The presentation was delivered November 13, 2009 by Marlena Reed and Sharon Goldmacher of Atlanta based marketing firm communications 21 to the National Credit Reporting Association.

1. Social Media for Business

2. What is Web 2.0? It is a design philosophy, it is not any one application Perceived second generation of web development that facilitates communication, secure information sharing and collaboration on the World Wide Web. Led to the development and evolution of web based communities, hosted services, and applications such as social networking, video sharing sites, wikis, blogs, etc.

3. Conversation Prism

4. Social Media Platforms Blogs Facebook LinkedIn/Plaxo Ning RSS Twitter Wikis

5. What is Social Media? Some say “social media is like teen sex. Everyone wants to do it. Nobody knows how. When it’s finally done, there is a surprise it’s not better.” - Avinash Kaushik, Analytics Evangelist

6. Social Media Defined Social media is an umbrella term that: Defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction and the construction of words, images and audio Communication has shifted from one to many – or one-way broadcasting to a true dialogue and conversation (many to many) People have transformed from content consumers into content producers Interactions can include chat, e-mail, video, file sharing, blogging and discussion groups Information sharing is immediate and viral

7. Social Media Use According to Cone’s 2008 Business in Social Media Study: 60% of Americans are using social media Of those, 59% are interacting with companies online 93% of social media users believe companies should have a social media presence eMarketer expects the number of U.S. adults using social media to grow to more than 76% this year Think of it as a gazillion conversations happening online 24/7

8. It’s Here to Stay

9. It’s Global

11. Social Media Can Impact Business Public relations Customer service Loyalty building Collaboration Networking Thought leadership Customer acquisition too

12. Evolving Communication

13. Social Media Spending Up

14. Measurement

15. Insights Source: MarketingSherpa Social Media Marketing & PR Benchmark Guide 2009

16. Social Media Platforms Blogs Facebook LinkedIn/Plaxo Ning RSS Twitter Wikis

17. Blog What it is: An online journal, short for “Web log” Can be open to comments or closed Can be customized with widgets and link to corporate Web sites and/or social media Why it’s important: 77% of all Internet users read blogs Almost half (45%) of all Internet users have started their own blogs 36% of Internet users think more positively about companies that use blogs 32% of Internet users trust bloggers' opinions on products and services (Source: PRNews, March 2008) Frequent blog posts can increase search engine rankings

18. Blog Technorati is a leading blog aggregator and search engine

19. Facebook What it is: The largest social networking site, with more than 122M unique visits, June 2009 Users create a profile and share photos, videos, events, messages and more Why it’s important: 300M active users Global visitors spend 8 billion minutes on the site each day Fastest growing segment is 35 years old+ Drives added traffic to corporate site Frequent changes improve search engine optimization

20. Elements of Facebook Pages Groups Security Settings X User Profile X Applications

22. Integrated advertising

23. Can be extended with custom 3rd party ApplicationsProfiles are for people, not companies

24. LinkedIn What it is: Social networking platform for business professionals & executives More than 43 million members worldwide Why it’s important: Content updates improve SEO Business organizations benefit from their employees’ professional connections Form connections at a professional level vs. solely personal level Position SMEs as thought leaders by creating or joining appropriate groups

25. Plaxo What it is: Platform that offers a mix of professional and personal connections; a “hybrid” social network Why it’s important: Content updates improve SEO Gain a deeper understanding of your customers’ online lives through rich sharing among users (blogs, Twitter, Flickr, etc)

26. Ning What it is: Allows users to join and create new social networks for their interests and passions Enables brands to develop their own unique social network that integrates with other Web 2.0 platforms Why It’s Important: Listening and research opportunities among your most engaged customers and/or prospects

27. Ning More than 3,300 social media networks dedicated to national credit reporting are registered on ning.com

28. Twitter What it is: A microblogging platform that allows users to post short, 140-character updates Why it’s important: Twitter had 23.5 million unique visitors in August 2009 (Source: Compete.com) Marketers can create a community of followers to which they push information while developing a corporate personality Follow, Retweet, Respond, DM

29. Twitter Tweets are permanent (cannot be deleted) The content is so easily digestible that users can follow hundreds of micro-bloggers Like other social media, the proof is in more nebulous measures Number of followers Re-tweets Changes in opt-in rates or visits Provides a window into a company’s culture, personality Improves SEO by using keywords in posts

