Social Networking and Publishing

Michael BhaskarPan Macmillan

14.01.09

Part 1. What are social networking sites?

Web 2.0 and social networks

• Using personalised web pages social networks let people communicate online• Social networking part of the “Web 2.0” revolution that put people at the heart of the web •Communication is a “many to many” model.

A Profile Page

Other NetworksYouTube Linked In Del.icio.us

Twitter Digg Flickr

• All examples of different types of social network

• Websites like Ning.com even let you create your own network

• In social media EVERYTHING is social

Who and how many?

• Wide age range• Women > men • 20 million in the UK• Myspace and Facebook + 100 million each (Facebook at

150 million)• 41 million searched for books on Google• Comscore estimates half of users over 35• Rapleaf report suggest women outnumber men• Fastest growing demographic for Facebook is over 50s• 41 million people searched for book, in English, on Google

in 2007

A Facebook Application (API)

A Librarything Bookshelf

Part 2. Why are social networking sites important

for the book industry

Social media effects all media

The record and newspaper industries have struggled:

• Peer to peer downloads, a social network of media sharing, has decimated revenues from CD sales.

• Record companies missed the chance to own the social space of music on the web- e.g. Myspace music

• “Citizen journalism” has called into question the authority of traditional journalism

• Social networks are their own news service e.g. Twitter in Mumbai and on the US election

• Culture of free- no adequate online business model for newspapers

Tagging Icons- Let you save web pages

Commenting lets people have their say

Virals and USG

• Social networks are the most powerful channel for viral marketing

• Products themselves of viral marketing• Happens when people talk to each other-

what social networks are all about• Social networks are the distribution

mechanism for user generated content• Wikipedia- social software, collaboration,

user generated contributions, valuable resource- has superseded print encyclopaedias?

Viral Marketing Video

=

Social networks are a cost of business. Like the plumbing.

© identity chris

Doesn’t the recession change all that?

• Most tools on the internet are free, so can be cheaper than traditional marketing

• Directly targets fans or likely fans so is more focused

• Many books are still not featured widely in social media- there is still an opportunity for those that are

• BUT expensive web 2.0 projects may have to go on the back burner

Part 3. How can we get involved?

?

A Book Group

A Book Profile

Author Involvement- A Blog

SMO – Social Media Optimisation

• Getting links, encouraging links and linking in return

• Opening up content for mash ups, letting others play with what you put on the web

• Having an open communicative presence for yourselves and products

• Making sure everything is tag-able and re-postable

Spinebreakers

Authonomy

Tor.com

Lovelybooks

Do:• Create new and valuable content• Listen to your readership and respond to what they

say• Get your writers involved- and make sure you are

involved• Think creatively- see social media as content

extension• Link to other sites and use every tool at your

disposal (RSS, Twitter etc)• Set yourself form objectives to measure success

against• Have patience• Remember that like all marketing this is about

people

Don’t:

• Shout your message and just expect people to listen- preaching and selling does not go down well

• Invest huge amounts of money on something already done better

• Create something and then just leave it• Expect things to happen over night• Block all user responses • Act or sound like a big business

Heavy or Light

Light• Create profiles and fan pages• Author involvement on social networking sites• On Twitter, blogging, talking to readers• Uploading videos on Youtube• Books on many platforms- metadata available

Heavy• Building a blog or small website• Developing or investing in a social network • Experimenting on the web • Skilled web team

What Happens to Reading?

• Reading is social• Reading is changing• Publishers can shape this if they are

involved now

Part 4. Conclusion

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= …?

The End Thanks for listening!