dave kaplow's guide to social media for b2b startup execs

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Social Media for Your Startup

Dave Kaplow

[email protected]

Twitter@DaveKaplow

www.linkedin.com/in/davidkaplow/

408.982.6563

4 Do It Yourself Tactics

http://www.linkedin.com/in/davidkaplow/

2

Who Is Dave Kaplow and FactPoint?

25 engagements 20 engagements 35 engagements

30 years of executive, product marketing and management ($1B), 7 startups – ($77M in exits), President of the FactPoint Group

FactPoint: Consultants who use research as a tool to help our clients go-to-market the right way

World-class customer references

• Early stage: Peerlyst, YouSendIt, ITM Software . . .

• Later stage: NetApp, Adobe, IBM, Oracle, WebEX. . .

© 2015 Dave Kaplow

So Many Social Media Choices

3 © 2015 Dave Kaplow

Why Social Media?

Business customers use digital channels to form opinions about major purchases

They don’t contact suppliers directly until 57% of the purchase process is complete

Corporate Executive Board: Marketing Leadership Council survey 1,500 business leaders 2012


Social Media is a Startup Marker’s Dream

High-leverage activity supports your brand promise

Capture early adopters & build base of advocates

Highlights and rewards your thought leadership

Amplifies, ties together other marketing activities

Social Media should be a natural part of your marketing activity - deliberate, ongoing, long-term


Social Media Success Factors

Content

Capture & Engage

Consistency

Track & Adapt

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Browse Content

Comment/Share

Create Content

Advocate

75%

15%

5%

5%

© 2015 Dave Kaplow

Key Success Factor: Content is King

Google killed traditional SEO methods

Rewarded for Original Content that is widely shared and keeps users on your site longer

Create a content plan and feed

Design your site to generate original content


Create Sharable Content

Curate Theirs• Set up Google alerts www.google.com/alerts to

capture industry or genre specific news

• Subscribe to RSS feeds of relevant industry publications or blogs

• Add your insights on top and post to engage your audience in discussions

Develop Your Own• Relate to your industry, company, product

• Ask questions or post a survey to create content

• Make a list of something

• Get a customer to blog


http://www.google.com/alerts

Establish Thought Leadership with Content

Social communities look to their connections to learn about relevant industry news, tips, insights

Content Ideas• Free tools

• 1 minute videos

• Thought leadership (articles, research, whitepapers)

• Infographics (How stuff works, trends, lists)

• Industry events calendar

• Newsletter – High quality – subscribers

• Blogs

• Podcasts

• Webinars

• Presentations and technical content

• Discussions

• Product reviews and comments


Curate Content for Your Network


Offer Free Tools


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Make an Infographic

© 2015 Dave Kaplow

Blog or Ask The Community


Create a Minute Video


Exercise Create Great Content

Activity List

Your existing content?

Top industry trends

Which bloggers,

newsletters, journals,

industry associations to

follow?

Google, Digg, RSS feeds?

What would you Blog about?

What would you survey?

Which minute videos?

Develop a tool?

Webinar topic?

Other?


Key Success Factor: Capture & Engagement

Pre-Launch

Create a Squeeze Page

Invite to something cool

• To your Beta

• Start a group on LinkedIn

• Create, sponsor, speak at a Meetup


Capture Interest Pre-Launch


Pre-Launch Example


Reward Users with Early Access


Pre-Launch Sites

Unbounce http://unbounce.com

Kickofflabs http://www.kickofflabs.com/

My Beta List http://my.betali.st/

Launch Effect (wordpress) http://launcheffectapp.com/

Prefinery http://www.prefinery.com/

LaunchGator http://launch.deskgator.com/

Rails Prelaunch Signup App http://railsapps.github.io/rails...

QuickMVP http://quickmvp.com


http://unbounce.com

http://www.kickofflabs.com/

http://my.betali.st/

http://launcheffectapp.com/

http://www.prefinery.com/

http://launch.deskgator.com/

http://railsapps.github.io/rails-prelaunch-signup/

http://quickmvp.com

Create A Squeeze Page to Capture Users

Single web page with the sole purpose of capturing information for follow-up marketing

Quality squeeze page

• Clear headline describing exactly what the product does

• Makes it quick to understand how service would be used

• Have clear info about what you’ll get

• Don’t ask for too much information up front

• Include freebies for extra incentive


A Great Squeeze Page


An Awful Squeeze Page


Simple Sign Up Can Cut Bounces


Use Social Login to Get Permission & Learn


Present or Sponsor an Event


Invite to Something Cool


Contest


Exercise Capture

Activity Design Squeeze Page List

Short product description

3 main benefits

Why someone should care

External endorsements

What is the Offer?

