leaders, similar interest groups, news/media

Insights, expertise, become a thought leader

Jump in the conversation. Be transparent and add value

Current and potential customers, those interested in similar products

Event information, updates, behind the scenes coverage

Set up online events, talk to attendees, ask and answer questions

Those interested or attending event, media

Links to online promos, insider info on upcoming sales, discount codes

Provide incentives, exclusive online offers, opportunities to review product

Those interested in your cause, industry leaders, news

Added value: health tips, disaster alerts, fundraising info

Know your online supporters, express gratitude and get them involved

Tools to Get Started with

Social Media

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Do Some Research

Talk to customers offline Where are they online? What sites do they use?

Are there sites or groups already?

What are people saying?

Set up Google Alerts and Google Analytics

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Strategize

What is your goal?

Set achievable goals

Overnight success vs. long term rewards

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LinkedIn

Create your profile Add a Company Logo, locations, feeds

LinkedIn will pull in information automatically Job listings, current and former

employees

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Facebook

Search for established groups

Check out competitors’ pages

Set up a Fan Page

Tell people

Buy Facebook ads

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Twitter

Do some research Keywords , competitors Your company

Set up account

Find people to follow

Tell, listen and engage

Check out the Twitter for Business Guide:http://business.twitter.com/twitter101/

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Set up a Social Media Policy

Set foundations and empower employees

Pull from established guidelines Kodak: Transparency Intel: Content Moderation IBM: Social Media Value Source:

http://mashable.com/2009/10/02/social-media-policy-examples/

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