SECRETS OF SOCIAL

MEDIA MARKETING

By: Paul Gillin

Presented by: Anjali C. Wadhwa

“Blogging’s wave has already crested, now that millions of online diarists are realizing that not many people actually read this stuff.”

- Paul Gillin (2003)

“ Social media is just another evolution of consumer-to-consumer communication that marketers are getting to listen in on. Only the people in social media are not playing the role of consumers with purchase intent; rather, they are just being social with each other.”

- Joe Marchese

What is social media marketing?

Social media marketing is a set of online marketing techniques that leverage social media. In the context of Internet marketing, Social Media refers to a collective group of web properties whose content is primarily published by users.

- Wikipedia

It’s the age of New Media

• Traditional media is downsizing• Your constituencies have the capacity to

talk to each other• The message is in your control now• There is so many options available for you

to try• Social media is cheap if you know what

works for you

How to deal with Social Media?

• Don’t fear Negativity/ feedback

• Be willing to admit fallibility and promise to improve. This can stop negative discussions. Eg. Dell

• Tools are secondary. Start with business goals and not with tools.

tool selection chart*

Business goals Appropriate social media tools

Build customer community

Counter Negative Publicity

Crisis Management

Customer conversation

Expose Employee Talent

Generate Website Traffic

Humanize the Company

Market Research/focus group testing

Media relations

Generate new product ideas

Blog Podcast Video Social

Network

Prime

Community

Customer review engine

Virtual world

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• Every tool is not right for every job

• Embrace niche markets – small is beautiful

• Make your people your brand managers

- Encourage and train them to Blog

• Be a good listener-

- tap into the conversation and know where to focus your energy

• Resisting the voice of the customer is futile

• Remember the “STRAIGHT” rule for your blog’s success

Basics of social media campaign:

• Think long-term

• Search engine performance is central

• Make it human

• Be passionate or at least committed

Viral Marketing

Refers to marketing techniques that use pre-existing social networks to produce increases in brand awareness or to achieve other marketing objectives.

Eg: http://www.willitblend.com/

1. Have a plan2. Don’t get fancy3. Be creative with promotion4. Plan for success

Fundamentals of online promotion

• Write for search• Update often• File a site map• Use tags• Promote link exchanges• Cross-link within whatever sites you control• Syndicate everywhere• Use social bookmarking sites

Discussion Questions…

• Should all social media influencers be treated equally?

• How much control do you give up?