Activity Pre-Launch Page List

Where potential beta testers?

Promote to social connections

Promote to LinkedIn Groups,

Industry orgs


Activity Present/Sponsor Event List

What organizations?

Which Meetups?

Host your own

Create an Event List

Select a topic

Promote to social connections

Promote to LinkedIn Groups,

Industry orgs

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Exercise Capture

© 2015 Dave Kaplow

Key Success Factor: Engagement

Authenticity

• Sharing interesting content

• Providing insight, answering questions

Participate in existing community

• LinkedIn Groups, Industry or vendor sponsored

Build engagement into your site

• Widgets for discussions, comments, reviews, social sharing

• Event triggered emails


Social Buttons Let Others Spread the Word


Free Content If You Spread the Word


Give Ways to Invite Their Network


Let Users Generate Content


Get Users to Discuss Topics


Create A Feed Page


Add A Mashup Section or Page


Sponsor or Present at a Meetup


Meetups are Self Selected Communities


Engagement Formula for LinkedIn

Create your company page

Investigate & join relevant LinkedIn Groups

Comment on discussions and start new ones

Interact with frequent contributors

Post content

Not so secret secrets

• The first 200 group members are visible

• Direct message any group member


Understand LinkedIn Group Dynamics


Contribute to the LinkedIn Group


Interact with Frequent Contributors


Engage: Message Anyone in the Group


Engage on Facebook


Engage on Twitter

Twitter is a lot like talk radio – immediate

Great for direct engagement and listening

Build by playing “The follow for follower game” Quality better than quantity

Create a weekly Tweet schedule

Identify hashtags that are related to your business

• #infosec

• #cybersecurity


Twitter Access to Anyone


Tip: Follow Who They Follow


Pinterest Interaction with Brands


Exercise Engage

Activity Website Design List

Social sharing buttons

Comments section, reviews

Social mashup/feed

What content could your users

generate on your site?

Activity Become Part of

Community

List

Which communities are most

active?

Which LinkedIn Groups to join?

Which Industry organizations?

Advocates who would blog or

post on your behalf?


Key Success Factor: Consistency

It takes time to build a following

• Leverage multiple channels

• Holistic approach to drive traffic to your site

Product experience designed for SoMe interaction

Tools can help

Engagement success metrics – Content sharing, time spent on site, bounce rate, lead conversion rate


Create a Social Media Schedule


Good Tools Help: Buffer


Good Tools Help: Hootsuite


Good Tools Help: SocialBro


Get an Intern to Keep Cadence


Exercise Consistency

Select Tools List

Select a cross channel

automation tool

Get a Twitter tool

Create and Schedule List

Select appropriate channels

Create social media schedule

Write posts


Key Success Factor: Track and Adapt

Know your analytics for acquisition, engagement, conversion

• What is your bounce rate?

• How much content sharing?

• How much time spent on site?

• Where did users come from?

• How many free offer downloads?

• What keywords are trending?

• What platforms do they use?

• What is your Alexa rank?

Get a dashboard

Learn and adapt


Google Analytics


What Are They Searching For?


Track: Which Social Networks?


A/B Test and Adjust


Summary: Key Success Factors

Content is King

• Create useful tools, leverage what you have, curate and add insights

Capture & Engagement

• Go where your users are and engage with them

Consistency

• This race is a marathon, not a sprint

Track & Adapt

• Know your metrics, focus on what works


Connect With Me

Twitter @DaveKaplow

• If you like this course please Tweet about it


• Feel free to recommend me

Old School works too

• [email protected]

• 408.982.6563



mailto:[email protected]

66

Social Media for Your Startup

Dave Kaplow

Dkaplow @ FactPoint.com

@DaveKaplow


408.982.6563

4 Do It Yourself Tactics


dave kaplow's guide to social media for b2b startup execs

Social Media

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