Presentation from Barossa GirlTalk evening held on 21st September 2011. Presenters are Tania Shirgwin from BizEez Virtual Solutions and Caroline Dunn from bunchMEDIA

1. “We don’t have a choice on whether we DO social media,
the question is how well we DO it”
~ Erik Qualman
Tania Shirgwin & Caroline Dunn
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011

2.  What is social media?
 Is social media a fad?
 Social media principles
 Why use social media?
 Social media strategy: craft a simple plan of action
 Your website as your central hub
 Blogging adds rich content & drives traffic to your website
 Facebook
 LinkedIn
 Twitter
 Other social networks and digital marketing tools
 Social media tips

3.  “Social media” is a collective term for forms
of online media which enhance and enable
conversation and participation in the
creation and development of content
 “Traditional media” delivers only one-way
content

4.  Social media is not just a fad – it’s a fundamental
shift in the way the world communicates
 Not just about kids & celebrities
 largest user group between 35 and 44 years old
 fastest growth in 50+ age group
 BUT remember – most Gen Y and Gen Z have not
experienced life without it
 New businesses will have social media built into their
DNA

5. Social media
 is NOT about technology – it’s about people, relationships and
conversations
 offers the ability to be human online
 helps create ongoing two-way dialogue while communicating your brand
story
 offers an opportunity to build loyal customers and informal brand
ambassadors
 is NOT about advertising: listening and engaging first and selling second
 80/20 rule
 platforms themselves won’t increase your business – they are simply tools –
it’s all about how you use them

6.  Levels the playing field
 Raises visibility & brand awareness
 Cost effective (low cost, not NO cost)
 Instant gate opener – peers, media AND
customers
 Builds community & engages customers
 Enhances customer service
 Educates and adds value
 Builds credibility and professionalism
 Drives customers to your website & improves
SEO

7.  Determine (realistic) goals – what are you trying to achieve?
 Drive more traffic to your website
 Build your email/customer database list
 Sell more products/services
 Announce special offers /promotions & events
 Share news, videos and photos
 Get feedback from customers – reviews!
 Improve your relationships with your customers
 Search Engine Optimization
 Determine
 Who are your target audience?
 What networks are they using?
 What are target audience interests?
 How are you going to reach them – tools?
 Perform the Actions – Tactics
 Analyse results – Google analytics, insights, followers, plays, likes, comments
 Refine and repeat the process

8.  Your website and domain name are core business assets
 Expectation that all businesses can be found online
 Not strictly social media but should be the central hub of your online marketing
mix
 How can people find you?
 Online sales
 Mailing list
 Tell your story with rich content to create and curate your legacy
 photographs, videos, audio
 Keep it up to date! A neglected web site is akin to a shabby shopfront
 Interactive rather than a “brochure”
 Does not need to cost a fortune
 function more important than form
 some highly-interactive feature-rich platforms such as WordPress.org are also the most cost-
effective

9.  What is a blog?
 Help engage your followers – it’s all about the conversation
 Provide an opportunity to elaborate on your story with fresh, rich
content
 Excellent way to drive people to your website from social networks
 Improve SEO with continual new content
 Tell stories, educate, inform, build credibility – set yourself up as a go-to
industry resource and build credibility
Always remember that what we might find mundane because it is part of our
everyday lives can be fascinating to others.

10.  Big Daddy of social networking
 Over 750 million active Facebook users across the globe
and 31% of Facebook users are on the site multiple
times every day.
 More complex, offering more functions – competitions,
surveys, polls, events. Plus incl. more brand
information, longer posts with longer shelf-life.
 Facebook influences consumer behaviour. More than
one in three consumers say they're likely to purchase
from a company they follow on Facebook.

12.  Facebook Profiles are
what people use to
maintain their online
identity with Facebook.
(Individuals)
 Facebook Pages are
intended for businesses,
brands and public figures.
 Facebook Groups are
ideal for people to
operate a topic or
interest-based group and
offer restricted access.

13.  Professional network & multi-functional business contact
directory (builds credibility)
 Interact with fellow professionals - easy to link with associates,
community, media
 Endorsements and recommendations of people, companies,
products and services (professional proof)
 Company pages – can include videos, product features,
recommendations
 Professionally focused Groups
 Widgets allow recommendations of products from website

14.  Very simple but extremely powerful tool
 Microblogging service for sending updates or “tweets” with 140 character limit
 Real time – short shelf-life
 Main focus on news & conversations
 Great for extending reach and connecting across the globe
 Can link to blog posts, videos, photos etc
 Can communicate in various ways
 broadcast public messages
 have public conversations with individuals using @Mentions and @Replies
 send private direct messages (DM)
 retweets (RT)
 @Replies are very important for engaging and building your following
 Take advantage of search and hashtag(#) functions

15.  Foursquare and other geolocation networks
 Create specials and tips to drive customers to your business location
 Add tips at other venues who support you
 Actively participate in the Foursquare community
 Google Maps
 Claim your business, input information and enhance your customers’ Google experience
 Ustream
 Live video streaming and chat facility
 Social bookmarking sites such as Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit and Delicious
 Keywords, tag and share your content
 YouTube, Vimeo and other video-sharing networks
 Create & upload videos and link to them from your website, blog and social networks
 Flickr and other photo-sharing networks
 Create a photo to display your story

16.  Quality over quantity.
 Don’t try to do everything – be selective - 2 or 3 platforms is enough.
 Fish where the fish are – which platforms are your customers using?
 Be sure to consider your time investment and who will be responsible.
 Have a consistent message and tone.
 Actively engage in conversations.
 Join other industry pages and interact with them regularly.
 Obtain social proof
 Be patient – don’t expect an immediate payoff – relationships take time to
cultivate.
 Ask for help if you need it.