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SOCIAL MEDIA FOR POSITIVELY CLEVELAND

12/16/08

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• Web 2.0 overview

• Why is it important?

• Guidelines and applications

• Case studies

• Key takeaways

TODAY’S DISCUSSION

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18%

25%

12%

25%

48%

44%

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Projected growth of CGM

Spending on social media and

“conversational marketing”

– albeit still in their nascent stage –

will surpass traditional marketing spend

by the end of 2012

-TWI Surveys, Inc

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Communications landscape

• New sources of information and influence

• We are no longer in control

• Authenticity and openness are essential

• Business conduct must be ethical and transparent

• Social media/Web 2.0/CGM is here to stay

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Continuing evolution

Lines blurring between:• Converging marketing disciplines• Online/offline reputation management• Public and private communications• “Pros vs. Joes” (journalists and bloggers

vs. anyone with a computer)

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• Social media is even more important in the travel, tourism and hospitality business

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• Social media even more important in the travel, tourism and hospitality business!

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Social media guidelines

• This has become part of how we do business • Balance emphasis on social media with expertise in

content• Incorporate social media strategies and tools the way we

would any other• Deliver the right message to the right audience via the

right medium• Unique opportunity to listen to, learn from and influence

the consumer-led conversation• At the end of the day, it’s still about telling our stories!

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Basic social media strategy

1. Listen to the conversation

2. Review and analyze learnings

3. Engage if and when it makes sense

4. Monitor and adjust

5. Measure results

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Top 10 reasons to monitor social media

1. Complaints – catching something early shows responsiveness

2. Compliments – capture and share via Del.icio.us

3. Expressed need – monitor key words, offer assistance

4. Competitors – reach out to customers proactively

5. Crowds – watch for trends, spikes

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Top 10 reasons to monitor social media

6. Influencers – easy to identify via social media

7. Crises – watch for triggers8. ROI – measure impact of efforts over time9. Audit – analyze sum of online

communications10.Threads – conversations across different

platforms

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Social search• Aggregators

– Del.icio.us, Shadows, Yahoo's MyWeb, Furl, Digg• Collaborative directories

– Prefound, Zimbio, Wikipedia• Taggregators

– Technorati, Rojo, Bloglines• Social Q & A sites

– Yahoo Answers, Google Answers

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Blogs• Every niche and destination has online

influencers• Online buzz about a site or brand is

priceless• Blogs deliver invaluable market research• Blogs can create a community of brand

ambassadors• But… you do need a thick skin and/or a

sense of humor at times

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The big picture

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The big picture

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Blogger relations best practices I

• Subscribe to the blog’s RSS feed or e-mails• Read your target blogs and their comments• Join in the dialogue by commenting

appropriately• Develop a relationship with the blogger

around other topics besides what you want to pitch

• Never send form pitch letters or news releases

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Blogger relations best practices II

• Don't pressure bloggers or ask them to write• Respect their blog and their time• Search the blog for content related to the

story you are pitching• Offer the blogger topic suggestions only if

you’re sure they’re on target • If you can’t do blogger relations right, don’t do

it

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Why blog?• Blogging nets invaluable insights

– Serves as a home base for all social media activity– Facilitates two-way conversation– Helps you interact with bloggers more effectively– Delivers search engine optimization benefits– Acts as powerful market research tool– Gives voice and personality to your brand

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Top social networking sites

• Myspace

• Facebook

• Flickr

• LinkedIn

• Fastest growing: Twitter, Tagged, Ning

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Niche social sites

• Tripadvisor• IgoUgo• Virtualtourist.com• Chowhound• Guidespot• GoSeeTell

• Yelp• MyTravelGuide• RealTravel• Epinions• DontGoThere.org

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Social networking fundamentals• Profile• Content• Contacts/friends• Search

– Know your key words/search terms– Know where to search (e.g., Twitter searches

on Summize.com)

• Etiquette/best practices: 70/20/10• Other functionalities vary by site

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Online reputation management• Google is your true home page• Show your best face online

• Check entries on Wikipedia, travel Web sites

• Monitor and participate in blogs and message boards

• Respond when it makes sense– Reach out and fix problems where

possible

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Personal brand management

• How are you connecting?• How much is too much?• Define role and value of

social media for you as well as your brand

• Know that what you say online to one person, one time … you’re saying to everyone, all the time

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CASE STUDIES

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Experience Columbus

• Launch of edgy new destination marketing campaign• Goal: get local ambassadors talking and engaged• Hosted blogger event 7/31• Invited 50 and 35 bloggers attended – all 35 blogged• Results: overwhelming response, BUT not all positive

about new ads!• “The campaign may not have received four-star

reviews. But Experience Columbus certainly did.” ~Advergirl

• Results saved online at http://delicious.com/LaraK/ExperienceColumbus

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Caminito Argentinean Steakhouse• Single-location restaurant in Northampton, Mass• The Prime Cuts Blog shares cooking and kitchen tips, tricks,

recipes and more• Prime Cuts TV channel on YouTube and Viddler for

weekly/bi-weekly how-to videos• Social monitoring and response program• Active on Yelp.com; encourages visitors to leave reviews

there

• Presence on MySpace, Upcoming, Facebook, Twitter, Plurk,

FriendFeed, LinkedIn and Flickr • Results: 30% increase in sales when competitors are flat or

down

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GETTING STARTED

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Joining the conversation: Listen

• Observe online communities where your brand is actively discussed

• Participate in conversations as if with someone in real life whom you respect

• Pay attention to how community members interact with each other

• Reach out to people as a person NOT as a marketer or communicator

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Joining the conversation: Engage

I. Listen

IV. EvaluateIII. Contribute

II. Participate

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• Create content• Make it easy for people to connect to you• Participate in larger conversations• Integrate into social networks• Provide a valuable application• Build relationships on and off-line• Remember: 70/20/10

Contribute to the community

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• Blogs: Blogpulse, Google, IceRocket, Technorati• Podcasts: Digg• Twitter: Summize, Twittergrader• Tags: Del.icio.us• YouTube and Flickr: Rankings/counters on-site• Forums: Board Tracker• Web Stats: Compete, Alexa, Google Analytics• Wikipedia Edits: Wikiscanner, wired.reddit• Paid Services: Radian 6, CustomScoop, Nielsen

Buzz Logic, Cyber Alert, Andiamo Systems

Measurement tools

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Emerging PR2.0 resources

• Blogger relations: engage with influential bloggers • Targeted outreach via comments, trackbacks, tagging

• Microblogging/micro pitching• Twitter, Friendfeed, Ning socnets

• Strategic use of social bookmarking sites• Delicious, StumbleUpon, Digg

• Online content placements• Yahoo, Google, AOL

• Social media news releases• PitchEngine, PRweb

• News release SEO tools• HubSpot’s pressreleasegrader.com

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Benefits of social media• Deeper relationships with visitors/guests• Increased awareness for brand• Better communication with audiences• Broadening of professional network• Search engine prominence• Increased web or blog traffic

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1. Join – and really maximize – LinkedIn and Facebook

2. Use RSS feeds to bring your news to you daily

3. Join Technorati – aka blog central

4. Start a del.icio.us page for your brand and/or yourself

5. Read travel blogs and join relevant socnets/communities

6. Join Twitter and try microblogging (70/20/10)

7. Expand social media monitoring/listening program

Seven things to take away

QUESTIONS?Lara.Kretler@Fahlgren.com@LaraK on TwitterBlog at www.larakretler.com614-383-1618 (w)937-271-9151 (c)