Practical Social Media Strategy

Des Walsh

Keynote for Hillross Financial Services

Annual Conference 2012

Canberra, Australia20 Jan 2012

Note on this Version

This content in this version of the slide deck used for my

keynote for Hillross Financial Services Annual Conference in

Canberra on January 20th, 2012 is essentially the same as,

but slightly more expansive, than the version used on the

day.

Basically I have added in some notes to provide

explanations I gave in my commentary on the day and thus

hopefully to make the presentation slides informative for the

viewer now.

Des Walsh

Des Walsh

Social Media Strategist & Business Coach

http://deswalsh.com

Focus of this session

There is an opportunity here to lead in this space

– will you take it?

The risks are real and can be managed

People worry about things going wrong

Qantas' recent competition on Twitter might have been better timed

But no long term brand damage from this event

#qantasluxury – fiasco or good experience?

New way of doing business - need to learn the new rules

What We'll Cover

5 Benefits of social media for your business

Some case studies

5 Blockers to social media engagement

Principles for creating your social media strategy

Plus: the one thing most businesses overlook and

why that can be

Timing

If not now, when?

5 Benefits

1. Help existing clients

2. Attract new clients

3. Thought leadership

4. Communicate with new generation

5. Collaborate with colleagues

These are common benefits from social media engagement

(not a comprehensive list and there is no rule about which one or several to choose!)

Case Studies

Henry L. Becker, Baltimore MD USA

- 20% increase AUM from social media engagement

Greg Nazvanov, Sydney, Australia

- #1 on LinkedIn AU “wealth management”, “financial planner” “SMSF” “investment planning”

Pam Horack, Charlotte NC USA

- focuses on connecting with young adults, new investors, young families, engaging via social media

5 Blockers

1. “Our customers are not there”

2. Reputational risk

3. Lack of control of the message

4. No time available

5. Overwhelm

Typical blockers (worldwide) to social media engagement by professional services firms, esp financial advisers/wealth managers

Graph from Pew Internet study – see endnotes

It's not just teenagers any more

Can you afford to ignore what 51% (50-64 group) of Internet users are doing, maybe where they are getting their information?

Or 31% (65+) ?

And what about the next generations? 70% of 30-49ers, 83% of 18-29ers (think heirs to the wealth you are now advising on)

What's the risk of missing out on business by relying on assumptions, not empirical data?

Reputational Risk

Apply risk management strategies: “swim between the flags”

Control and 3 Customer Types

Traditional Customer – snail mail, print newsletter,

occasional meeting in office

Online customer – ourfirm.hillross.com.au

Social/Connected Customer – Facebook, Twitter,

LinkedIn, etc : newly empowered – the customer is now in

control and businesses have to learn to work differently

Ref: see Brian Solis, The End of Business as Usual

Finding the Time

Be clear that this does take time

Compare the time commitment for offline networking

A judgement of value

Some time each day better than a weekend blitz

Overwhelm - Default Mode for Many

Order is Possible

Also: the Content Creation Challenge

Follow company social media guidelines

Write for the social web

Not everyone has to produce original content – be a content curator

Principles and Tools for Strategy Development

The Social Media Academy methodology provides a conceptual

framework for developing a rigorous social media strategy aligned

with your company's broader business objectives.

6 Point Strategic Framework

Assessment

SWOT Analysis

Strategy

Plan of Action

Organisation

Execution – includes Reporting

Assessment Matrix

Getting our bearings on the social web

Social Web Where Topics Interests Influencers

Brand You

Clients

Partners

Competitors

3 Tips for the Assessment

1. Study people, not “companies” or “groups”

2. Find real life customers and real people heading your

competition

3. Listen for what they are excited or worried or peeved

about – even (or especially!) if it has nothing obviously

to do with your product or service

(NB: this initial assessment is the one key thing most companies don't do – to their detriment)

Align Social Media & Business Strategies

Business Project

Goals

Mission

Benefits

Actions

Resources

Reporting

Prioritise Goals (only a few to start!)

Goal High Med Low

Brand awareness

Brand reputation

In house collaboration

Attract new clients

Retain existing clients

Thought leadership

Recruitment & staff retention

Reduce support costs

Research & development

Increase product sales

Use columns (High Med Low) to refine priorities

Foundation Platform Framework

Today's Focus

Facebook: over 800 million users

Twitter: over 300 million users

LinkedIn: over 130 million users

7 Tips for Social Media Success

1. Focus on how to achieve your Goals and Mission

2. Think relationships and networks, not “campaigns”

3. Decide basic platforms for your social presence

4. Establish your social foundation – your profile on key platforms

5. Skill up one platform at a time

6. Do something social each day

7. Have a written policy document – even for solo business

Contacting Des

deswalsh@webartsco.com | http://deswalsh.com

0413 089 355

My entire social web presence at http://xeeme.com/deswalsh

Acknowledgements and Attributions

All logos in this slide deck are copyright the respective owners.

Permissions for downloaded images are listed below. The slide deck is

copyright © Des Walsh 2012 and is intended for use of participants in

the Hillross Annual Conference 2012. Please ask Des –

deswalsh(at)webartsco(dot)com - if you wish to use it for other

audiences: permission will not be unreasonably withheld.

Special note: logos, other images and social media strategy

methodologies of the Social Media Academy are used by Des Walsh by

licence as an Academy graduate. All enquiries about the Academy's

intellectual property should be directed to Social Media Academy:

http://xeesm.com/SMACAD

Image credits: see next slide

Acknowledgements and Attributions

Coolangatta Sunday Market – by Des Walsh (on Flickr, CC BY NC ND 2.0)

Madden, Mary and Zikhur, Kathryn, 65% of online adults use social networking sites, Pew Internet & American Life Project, August 26, 2011, Chart “Social networking site use by online adults 2005-2011”, p 3 http://www.pewinternet.org/~/media//Files/Reports/2011/PIP-SNS-Update-2011.pdf , accessed on January 10, 2012.

Flags at Rainbow Bay, Qld – by Des Walsh

Stopwatch by Julian Lim (“julianlim”) on Flickr CC BY 2.0

Wordle images via wordle.net

Elephant at Goteburg Museum of Natural History, Mathias Klang ( “Wrote”) on Flickr, CC BY 2.0