Social Media 101Liana “Li” Evans, Director of Social MediaSerengeti Communications
SES New York – March 2010
HOW’D WE GET HERE?
Social Media’s Rise
•Quick Fix for Marketing Plans•Substitute to Sound SEO Practices•Substitute to Sound PPC Practices•Silver Bullet for Strategies that Aren’t Working•To Be Taken Lightly•Done by Interns•Fast & Easy
Social Media Is Not
So What’s It All About?
It’s Not About You
The Value They Find
If Something is Valuable
It Gets Shared
Sharing & Conversation
When it comes down to it, Social Media is about sharing a conversation or an experience and that conversation can
include different forms of content.
I WANT SOME SOCIAL MEDIA GOODNESS!
Don’t Just Jump In
WHAT you do is just as important as WHERE you do it
What’s Your Strategy?
This Isn’t Strategy
Implementing tactics in the absence of
strategy is like doing nothing at all
• Being popular is overrated• Research where your audience is • Understand what’s being said• Don’t try to control the conversation• Be real, honest and upfront • Be prepared to accept the negative• Don’t limit your plan to 1 type of social media• Be prepared to be “popular”
Some Things To Keep In Mind
Social Media is More Than Facebook
Where’s Your Audience?
Define Your Goals Before Starting
The Stuff You Can Measure
• Video or Photo Views, Comments, Ratings, Links• Twitter Followers & Retweets• Number of Reviews (Positive & Negative)• Blog Comments & Subscribers• Replies to Forum Messages• New Users to Forum• Subscribers, Friends to Profiles• Answers to Questions Asked
Beyond Traffic & Conversions
Confused Yet?
PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER
Start From the Beginning• Who Is Your Audience?
– Is it different offline than online?– Are you missing opportunities?– Don’t Assume!
• What Is Your End Goal?– Lift market share– Branding– Increase sales
Listen & Learn
• Where is your audience hanging out• What are they saying about you• How do they communicate & share• Who are the influencers
Plan, Plan, Plan• Create Your Strategy Based On Your Research• Remember – It’s Not Really Free
– Resources: Money, People, Platforms & Tools
• Policies• Who Helps Runs This?• Contingency Plans• What Is Success?• Promotion!
Implement & Measure
• Define Your Goals• Measure Your Progress
– Analytics– Buzz Monitoring– Links, Page Rank, etc.
• Is It Worth Your Investment?
UNDERSTANDING THE TYPES OF SOCIAL MEDIA OUT THERE
So What About All These Sites?
Social News
Social Bookmarking
Do’s & Don’ts
• Do: Write your content for your audience• Do: Make friends• Do: Your research – is Digg really good for you?
• Don’t: Submit your own stuff• Don’t: Pay for votes• Don’t: Be Stingy
Things To Keep In Mind• Content sites benefit the most
– If you are looking for just eyeball counts to your site, Social News & Social Bookmarking is great
• Not High Quality Traffic– Usually “Hit & Run”– Time on Site & Bounce Rates are abysmal
• Viral Potential– If it get popular, lots of traffic, lots of links
Social Sharing
Do’s & Don’ts
• Do: Create Your Own Content• Do: Participate in Groups• Do: Brand Your Content Subtly
• Don’t: Be Promotional• Don’t: Limit Yourself to 1 site• Don’t: Expect to go Viral
Things to Keep in Mind
• Social Sharing is Very Engaging– People are very visual– People love to be entertained
• Not all videos go viral– Nor do they have to, to be successful
• Videos & Photos Appear in Search Results
Social Networking
Do’s & Don’ts
• Do: Promote on your other properties• Do: Engage your fans & friends• Do: Upload media (photos, videos, etc.)
• Don’t: “Set it & Forget it”• Don’t: Spam your fans / friends• Don’t: Expect your fans to market for you
Things to Keep in Mind
• Social Networks Can Be Addicting– Think about “Farmville”
• News streams can drive traffic– Bounce rates & time on site numbers are better
than social news or social bookmarking
• It’s not just young kids– Fastest growing segment on Facebook is
women over 45
Blogs
Do’s & Don’ts
• Do: Link to other bloggers• Do: Comment on other blogs• Do: Create an editorial calendar
• Don’t: Link drop in comments• Don’t: Submit your stuff to Digg• Don’t: Spam bloggers with press releases
Things to Keep in Mind
• Bloggers are not like journalists– They don’t have boundaries
• You need to be consistent– If you don’t keep putting out content, no one
will have a reason to come back
• Blogs can eclipse static websites with theirability to drive traffic
• Community is important
Review Sites
Do’s & Don’ts
• Do: Monitor • Do: Make sure your information is right• Do: Engage with commenters
• Don’t: Make fake reviews• Don’t: Be afraid of the negative• Don’t: Forget to say “Thank You”
Things to Keep in Mind
• Traffic from review sites is quality traffic– They explore more of your site– They want to know why people like you
• Negative reviews are an opportunity– People are also cynical and don’t believe it when
reviews are always 5 starts
• Ensure you own your business – Upload your own photos, ensure info is correct
Microblogging
Do’s & Don’ts
• Do: Hold a conversation• Do: Share links, pictures & videos• Do: Remember it’s quality not quantity
• Don’t: Spam hashtags• Don’t: Auto Direct Message• Don’t: Use Auto Follower programs
Things to Keep in Mind
• Twitter can drive a lot of quality traffic– People who follow you are interested in what
you have to say
• Great way to get information out quickly• There are a lot of tools to make managing
Twitter a lot easier• Engaging in Twitter can lead to great
opportunities in other communities
There’s So Much More
THE OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT
Social Media Doesn’t Happen in a Vacuum
• Remember to Integrate– Email: Tell your already interested audience– SEO: optimize your profiles– PPC: promote what your doing– PR: Don’t send a press release, use your media!– Direct Mail: Include easy ways to find your social
profiles– Marketing: Social Profiles on TV, Radio, Print– Integrate & Pollinate
It’s Beyond the Browser!• Iphone, BlackBerry, Palm, Droid
– Smart phones are a common way of life– People can watch videos on their phones– You don’t need a web browser to find a restaurant review– Most social media sites have a way for community
members to access via mobile – that isn’t a browser!
Social Media Policies?
• Employee Usage Policies• Blogging Policies• Avatars, Pictures, Videos?• Talking with The Press• Comment & Trackback Policies• Giving Freebies
You Don’t Want This To Happen
Or This…
Who Owns The Strategy
Everyone Has a Stake
Zappos Understands
Summary• Understand Your Audience• Define Your Goals• Research & Listen• Plan Your Strategy• Measure!• Not All Social Sites Will Work for You• Integrate!• Remember, It’s Not About You!
Questions?
Contact
Director of Social Media
Serengeticommunications.com
SocialConversations.comTakeitInHouse.com
