Social Media for SOLOpreneurs Introduction to Social Media in Business - Best Practice for Entrepreneurs

Social Entrepreneurs School

New Zealand Centre for Social Innovation

Welcome to the World of Social Business

•Amar Trivedi

Marketing Consultant / Business Solutions Provider

Social Media Strategist, Trainer, Manager, Speaker

Content Specialist - Copywriter, Journalist, Blogger

Evangelist - Social Business, Digital Innovation

Project Manager / Event Organiser

Business Networker / Relationship Builder

Creative Ninja / Online Communications Black Belt

• The opportunity for people to connect with one another like never before over the Web

• Simply put, it’s 2-way online interaction

• Some people call it the social web = Web 2.0 (Static Web Dynamic Web)

What is Social Media?

It’s not Social Media, it’s Digital Rain!

– FaceBook – Twitter Feed – LinkedIn Profile – YouTube Channel – Google+ Profile – Blog / Website – Pinterest Profile – Storify – ScoopIt! – Paper.li – Shopify – Spotify – Path, Pair, Instagram, Flickr, DailyHub, Etsy, Tumblr… it’s pouring!

FOCUS - First of all, you need a SM plan.

What’s your SM objective?

What are you after?

Focus on the juice extract, not the buttons & add-ons.

Tone of Brand Voice - Business v/s Personal

Usage – Best Practice #7

Time Management.

Stress Control. No Fear. No Pressure.

Usage – Best Practice #6

Usage – Best Practice #5

Social Media needs to be managed orchestrated & choreographed

Usage – Best Practice #4

Share. Share. Share. There is no secret sauce!

Usage – Best Practice #3

LISTEN UP. Be your own Chief Listening Officer.

Usage – Best Practice #2

INTEGRATE to maximize reach + optimize impact.

Create your own Social Media mix.

CONFIDENCE - The No.1 Best Practice

• DON’T BE AFRAID TO MAKE MISTAKES.

• You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take!

Pros & Cons: Risk-Benefit Analysis

• Openness v/s Privacy • Publicity v/s Authenticity • Sharing v/s Exclusivity (IP) • Social v/s Sensitivity/ Security (Kids) • Transparency v/s Negativity • Your way on this highway = It’s your business. What you say, goes! • But… observe the road rules. Common sense comes first.

What do viral videos have to do with Social Media? E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Examples of social media teams who got it right.

• Evian

SUDDENLY, EVERYTHING IS SOCIAL

SOCIAL

Media

Shopping

Gaming

Commerce Dining

TV

Business

The best part is…

•THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS A SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERT…

• SIMPLY BECAUSE IT IS CONSTANTLY EVOLVING

• STILL VERY EARLY DAYS. EVERYONE IS LEARNING. Digital Natives v/s Newbies.

• IT IS JUST TOO VAST & TOO UNIVERSAL FOR ANYONE TO CLAIM EXPERTISE

• A GOOD WAY TO BE UP THERE… IS TO CONSTANTLY BE “IN BETA MODE”

What does Social Media mean to you?

• It’s a channel

• It’s a funnel

• It’s a pipeline

• It’s a link

• It’s a bridge

• It’s a juggling act

• An easier, faster, cheaper, new way!

• Social Media means diff things to diff people • Figure out what works best for you. Stick to it. • Don’t fall for the hype. Too much BS out there! (Best time of day to

tweet, Klout score etc.) Instead, figure out a way to filter the clutter

Different Feeds for Different Folks

For Individuals

• Social is not something you do. It is something you are.

• It is your source of information.

• Create your own funnel. It’s a DIY game.

• It’s a personal branding platform.

• “Get” the psychology of social media.

• Keep Questioning. Curiosity is a virtue.

• Explore. Experiment. Be Entrepreneurial.

For Business

• Businesses and business-minded individuals are always looking for opportunities to grow

• Used right, social media is a “massive” opportunity!

• Get into the right headspace – collectively

– A employer/ employee branding tool

– Your own media channel

– Your own CRM pipeline

• Integrate Social Media into your business model

It’s a ‘C’ out there

• Collaboration

• Conversation

• Community

• Context

• Connection

• Creativity

• Content –

Video, Blogs, photos, updates or even a comment. Any outstanding examples of SM?