30. RSS What it is: Real Simple Syndication Provides “feeds” of full or summarized text of new Web content Why it’s important: Allows you to easily push information to your consumers on their terms Allows readers to subscribe to timely updates from favored Web sites or to aggregate feeds from many sites into one place Content can be delivered to multiple platforms Web-based, desktop-based, mobile RSS Symbol RSS Symbol

31. RSS Google Reader Feedreader.com, an easy-to-use feed aggregator

32. Wiki 13 million articles on Wikipedia What it is: Sites that support multiple contributors with a shared responsibility for creating and maintaining content (Groundswell) Why it’s important: Corporate-developed Wikis educate/engage customers on specific topics most important to them Public Wikipedia pages can appear in the top few results on Web searches based on frequent changes Contributors discuss content and issues in “talk pages” associated with each Wiki

33. How Do You Begin?

35. Critics respond to content from others

36. Collectors organize content for themselves and others using RSS feeds, tags, etc.

37. Joiners connect in social networks like Facebook

38. Spectators consume content, including blogs, podcasts, user-generated video, forums, etc.

39. Inactives neither create or consumer social content of any kindSource: Forrester.com

40. Start by Listening Connect Influence Listen SparkConversations: Share the stories behind the work and help educate others: Tag Community content Upload shareable content: videos/photos/ podcasts Create Opportunities: Trial small events of interest and invite the community Engage Conversations: Analyze the mood and drivers behind the conversation Participate in the Activity: Attend and join in other people’s events and happenings Monitor Conversations: Blog monitoring Tag watching Conversation tracking Create an Individual Presence: Join the communities to learn who’s out there

41. Twitter Tools Twitter Search: Real-time search of keywords and topics being discussed Links to Twitter profile pages (@abc123) TweetFeel: Track the positive/negative sentiment associated with keyword mentions Links to Twitter profile pages TweetDeck: Program that facilitates remote updating and feed management from desktop or iPhone

42. So, What Do You Do? Define your company’s social media strategy Think in conversations not campaigns Ask for help if you need it

43. Really, What Do You Do? Social media should be part of a marketing PR strategy. Social media… Is not a panacea Must be authentic Must be consistent/frequent for maximum success Determine who should own social media? If possible, integrate it across marketing, sales, PR and even HR Establish specific metrics Measure # of conversations and quality, not sheer fan volume

44. The Avenue Affordable Luxuries Goals Grow Facebook fans to 1,000 Engage a new community of shoppers Gain feedback on The Avenue brand Tactics Leveraged Affordable Luxuries advertising campaign to create a promotion for ShopTheAvenue Facebook page

45. The Avenue Affordable Luxuries Tactics Developed valuable prize package Created easy to enter contest – join, take an action Promoted contest via online and traditional marketing PR Press releases, e-mails to more than 60,000 recipients, event listings, listed on corporate Web site, advertising and onsite signage Results Grew fans from 65 to 1,300 in 3 weeks Fans posted ~100 photos/200 comments on deals 95+ unsolicited, positive comments about the brand Reached a new audience of shoppers 70% of fans were not e-mail recipients Media coverage value totaled $19,500 – more than twice the project budget – and resulted in 339,000 media impressions Social media results helped to secure a new tenant for The Avenue

46. United Linen Oklahoma-based SMB Uniform and linen services for the hospitality and healthcare industries Family-owned, founded in 1936 Social media goals Lead generation Customer retention

47. United Linen Tactics: Blog (must-see napkin folding demos) Facebook Flickr Twitter YouTube

48. United Linen Results: Major business-media buzz National coverage for a regional small business is invaluable Enhanced customer service Twitter used to update customers during bad weather Building new business relationships Reaching new audiences

49. Dive In Determine the tools to use Adapt traditional metrics Set sights on low-hanging fruit Set employee policies Set expectations for behavior, educate your team, keep rules simple /focus on transparency Interactive agencies can help to draft policies for HR review Track the impact on other channels Web traffic, media coverage, sales Be flexible to change tactics with new technology

50. Don’t Be Anti-Social

51. Contact Us c21i is c21’s dedicated interactive practice area, specializing in social media, e-mail marketing, pay-per-click advertising and interactive marketing services. Sharon Goldmacher, President & CEOMarlena Reed, VP, Interactive Services (404) 814-1330 sgoldmacher@c21pr.commreed@c21pr.comhttp://cwordblog.wordpress.com/ www.facebook.com/c21pr