Maximizing Social Media for Entrepreneurs

La Crosse Area Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club

Presented by: Catherine TryonFebruary 2, 2010

What We Will Discuss Today

• What is Social Media

• Why use Social Media

• How to find Prospects and Customers

• Where to Start

What is Social Media?

• Community.

• Conversation.

• Networking.

• Marketing.

• Social Media is rooted in Relationships.

The Powershift of Social Media

• It has leveled the marketing playing field.

• It’s community owned – can’t buy access to it.

• Two way dialogue is replacing the monologue

• Now the consumer has as much of a voice as the brand.

Who Controls the Message?

• The Social web is causing brands to be more human, authentic, and engaging.

• Your brand is now the sum of conversations about it.

The Social Economy Swells

• Individually we are realizing the power of Social Media

• Collectively we are changing how we learn, interact, discover, and share.

• A sense of Freedom & Empowerment?

The Attention Economy

The Golden Triangle by Fred Wilson

Filtering Technologies• Gaining customer attention is

more precious than ever

• Dashboards help funnel content we follow

• Attention dashboards monitor activity streams through any of these:– Mobile device– PC– TV

The New Trust Economy

To earn attention is to establish connections and interactions which are rooted in trust

Authentic and consistent interactions over time, that deliver value will kindle trust.

Why You Should Listen

• 91% say consumers reviews are the #1 aid to buying decisions ~ J.C.

Williams Group

• 87% trust a friend’s recommendation over a critic’s review ~ Marketing Sherpa

• One word of mouth conversation has the impact of 200 TV ads ~

BuzzAgent

Trust Drives Transactions

• The line between business & personal is blurring – people are interested in doing business with

people!

• Interact & create relationships first

• Be authentic & transparent

Social Media Does Not Make Money!

Good business skills are the same online as they are offline.

Social Media provides opportunities for you to create deeper & more meaningful relationships.

Social Media helps build Relationships based on

Trust“Social networking is always

important when it’s real and always a useless distraction with it’s fake” ~ Seth Godin

Your business makes money by doing business with people that:– Know You– Like You– Trust You

Why Use Social Media?

Statistics

• 74% of all US adults are online.

( US is #8 June 2009 - #1 is Norway @ 86% )

• 2009 Average age of user Linkedin 36 Facebook 34

Twitter 33 MySpace 29

What People Are Doing Online

How Are Companies Using Social Media Today?

Blendtec – Willitblend.com – YouTube

Kogi BBQ – twitter.com/kogibbq

Wiggly Wigglers – Podcasting / Twitter

Rudy’s Drivein – Facebook Page (2900 fans)

Drive Traffic Back To Your Website

Where To Find Prospects and Customers

http://search.twitter.com

http://blogsearch.google.com

http://www.technorati.com

Where to Start?

1.) Find Interested People

2.) Deliver Quality Content

3.) Capture their information

4.) Communicate Frequently

Define Your Goals

• More Sales

• Higher SEO Rankings

• Crisis Communications

• Customer Service

• Brand Awareness

Match the tools to the strategy

• After you know what you are trying to do, select the best tools to execute your strategy.

• Learn about the tools and which ones will help you achieve your goals.

• Using the best tools doesn’t guarantee success or solve all marketing problems.

The Big 3 Social Media Forces

• Social Networking Platform with 350 million users

• Real time micro-blogging with over 50 million users

• Business oriented professional network with over 50 million users

Define Success

• Develop a customer focused community

• Increase engagement

• Opt-ins for e-newsletter or e-mail

• Subscriptions to blog

• Expand customer base

2010 Social Media Ad Spend

Worldwide, paid social network advertising is expected to increase to $2.5 billion in 2010.

$1.2 billion in paid advertising on social networks alone in the U.S. in 2010

3.9% increase driven mainly by Facebook’s rapid growth

Source: www.emarketer.com

It’s all about community

• The most successful communities online tap into our basic human nature:– We want to belong.– We want to make a difference in the

world.– We want to be heard.

• Create relationships that satisfy those needs.

Remember…

• Anonymity is giving way to authenticity.

• Trust is the new Currency.

• You bring your real life relationships with you online – consistent in both.

• Be Transparent & real.

Social Media Profile Management for Busy Executives

• A Program to manage your Social Media Profiles while you manage your business.

This Presentation is Available

• Down load from slideshare .com– Search for Catherine Tryon

• Go to my linkedin profile and download from my slideshare link.

Thank You!

• Phone: 608.843.2345

• Email: catherine@catherinetryon.com

• www.facebook.com/catherine.tryon

• www.linkedin.com/in/catherinetryon

• www.twitter.com/catherinetryon