Introduction To Introduction To Social MediaSocial Media

Rachel EdingtonCommunications Project Officer

The Power ShiftThe Power Shift

Changing FaceChanging Face• Technology is changing every aspect of our

lives.• Social media is integrated in to our lives e.g.

TV Shows, Advertisements...• The top 10 jobs in 2010 didn’t exist in 2004

SOCIAL MEDIASOCIAL MEDIASocial media is the term commonly given to Internet and mobile-based channels and tools that allow users to interact with each

other and share opinions and content.

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIAWHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIAIf you mapped out all the connections between people and their interests, it would form a social graph that connects everyone together.

Social media is simply the tools which enable these connections:– Facebook connects us to the people and things we like– Twitter connects us to real time news and information– YouTube connects us to video– Foursquare connects us to people based on location– Flickr connects us through photos

WHY USE SOCIAL MEDIAWHY USE SOCIAL MEDIA• Tools like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are

where people are spending a lot of their online time.

• 75% of internet users worldwide visit a social network when they go online.

• Globally social media now accounts for one in every four and a half minutes online

Source: Nielsen http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire

Why People Use Social MediaWhy People Use Social Media

Sharing News & Information

Communicating Social Gaming

Friends Informing

The First StepsThe First Steps• What are your main objectives?• Which tool is best for you?• Do you have the resources to commit?• How will you evaluate the success?• Are there any barriers e.g. firewalls, company

policies?

WHY FACEBOOK?WHY FACEBOOK?• There are over 600 million people on Facebook

with nearly 55% logging in every day.• And 65 million tell the world every single day

what they like.• The day is rapidly approaching when users will no

longer search for products/services. They will find them via what other people like.

• Key Use - You have to do things online that are like-able

The Young Scot ApproachThe Young Scot Approach

NewsNews

CompetitionsCompetitions

WHY TWITTER?WHY TWITTER?• Many think of twitter as a social network. People

love it as a source for sharing real time news and information.

• As a result, twitter has become the world’s fastest growing search engine.

• It now reaches 800 million search queries per day - more than Bing and Yahoo combined!

• Key Use - you have to share information that is newsworthy and informative in real-time (in 140 characters or less).

The Young Scot ApproachThe Young Scot ApproachPromote servicesPromote services

Where we areWhere we are

FeedbackFeedback

General chatGeneral chat

Keeping TrackKeeping Track

http://www.tweetdeck.com/

Multiple Multiple SearchesSearches

Direct MessagesDirect MessagesMentionsMentions

FriendsFriends

RespondRespond

WHY YOUTUBE?WHY YOUTUBE?• YouTube is the 2nd largest search engine behind

Google.• More than 24 hours of video are uploaded every

minute.• This wealth of video attracts more than 2 billion

views every day.• People love YouTube because if offers videos that

are useful and entertaining.• Key Use - You need to create and tag videos that

are either useful, entertaining, or ideally both.

The Young Scot ApproachThe Young Scot Approach

DiscussionDiscussion

InformationInformation

Alt. FormatAlt. Format

Not Just The Big ThreeNot Just The Big Three

BloggingBlogging

Mixing ChannelsMixing Channels

WHAT ARE SOME REALISTIC GOALS?WHAT ARE SOME REALISTIC GOALS?

Many judge the success of social media by:– # of fans (Facebook)– # of followers (Twitter)– # of views (YouTube)

These are not the stats that matter (at the beginning).

It is much better off communicating with 1,000 people that care than 100,000 that don’t.

Defining Your AudienceDefining Your AudienceYou can’t know what your users want if you do not know who your users are. •What social networks they use?•The actions these people are likely to take.•The type of content they will respond to.•Attitudes of your typical audience.•Don’t be scared to ask them what they want.

UK Social Media AudienceUK Social Media AudienceIt is believed the number of active users* on each platform is:

*Based on the UK’s Adult population being 48.6 million

40

10

20

30

0

50

60

70

80

90

100

Perc

ent (

%)

Facebook – 37.4 million

YouTube – 32.1 million

Twitter – 15.5 million

Linkedin – 7.9 million

Foursquare – 7.2 million

Flickr – 6.7 million

Under24

Breakdown By AgeBreakdown By Age

45 - 54

35 - 4425 - 34

Over 55

Facebook

Twitter

YouTube

Flickr

Foursquare

Linkedin

DO’S AND DON’TS OF SOCIAL MEDIADO’S AND DON’TS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

DoEngage in conversation - Interacting with an audience through various social media channels is key to creating a strong dialogue with stakeholders.

Don’tForget that a social media presence becomes part of a brand legacy - Posts, pictures, images, tweets, status updates (content in general) can stay online forever.

How To Commit Social Media SuicideHow To Commit Social Media Suicide

• Target only one social network.• Only promote your own content• Post irrelevant spam• Be careful what you say. It takes weeks,

months and often years to build a following. It takes a second to alienate them all.

Growing An Active Social NetworkGrowing An Active Social Network

Be HelpfulBe Helpful

Be SocialBe Social

Share The LoveShare The Love

Pay It ForwardPay It Forward

Be PresentBe Present

Building Online CommunitiesBuilding Online Communities

PrivacyPrivacy TrustTrust PromisesPromises

ResponseResponse TransparencyTransparency HistoryHistory

• Let your objectives drive the tool, not the other way around.

• Have a consistent voice.• Plan ahead.• Vary your content type.• Learn from others.• Don’t be scared to try something new.

Top TipsTop Tips

FINAL THOUGHTSFINAL THOUGHTS• It’s long term – don’t expect immediate

results• It takes effort – You must be willing to engage• It’s about member engagement – Facilitate

conversations between, you and your members and among your members.

• If you want your members to spread your message you have to trust them

Where Next?Where Next?

ANY QUESTIONS?ANY QUESTIONS?