Social Media 101: An Introduction

Luke Gibbs :: Account Coordinator

Social Medi-what?

Wikipedia says:“Social media is content created by people using highly accessible publishing technologies; a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content. Social media has become extremely popular because it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal and business.”

An Introduction – Social Media is…

:: Blogs:: Micro-blogs:: Social Networks:: Community Platforms:: Content Sharing/Gathering :: Social Bookmarking [Digg]:: Any application/platform that encourages

discussions, sharing and various user-generated content

An Introduction – Blogs

:: Blogger, WordPress, Xanga, Tumblr, TypePad:: Sub-page of main website:: Place to let your organization’s “hair down”:: Can and SHOULD be targeting niche markets:: Opens communication bridge:: Turning out to be GREAT for SEO:: Get yourself published/added credibility:: Research, outline, think

critically/analytically/authentically

An Introduction – Micro-blogging

:: Jaiku, Yammer, Tumblr, Microsoft Vine [beta]:: …and, of course, Twitter

An Introduction – Micro-blogging

Twitter:: Network with like-minded people in your region,

industry, company, etc.:: Great tool for proactive, Johnny-on-the-spot

customer service:: Monitor what’s being said about you and your

industry [search.twitter.com]:: Generate leads:: Drive traffic to company website [PBC Silver Addy on

Salem, OR blog]:: Listen [Grow Bigger Ears], Follow, Engage

An Introduction – Social Networks

:: Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, Yelp

An Introduction – Social Networks

:: Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning, Yelp:: Outposts of your company :: Online roladex:: Boost in search rankings :: VERY targeted ads:: Makes your corporate entity seem more personable:: Social networks are full of people who want to

NETWORK:: Dilemma – Page vs Profile

An Introduction – Community Platforms

:: Dell [www.ideastorm.com], Starbucks [www.mystarbucksidea.com]

An Introduction – Community Platforms

:: Trouble finding where users are talking about you? Create a central forum for them to talk

:: Allows voice of consumer to impact the customer experience

:: Pushing content vs encouraging conversations [blogs vs community platforms]

:: Instead of pushing content, push thinktanks, surveys, questionnaires, calls to action, etc.

:: LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN – Not going after millions, just the right 10,000

:: Let users know you are listening, but don’t pitch

An Introduction – Content Sharing Sites

:: Includes video sharing [YouTube], image/ presentation sharing [Flickr, Slideshare], knowledge sharing [Wikipedia], and more

:: YouTube- Most famous source of viral marketing [Blendtec]- Easy to use; need an account and a webcam- Great place to host videos

for your website/blog- Über-creativity needed

nowadays; as always, target your niche [tags]

Why should you care about social media?

:: 13 hours:: 100,000,000:: 13,000,000:: 3,600,000,000:: 1382%:: 5,000,000,000:: 1,000,000,000

* As presented in ‘What the F**ck is Social Media’

- video uploaded to YouTube every minute- videos viewed per day

- articles on Wikipedia- photos on Flickr

- Twitter monthly growth rate this year- Minutes spent on Facebook every day- Content shared on Facebook every day

So what’s the endgame?

Social media marketing, of course:“An engagement with online communities to generate exposure, opportunity and sales. The number-one advantage is generating exposure for the business, followed by increasing traffic and building new business partnerships.”

So how do I convince my boss to pay me to play on Facebook and YouTube all day?

:: Masses have grown accustomed to—and annoyed by—interruptive advertising [clutter has birthed hulu.com, DVR, etc.]

:: Organic search—need to exist where people are looking [voluntarily], communicating [voluntarily] and researching [voluntarily]

:: System of measuring whether employees work or not is still very 1950s- Butt in chair? 37 cold calls

made? 58 emails sent? Pack it in, gents…it’s been a good day.

Now that you’ve made the boss mad…

:: Case studies go a long way- Dell, Ford, Zappos…yadda, yadda, yadda- Blendtec, Pink Cake Box, Optometrist…very cool

:: Strategy Alignment- Branding- Sales leads [social media CAN convert!]- Organic SEO [blogs]- Customer service- Product marketing- and on and on and on and on and on and on…

Your basic pros/cons list

:: Pros - Ability to reach alternate audiences- Build brand loyalty- Improve your products and services- Better understanding of your target audience - Very cost efficient [not always entirely true]- Generate positive exposure

+

Your basic pros/cons list

:: Cons - VERY TIME CONSUMING—most overlooked- Presence must be exciting, interesting, yet relevant- Relinquish control [who honestly thinks they

have it?]- Risk brand liquidation- ROI is delayed, unclear, non-measurable [hardest

con to overcome]- Common myths – Paul Gillin

• “People will go negative”, “ROI is undefined”, “It’s a fad”

-

Armed with knowledge and your boss’s blessing—if you haven’t already…

:: Figure out what you want to be when you grow up.- Sales conversions? TOM awareness? Brand loyalty? SEO?

:: Identify your audience.- Who will honestly care if you start Tweeting?

:: Know your capabilities.- If it’s just you and Bob the Intern, be realistic.- To thine own self be true – just like front line employees, make sure social media reps are well-versed in the organization’s brand.

STRATEGIZE

Armed with knowledge and your boss’s blessing—if you haven’t already…

:: As Curly from City Slickers would say, “It’s all about one thing…and that’s for you to figure out.”What’s your one thing? What separates you?

:: Success—what is it to you? New web visitors? Increased brand recognition? Increased sales?

:: Don’t dive into the 4 ft pool—people will know you made a poor decision.

STRATEGIZE

And then…GROW BIGGER EARS!

:: Find out where people are talking about:- Your organization- You personally [if you’re closely tied to your org]- Your industry- Your markets- Your product- Your product’s shortcomings [yes, they exist and

yes, you probably know what they might be]- Your mother [in case you’re curious]

:: search.twitter.com, blogsearch.google.com, google alerts

And then…GROW BIGGER EARS!

:: Respond to conversations already in place [tweeting, commenting on status updates, adding a pithy comment to a blog article]

:: Become a regular:: Bring wine to the picnic:: Many tools—paid and free—to help you monitor

your online reputation [Radian6, Buzzlogic, Trackur, Brands Eye] [Google Alerts, Technorati, Twitter/Tweetdeck, Trendrr, BoardTracker]

Now grow your empire

:: Stabilize your presence on 2-3 social medias; integrate; get comfortable; venture outward; establish yourself as an expert

:: Home>Outposts>Frontier [Kyle Lacy]:: Keep your focus on relevant communities, medias:: ENLIST! Co-workers*, clients, family, friends, people

you meet at conferences… :: Be yourself and trust in the living, breathing entity

that is social media…it isn’t going anywhere.:: Pocket the pitch; engage with earnest interest and

goal of self-betterment; brand loyalty will develop and sales will come.

Moving forward in a connected world

:: Web 3.0 – Semantic web [not about who has the MOST information, who has the BEST information]

:: Consumers will seek immediate fulfillment of needs:: Integrate social media with already standing

marketing and PR strategies- Marketing at the point of need

3.0 NO

!

Moving forward in a connected world

:: Mass communication Mass customization

Questions? Comments?

luke@missioncreative.biz@LkeGibbs