Social Media Taster Course

Social Media Taster Course 1. An Overview of Social Media2. Social Media Marketing

Aren GrimshawUKNetWeb Limited

1. An Overview of Social Media

• What can Social Media do for you?• What is Social Media?• How big is Social Media?• Who is using it?

What can Social Media do for you?

Social Media can help businesses in the following areas:

• Sales: Gain new business• Engagement: Increase customer loyalty• Research: Identify trends / niches• Marketing: Promote your business• PR: Manage your reputation• Management: Improve collaboration

What is Social Media?

Social Media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology,

social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio.

….

It’s how people engage, participate and share online

What is Social Media – Different Platforms

• Blogs, Micro-Blogs and V-Logs• Social Networks• Social Bookmarking• Slideshow, Document, Video and Photo Sharing• Podcasting / Video Podcasting• Wiki Sites• Forums• Instant Messaging• Virtual Worlds

How big is Social Media?

• Facebook has 175m active users• 3bn+ minutes are spent on Facebook every day• 4m+ FB users become fans of Pages every day• 77% of active internet users read blogs• 133m+ blogs indexed by Technorati• Twitter users grew by 900% in the last year• Twitter has just 38 staff• 10 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every

minute

Social Media – Some Demographics

• Fastest growing user group on Facebook is 35+• The average age of a Twitter user is 31• The average age of a MySpace user is 27• The average age of a LinkedIn user is 41• The average earnings of a LinkedIn user is $109k• 46% of LinkedIn users are Decision Makers• ABC1s are more likely to have a Facebook profile • C2DEs are more likely to have MySpace profile

Who is using it?

• Small to Medium Enterprises• Bigger Businesses• Global Corporations• Media Companies• Non-Profits• Social Enterprise• Politicians• Education Providers• Students• And countless others

Who is using it?

Locally• Business Cornwall• St.Austell Brewery (Tribute

Ale)• Surfers Against Sewage• TorFX

Nationally• 10 Downing Street• The BBC

Internationally• Skittles• Apple• Zappos• BMW• Coca Cola

2. Social Media Marketing

• What is Social Media Marketing?• How do I identify my community?• Where do I start?• What are people saying about me or my business?• Does it make any money?

What is Social Media Marketing?

Social Media Marketing

is an engagement with online communities

to generate exposure, opportunity and sales.

Where do I start? - Process

• Research• Plan• Test• Measure• Review• Tweak

• Keep Evolving!

How do I identify my community?

• Who are your target market?• Do they share any interests?• What other people are of interest to your business?

– Journalists?– Politicians?– Other influencers?

• Where are they ‘hanging out’?– Blogs?– Social Networks?– Forums?

How do I identify my community? - Resources

• http://www.delicious.com• http://blogsearch.google.com/• http://search.twitter.com

Where do I start? – Actions

Set Up Accounts with the following services:

• Facebook • LinkedIn • Twitter • Slideshare

Where do I start? - Resources

• http://www.facebook.com• http://www.linkedin.com• http://www.twitter.com• http://www.slideshare.net

• http://delicious.com/galileorm/smtc

Examples – My Profiles

• http://www.facebook.com/people/Aren-Grimshaw/668207736

• http://www.linkedin.com/in/areng• http://twitter.com/arengrimshaw• http://www.slideshare.net/uknetweb

Where do I start? - Tips

• Find your existing connections• Observe the competition• Listen to conversations• Engage in conversations• Test, Monitor, Review and Tweak • Don’t try to ‘sell’• ‘Content is king’• Be ethical in your actions• Keep it relevant to your audience• Be clear in your objectives

What are people saying about me or my business?

• Conversations take place whether you take part or not

• Sign up for alerts on your company / brand name plus other keyphrases

• Engage with complaints – do not tackle them• Keep an eye on forums and discussion boards• See what people are saying about your competition

What are people saying about me or my business? - Resources

• Google Alertshttp://www.google.com/alerts/

• Twilertshttp://www.twilert.com/twilerts

Case Study – Compare the Meerkat

Case Study – Compare the Meerkat

• Fully integrated media campaign• Facebook Fan Pages and Groups• Dedicated Micro-site• You Tube Channel• Twitter Account• Emarketing Campaign

• Fun, light-hearted - Viral

Case Study – Compare the Meerkat

• Around 320,000 fans of the Facebook ‘Aleksandr Orlov – Founder of Compare the Meerkat Page

• More than 100,000 views on You Tube• Over 10,000 followers on Twitter

Does it make any money?

• The Twestival 1msg – 4 weeks – 202 events $250,000+ raised for charity

• DellTwitter produced $1 million in revenue over 1½ year through sale alerts.

Does it make any money?

• Measuring return on investment (ROI) from your activities can be difficult

• Be clear in your objectives• Benefits of Social Media Marketing to business go

beyond short term sales:– Customer loyalty– Increased Credibility– Higher order values– More website hits…

Social Media Taster Course 4. Making more of your website

Toby ParkinsUKNetWeb Limited

4. Making more of your website

• What can be done?• What’s the benefit of that?• Who’s doing it?• Where do I start?• Making the most of your resources • Does it make any money?

What can be done?

• User Generated Content• Integrated Blogs / Microblogs• Live Chat / Virtual Assistance• Sharing Functionality• Social Connections• Content Libraries• Passive Marketing• Customisation and Integration

What’s the benefit of that?

• Increases website ‘Stickiness’ • Helps customers make informed choices• Increases site traffic• Drives Word of Mouth recommendation / referral• Builds credibility• More ‘Shop Windows’

Making the most of your resources

• Streamline processes• Make the most of technology• The power of communities• Reuse information

Who’s doing it?

Locally• Digi-Quick• UKNetweb• British International Helicopters

Nationally• Walkers Crisps

Internationally• Nike• Zappos

Where do I start? - Actions

Set up the following for your business:

• A Facebook Page• A Wordpress Blog

Where do I start? - Resources

• http://www.facebook.com/advertising/?pages• http://wordpress.com

Case Study – Frugi Organic Cotton Clothes

• http://www.facebook.com/pages/Frugi-Organic-Cotton-Clothes/10686843227

Making the most of your resources - Tips

• Incorporate a Blog in your website• Utilise RSS Feeds• Feed content into other spaces• Link spaces together• Let your customers help you• Work with your developer

Does it make any money? - Zappos

• Strong Customer Focus• User Generated Content• Use of video to communicate messages• Extensive Content Library• Social Profiles and Engagement• Integrated Blog

Does it make any money?

Over the years, our focus on service has resulted in our fast growth, driven primarily by

repeat customers and word of mouth.

Zappos

Show me the money…

Gross Merchandise Sales:at Zappos

1999: Almost nothing2000: $ 1.6m2001: $ 8.6m2002: $ 32m2003: $ 70m2004: $184m2005: $370m2006: $597m2007: $840m2008: Over $1 billion

Social Media for Business – More info

• Visit the UKNetWeb Bloghttp://www.uknetweb.com

• Connect on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter

• Check out our presentations on Slideshare and You Tubehttp://wwwslideshare.net/uknetwebwww.youtube.com/user/uknetwebsm

Social Media for Business – Training

Social Media Training and Coaching Package:

• Practical Workshops (Delivered over 3 days)–Getting the right benefits for your business–Planning your Social Media campaign–Service Tutorials – Practical Skills–Set up, integration and measurement–Group Workshops

• One to One Tuition (Around 3 hours of additional support)–Establishing your business objectives–Assistance in setting up your accounts and pages–Review: Identifying strengths and weaknesses in your approach

Available as an in-house package or open course