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How To Use Social Media Effectively to Build your Business.

Mhairi Petrovic March 27th 2009

How To Use Social Media Effectively For Business

What it is? Who uses it? How they use it and why The business benefits of social media How to use these forums safely and

appropriately to increase and enhance your on-line profile and build a strong brand.

Success Stories Questions

What It Is

Technologies that allow you to be interactive and collaborate with others

Usually online Social Media tools include wikis, blogs, podcasts as

well as tools like You Tube Internet networking hubs Any tool that allows you to publish content and receive

feedback / interact with your network These are just tools like the phone, or the bill board or

the flyer that you can use to reach your audience.

Who uses it?

Over 100m Facebook/MySpace users, 7 m on Twitter and 180 m blogs

77% of active Internet users use blogs

No longer the domain of the youth or techies.

Over 35 demographic is the fastest growing

On business front, recent survey conducted by 6s marketing found that “Out of the respondents who filled out the survey:

* 69% use Facebook

* 47% use Twitter

* 38% use LinkedIn

* 38% use YouTube

* 29% use Flickr * from 6s Marketing Social Media Survey

Why People Use Social Media

To share information To be social To connect To show off :o) To communicate effectively with many people

at once or with one at a time To build their community

The Benefits for Business Drives more traffic to your website (blogs update site,

links back) Builds your network Maintain existing networks Connect and learn from industry peers To establish your expertise and build brand awareness To promote your offering To advertise to you a niche market To reach a wider audience Its cheaper than traditional marketing

Before You Start

Marketing 101 Customer Company Cost Communication

Customer Who are you trying to reach? Understand the demographics and characteristics of your

audience so you know where to find them online. The social networks you use will depend on knowing this.

B2B – LinkedIn B2C – Facebook B2B and B2C – Twitter MySpace appeals to a younger audience Facebook has a more educated following

Company

What is it that differentiates your products, service or and how can you use this to appeal to your audience in social media.

What internal resources do you have i.e. People who like to write, people who like to talk, creative folks etc.

Is your product visual, art, music? What is your company's culture? Is it open and

transparent (if it is then this lends well to SM).

Cost of Social Media

Less expensive than traditional marketing But can suck up time if you don't have a plan Takes time to build your presence so don't

expect overnight results. Set realistic and achievable goals so that you

can measure ROI more effectively

Communication

How will you convey your brand online? Should reflect your real world brand. What are you going to communicate Which tools are best to use to communicate to your target

audience (given research conducted in first 3)

Facebook – the centre

Clean Interface Grow Your Network Create a corporate “Page” Facebook Groups – Start Your Own Create a Facebook Application Advertise on Facebook Use the status function Interact

LinkedIn – The Office

Fastest growing of all networks Linkedin - Largest professional network in NA All professional users Your credentials online Get to know and interact with industry peers Establish your expertise Showcase your talents by answering questions Learn and share your knowledge Find jobs and get referalls

Twitter – The Watercooler

Micro Blog 140 character limit Link to your site or blog 3rd largest driver of traffic Short, sharp bursts of info Promote your offering Establish you in your niche

Blogs – The Newsstand Web log Cronological Order Constant flow of information Categorized by subject Interaction builds community Blogging has mass appeal 133 million blogs Blog out there on every topic Canadians are taking advantage of blogs 89% of businesses use blogs Not just young folk

Other Tools

Photo sites Video Sites Podcasts RSS Feeds Mobile Networking

Safe Social Media Participation

You are in control Google Yourself and your company Consider the results from your audience perspective Always portray yourself professionally Be selective about who you add Add applications that are specific to what you do Schedule internet networking time Join and contribute to groups Be true to who you are Be respectful and don’t use profanities

Privacy Concerns

Every tool has capabilities to allow for effective privacy control

Know how to change these Use them to give appropriate access according

to your goals You choose how much or how little you make

public For blog privacy, you can limit access or

commenting capabilities

Key To Success In Social Media

Know your goals and act accordingly Grow Your Network Use your status box Link to interesting stuff Ask questions and answer them! Always add value Never sell Be consistent Get Social!

For more information:

“Mhairi Petrovic” on LinkedIn www.out-smarts.com/blog www.twitter.com/outsmarts mhairi@out-smarts.com 604 290 4099