Let’s dive in deeper…

Read the full article : The 7 Verticals of Social Media (Line-of-Business Expertise)

Examples of each…

YouTube, FaceBook, Blogs This has to be done the good old fashioned way = Thinking! Radian6, Alterian, G~ Analytics Hootsuite, Dashboards 10% Principles. 90% - Hands-on, DIY learning. I Teach Me. Hubspot, Vitrue, Altimeter, MarketingProfs, WeAreSocial LinkedIn, FireBrand, Jobvite

It’s not all about Technology

• Mobile Technology is the future - Have a play with apps.

• Age of SoLoMo: Social + Location (Local Commerce) + Mobile and SoMoClo: Cloud

• It’s not about Devices (PC, Mobile, Laptop, Tablets) it’s about their usage and application

• Acc. to Pete Cashmore of Mashable: Future of Social Networking: Ambient + Visual + Mobile

• More than tech convergence, it’s about relevance.

• Ask not what latest Technology you have, ask what you can do with Technology you already have! - My version of a popular JFK-ism

• Nike Football

• Kia

• Kony 2012

What do viral videos have to do with Social Media? E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Examples of social media teams who got it right.

Pitching Projects using Social Media

• Social Media - is your Marketing Channel

• Social Media Plan / Policy

• Have a carefully thought out Content Strategy

• Use LinkedIn for Business

– Form your own Group/ Follow industry groups

– Use Company Pages, Use Follow Company button

• Use FaceBook Brandline

Basic STEPS : pre-Pitching Projects

1. Activate your own social media channels

2. Build your community - Invite people to join, engage with them

3. Market/ promote your channels

4. Start putting out relevant business content

5. Create a manageable SM plan for yourself

• Identify your reading / sharing resources

• Set frequency of sharing, make some “thinking time”

6. Is your content Shareable, Social, Searchable

7. WIIF your community, why should they engage

• Enterprise-wide Application of SM for Business Improvement

• Widespread use of social media tools

• Open Integration incl. channels & customers

• A Social Business is an engaged, transparent and nimble business that embraces a spirit of

collaboration and community throughout the organization - both internally and externally.

• A Social Business is not B2B or B2C, it’s P2P = People to People (Source: IBM, Smarter Planet)

• It’s a BIG CHANGE – at 2 levels:

• Corporate

• Cultural

• And this calls for a…

Now it’s all about Social Business

SM Tools are free. But results cost!

• It’s Hard Work. • Effort to create quality content

• Effort to generate meaningful engagement

• Takes Time - HAVE PATIENCE. Lots of it.

• Organisation / Maintenance / Monitoring

• Curation – what’s hot & what’s not

• CRM Customer Relationship Management and OCM Online Community Management

What’s the ROI • 3M = Measurement, Monitoring & Metrics Tools • Google Analytics • Radian6 • Lithium • Alterian • Social Flow/ Social Mention • TwentyFeet Integrated Social Business Solutions (ERP/ CRM) • Salesforce • Hubspot

• Apart from community growth in numbers (Friends, Likes, Followers, Connections, Hits, Page Views, Uniques, Comments)

• Response - Respect - Faith - Trust - Influence that’s the ROI

What makes the difference

• Quality of Content • Quantity = Reach • Creativity & Innovation • Talent & Skills of people • Interest Value • Design & Presentation • FUN & Humour (Case Studies: VW & Old Spice)

Useful Tips – Rules & Protocols

• There’s some key nos. you should remember:

• 140 characters on Twitter (but lesser if cross-posting)

• Hashtags #tags (egs. #FIFA #WorldCup, #wc2014, #RWC, #SXSW)

• Permissions to cross-post

• YouTube Videos (ideal length 30-60-90-120 secs)

• No. of Tweets per day? 3-4 a day.

• How often should you blog? Mail newsletters?

• Take lots of pictures. Share them.

• Comment. Express yourself. Be honest. Be polite.

• Charlie bit my finger (This one’s a rare, non-commercial viral video. No team. No seeding. Purely organic growth.)

