Using Social Media as a Marketing Tool

C O N S U L T I N G

About MJM Consulting

Virtual President Services & Strategic Management

Consulting

Michael McKay

http://mjmhelp.com C O N S U L T I N G

Some Caveats

• I’m not a social media expert• I’m not a marketing expert• I have limited experience and training

• Like a teaching hospital, this is a case of see one, do one, teach one.

Sources

• Alec Saunders (http://saunderslog.com)– Presentation material blatantly plagiarized

from his OCRI presentation• See original at http://tinyurl.com/saunders-sm-pres

• Social media superstars– David Armano (http://darmano.typepad.com)– Chris Brogan (http://chrisbrogan.com)– And anyone they link to

• Photo Credits at the end.

First, some definitions

Sales:A structured business conversation that ends

with a request to purchase.

Social Media:

??

Marketing:Anything that helps with

sales.

Within social media,

customers are media producers

You

Your customers

What are they saying?

Its about people making connections and

building relationships

It is not about the

"Social media isn't just about big networks like Facebook and MySpace, it's about brands having conversations.“ Lloyd Salmons

Hype?

Or Phenomenon.

The Tools

Blogs

Blogs

• Blogs have been around for 10 years – Originally web logs – a list of sites visited and

comments – the weird and wonderful• Software added to automate the process of

updating the list– People started adding random comments– The web exploded - the lists became un-useable

but the comments remained• Search engines took over the world

What’s a Blog?

• The old definition– A set of comments arranged in chronological order

where new additions are added to the top and older comments are removed from the bottom.

• The new definition (mine)– An SQL database layered under a PHP engine that

enables rapid updates of posts/pages/comments and displays these in a multitude of clever ways.

• Technically & practically, its a web site.

Blogs are DeadLong live the website

Blogs versus Static Sites

• Web sites are largely marketing material– An electronic brochure– A tiny sales function (click here to purchase)– Trend note: Web 2.0 is adding applications to the mix

• Blogs are web sites that allow feedback

• Therefore, Blogs are marketing material but with feedback

Blogs versus Static Sites:Repeat Readers

(Taken from Alec Saunders Presentation)

Compare with Print

Blogs are PublicationsWriting style and content

create an identity

Blogs are BrandsGiven a mission,

blogs are a forum for thought leadership(Taken from Alec Saunders Presentation)

(Taken from Alec Saunders Presentation)

categoriesdates

titlestags

pages

Database

Your Blog

Filters

Page Multiplier

Single post

Big site! Must be important!

Other Blogs

Link Love

Lots of links! Must be really

relevant!!Auto SEO

The community acts as an echo

chamber

Google “Juice”

Who’s Got Juice?

Bloggers• Alec Saunders 2,230• Chris Brogan 8,620• Problogger 10,500• Huffington Post 45,600

“Professional Brands”• Mitel

345• Nortel

1,870• Bell

1,920• The Globe and Mail

9,780• IBM

17,100

Examples

More Examples

More Examples

A Great Blog will work for Anything

Even if the Juice is not Great

Features that make a blog work

• RSS (really simple syndication)• E-mail subscriptions• Comments – maximize opportunity for

conversations• Tags• Categories• Archives• Links (blog roll)

– ask for and give link love

Really Simple SyndicationInformation delivered to

your doorRSS

How do I start?

Set up a site• Get a proper top-level

domain• Install good software

(wordpress)• Use a Google site map• Ping the search engines• Link and traceback• Tag, tag and tag

Writing• Write often• Use good titles• Use really good titles• Make the posts meaty• Be controversial• Participate in the

“conversation”• Keep a blogroll• Ask for “link love” and love

your friends

The downside: time3 posts a day!!

Perhaps I should use twitter.

Twitter• Micro-blogging

– Limited to 140 characters

• Real-time conversations• Analogous to CB radios

– “Hey 10-4 good buddy, what’s yer 20?”

• Millions of users• Too much traffic to follow

Language• Like pig-latin

– Take any word, remove the first consonants and add “tw”

• Twitter – the service• Tweet – an individual post• Re-tweet – reposting someone else’s

post• Twit – a person who tweets• Tweople – a group of twits• Tweet-up – an meeting of twits

organized on twitter.• Twitterverse• Twebinar• Twistorie

For Heaven’s Sake!

Why?

Insight

&

Connection

Tweetscoop

Real-time information

Twitter Users

Twitter users were among the first to hear, and so spread the news about, the Mumbai attacks, earthquakes in California

and the death of the actor Heath Ledger

http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2008/11/moms-give-motri.html

In Summary

• Social Media is about People and Relationships

• It provides a vehicle to make connections with customers and gain insight

• Connections can be leveraged to gain brand awareness, Google Juice and influence

• It is a cheap but time-intensive form of marketing

10 reasons to stop calling yourself a "blogger":

1. People are only nice to bloggers because now, they have to be.2. Blogger sounds like "booger". Ew.3. Bloggers are so 2006. "Microbloggers" are the new bloggers.4. Most successful bloggers have written a book. That makes you an author.5. If you haven't written a book, you're just a blogger.6. No one really wants you to blog about what they did at last night's party.7. Blondes have more fun. Bloggers have more fights.8. Bloggers are now respectable, like journalists and lawyers. Except no one

trusts journalists and lawyers. 9. The word blogger rhymes with "jogger"—subliminally recalling images of

head bands, knee highs and short shorts.10. Bloggers only talk about blogging. You're more interesting than that.

http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2008/09/10-reasons-to-s.html

Contact Me

Michael McKayMJM Consulting613-724-8169

michael.mckay@mjmhelp.comhttp://mjmhelp.com

C O N S U L T I N G

Credits

David Armano, Critical Mass, “Thoughts on Paid + Earned Media”. 8 Feb 09. http://darmano.typepad.com/

Blue Valentine Press“Recycled Old Dictionary Pages”17 April 08. http://www.flickr.com/photos/rightoutloud/2421043521/

Matt Hamm“Jump on the social media bandwagon”15 Oct 08. http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthamm/2945559128/

Dave Gray “Social media”25 May 2006 http://www.flickr.com/photos/davegray/153025183/

Edge of Space “How fast do you want to go”25 September 2006 http://www.flickr.com/photos/ejazasi/253032421/

David Armano,“The Collective Is The Focus Group “8 Jan 2008 http://darmano.typepad.com/

Matt, isolatediguana,“Tools of the Trade”. 28 May 08. http://www.flickr.com/photos/isolatediguana/2530971046/

Dreamer7112,“sale, wet”. 8 July 07. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dreamer7112/754756881/

David Armano,“Bridging the Social Divide”. 22 Oct 08. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7855449@N02/2964677994/

David Armano,“A very brief history of micro-media”. 20 Nov 08. http://www.flickr.com/photos/7855449@N02/3045125363

David Armano,http://darmano.typepad.com/logic_emotion/2008/12/blogging-is-dead.html

Apologies to those I’ve missed.