Social Media 101

www.mavenagency.com

Social Networking for BusinessesULI Philadelphia

February 26, 2010

Co-Founder of Maven, a full service, strategic communications agency located in Philadelphia

Big Agency Experience, Entrepreneurial attitude B-to-B, B-to-C and nonprofit clients Specialized expertise in legal, commercial and residential

real estate communications

Rebecca Devine, PrincipalMaven Communications

Social media isSocial media is an umbrella term that defines that various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, video and audio.*

A social network is a group of people of that are members of a community for the purpose of connecting, learning and interacting within the context of a shared interest

*http://www.wikipedia.org

What is social media?

What is social media?

Allows people to connect and form personal and business relationships

People are connecting with each other - not brands The conversation is happening - with or without you!

What is Social Media?

Blogs & Micro Blogs Online Chat RSS Widgets Social Networks Social Bookmarks Message Boards Podcasts Video Sharing Sites Photo Sharing Sites Virtual Worlds Wikis

How many people use it?

More People Use Social Networks today than Email. Adoption of social media grew 31% last year alone.

# of users (in millions)

How many people use it?*

>5M users

>60M Professionals in 200 countries

> 400 million users

> 300MM Worldwide Visitors a Month

*as of January 2010

What are the benefits of Social Media?

Targeted increase of website traffic Create positive brand association Grow brand awareness Conversions and sales Promote properties or services Business development Industry Research Customer loyalty People prefer doing business with those they know!

How can businesses use social media?

Executive Positioning: Demonstrate thought leadership and become an expert. Network and build your list of prospects and contacts.

Sales and Marketing: Post links to press releases, company news, relevant community news, speaking events.

Human Resources: Prescreen candidates on LinkedIn; foster better internal communications through internal communities

Market Research: "Listen" and gain insight into trends or opportunities

Community Relations: Raise awareness for community relations projects and corporate giving initiatives

What are business uses for...?

: Company profiles, groups, answers

: Company pages, fan pages, groups, widgets

: Micro blogging with 140 characters or less. Search and attract followers, send updates of value to your community

: Video marketing, event marketing, fundraising opportunities, product demonstrations

: Thought Leadership and expert positioning, connect with customers, generate media interest

: Internal social network to identify employee issues, communicate news, build relationships

Why Linked-in?

Recruiting Expert positioning Expand contacts Get PR visibility Reinforce business brand Conduct market research Integrates with Wordpress,

slide share and RSS

Why Facebook?

Why Facebook? Facebook fan pages & groups

industry groups allow for easily sharing content

Paid Demographic targeting: Facebook ads

Distribute Company news instantly into your company “fans” news feed

Connect with media and other industry related groups

Set up corporate fundraising pages for charitable initiatives

Why twitter?

Largest growing social media tool Create your name @yourbusiness

name (brand recognition) Discover industry trends Drive traffic to web site and create

face-to-face networking opportunities (“tweet ups”)

Request instant feedback Build connections & reach

prospects

Video, Presentation & Photo Sharing

Why YouTube, SlideShare & Flickr?

The #1 activity online is watching videos – businesses can take advantage!

Use video to promote Presentations, speaking

engagements and panels Share videos and photos of recent

community fundraisers and events to increase participation for next year

Use video and photos to promote product demos

BlogsWhy a Blog?

Create thought leadership opportunities by positioning executives as experts

Shape the conversation - determine key messages and share company Point-of-view

Generate awareness for the "softer side" of a corporation

Generate leads and referrals Attract media opportunities Increase search engine ranking

RSS: Creating contentRSS brings content to you

HOW? Choose an RSS aggregator

(Google Reader, Bloglines) Create an account Go to your favorite sites and

add them by clicking on the icon

New posts and stories appear on your reader page

www.google.com/reader RSS Feeds: How to Make It Come to You

How do I measure success? # of Followers/Fans Web traffic Sales Engagement and

participation Track with Tools

Google Analytics TweetDeck Facebook Insights

Next Steps

How do we get started?

Set clear, measurable objectives. Is your objective to: Drive traffic to the website? Raise money? Promote a specific service, property or event?

Target your audience: who, what, where? Listen to the conversation

Follow on Twitter Socialmention.com Google Alerts

Set Guidelines ENGAGE

How do I get started?

Phase I

Setup accounts at Facebook, twitter, linked-in, YouTube, etc.

Reserve your names now - you can always use them later

Allocate appropriate resources - Networks need regular maintenance to keep them valuable

Create content worth talking about Link blogs and other social media accounts to your

website to ensure seamless integration Measure results, adjust

How do we get started ?

Phase II

Transparency & authenticity Develop relationships & encourage the conversations Try to add value to your industry and community Connect with the influencers / help them find you For maximum ROI: “Build communities” instead of

“doing communications”

Tips for Social Media Success

Still unsure?