• Air NZ Inflight Video

• LTNZ’s Ghost Chips

What do viral videos have to do with Social Media? E-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. Examples of social media teams who got it right.

Customer 2.0 is hyper-connected

1. Today’s customers – they will find you. Google you up. And down!

2. They just want you to enable them to get best value.

3. Inbound Marketing – don’t go out to them. Give them a reason to come to you i.e. Content.

4. Old world: Build it, market it, and they will come. New world: Build a funnel, be ready, go beyond.

This is the age of Super-Specialization

• LinkedIn Specialists – Preferred tool for business, Great for networking, Groups, Company Pages, Profile button, Plugins

• FaceBook Specialists – Brandline/ Timeline

• Twitter, Google+, Pinning Specialists

• YouTube / Online Video Specialists

• From graphs and maps to embeds and apps

• Photo Studios in India are making a fast buck from clicking

profile pics or DPs as called there – everyone’s cashing in!

Online Business Model

• If you can crack this, you’re done!

• Observe business models that work online. And Learn. (eg: Google, Apple, iTunes music store, appstore)

• When an online model works, it makes news. * Zynga bought OMGPOP (Draw Something) * Facebook bought Instagram * LinkedIn bought CardMunch, Rapportive, ConnectedHQ

• When an online model works, it gets emulated. Groupon GrabOne/ Grabaseat, Netflix Fatso, eBay TradeMe

• Quick Exercise: Break up into 4 Groups. Come up with 3 working Online Business Models.

Business Strategy

• Build Business Model. Refine it. Market it.

• Then, it’s back to online marketing basics:

– Identify Target Market

– Give them a reason to engage

– Intent to Purchase

– Customer Conversion

– Revenue Generation

– Relationship Management

– BUILD YOUR OWN COMMUNITY

KEY TAKEAWAY for Social Media in Business

Social Media

=

Marketing (Leads/ Branding / Visibility/ Content)

=

ROI

Social Media is about Adding Value

• Value could mean: Save me Time, Save me Money, Save me Effort Thrill me, Entertain Me, Excite me, Educate Me Make me Rich, Make me Happy, Make me Laugh, Make me Look Good WHEN YOU FILL A PERCEIVED GAP IN THE CONSUMER’S MIND = VALUE

CASE STUDIES

• Volkswagen’s Fun Theory: Good, Clean, Smart, Fun with Purpose!

• Old Spice - Brand Revival Campaign – I’m on a horse!

Reading Resources

• LinkedIn Today • Marketing Sherpa • Social Media Examiner • eMarketer • Engadget • TechCrunch • GigaOm • NYT Technology • WSJ Social • Silicon Alley Insider (SAI) • Forbes • The Economist • The Next Web • ReadWriteWeb

• Hubspot • Marketing Profs • Social Media Today • Mashable • HBR • Entrepreneur Mag • Inc • Fast Company • BusinessInsider • VentureBeat • SearchEngineLand • SearchEngineWatch • Gizmodo • Watch Videos on TED.com

Books/ Authors to Read

• The Social Media Bible

• Business Model Generation

• Groundswell

• Engage!

• New Rules of Mktg/ PR - David Meerman Scott

• The Start-Up of You - Reid Hoffman + Ben Caznocha

• Chris Brogan/ Seth Godin/ Neal Schaffer/ Lee Odden/ Gary Vaynerchuk

• Free White Papers/ eBooks from MarketingProfs/ SM Examiner/ Hubspot

Q&A Time

The day we stop learning… is the day we stop growing. • The best ways to pitch your project:

– Start a conversation Develop a relationship. – Make a connection. Network. Get social with it! – Attend Events. Be out there. Face-to-face beats Facebook/ FaceTime

– Take it offline. Have a coffee. Follow-up. Say Thank You.

HAPPY EASTER EVERYONE. ENJOY THE LONG WEEKEND!

That’s it from me folks… Questions?

Let’s Connect

Amar Trivedi trivediamar@hotmail.com

+64 22 106 2076

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New Zealand Centre for Social Innovation, Ko Awatea Centre, Middlemore, Auckland

Thursday, April 5, 2012