Presentation originally given at the 2008 COSE Small Business Conference in Cleveland on Oct. 22, and then to the Cleveland Digital Publishing Users Group on Oct. 30. Audio to come.
Social Media for Small Businesses: What Blogs, Forums and Social Networks Can Do For You
1. Social Media for Small Businesses:
What Blogs, Forums & Social Networks Can Do For You
October 30, 2008
Paul Roetzer
President, PR 20/20
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2. “Your brand is what Google says it is, not
what you say your brand is.”
- Chris Anderson, Wired Magazine editor
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3. What is Web 2.0 (aka the Social Web)?
• Consumer-generated content
• Mass collaboration
• Inbound marketing
[Blogs, Social Networks, Forums, Micro-Blogging, Social Media
Newsrooms, Photo Sharing, Virtual Worlds, Wikis, Podcasting,
Webinars, Online Videos, RSS Feeds, Social Bookmarking]
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4. Inbound Marketing Snapshot
• Permission-based (NOT interruption-based)
• Consumers choose to learn more about you
• The Four Ps: Personas, Participation, Publishing & PageRank
• Strategies: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-Per-
Click (PPC) ads, blogging, social media, content publishing
(video, audio, copywriting), website development, analytics
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4357/Are-the-Four-Ps-of-Marketing-Dead.aspx
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5. Social Media Participation
• Watch video from other users = 29%
• Read online forums or discussion groups = 28%
• Read blogs = 25%
• Maintain a social networking profile = 20%
• Comment on someone else’s blog = 14 %
• Publish, maintain or update a blog = 11%
• Use RSS = 8%
US: Forrester's North American Social Technographics Online Survey, Q2 2007, 10,010 respondents.
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6. Social Media by the Numbers
• More than 112,000,000 blogs
• 4 out of 5 bloggers post brand or product reviews[1]
• 6 of the top 10 Websites in the U.S. are social media sites
• Social networks unique visitors in June 2008: Facebook (29 million),
MySpace (59 million) and LinkedIn (10 million)[2]
[1] Technorati State of the Blogosphere; [2] Nielsen Online. June 2008
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7. Goals of the Social Web for Biz
• Create connections and build relationships.
• Optimize Websites for improved search engine rankings,
which generates Website traffic, inbound links and leads.
• Establish professionals as experts, thought leaders and
innovators.
• Manage your brand online.
• Grow smarter and faster than your competitors.
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8. Marketing in the Social Web
Part 1: Tools of the Trade
Part 2: Building Your Social Web Strategy
Part 3: Resource Center
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10. Tools of the Trade (Monitor)
Blog Search
Discover blogs in your industry
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11. Tools of the Trade (Monitor)
Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Feeds
Consume and share regularly updated content
• Delivers updated content from blogs, news sites, forums
• Feed is transmitted from the host site and received by
your RSS feed reader
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12. Tools of the Trade (Monitor)
RSS Feed Readers
Monitor all your priority RSS feeds on one page
www.netvibes.com/pr2020
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13. Tools of the Trade (Monitor)
Google News Alerts
Keep a pulse on your online brand with email alerts from Google
www.Google.com/Alerts
• Company name (with variations)
• Key executives
• Priority keywords (comment
opportunities)
• Competitors
• Events
• Products/services
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14. Tools of the Trade (Participate)
Social Bookmarking
Find and share great content
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15. Tools of the Trade (Participate)
Social Networking
Build connections, relationships and community
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16. Tools of the Trade (Participate)
Online Forums
Contribute to the discussion
• Wikis
• Product reviews
• News articles
• Social networks
• Blog comment sections
• Video & photo sites
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17. Tools of the Trade (Publish)
Websites
Generate traffic and convert visitors into leads
• www.WebsiteGrader.com
• Content Management System (CMS)
• SEO tools
• Analytics
• Lead forms & intelligence
• Technical support
• Blogging platform
http://www.pr2020.com/Blog/post/2008/08/5-Things-to-Ask-before-Hiring-a-Web-Development-Firm.aspx
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18. Tools of the Trade (Publish)
Search Engine Optimization
Generate traffic, inbound links and leads
• Create a keyword
universe (300-500
words)
• Prioritize keywords
(25-50 words)
• Use is titles, meta data,
subheads, copy
• Optimize anchor text
from inbound links
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19. Tools of the Trade (Publish)
Search Engine Optimization
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20. Tools of the Trade (Publish)
Blogging Platforms
Select a powerful publishing tool for your blog
• Simple RSS and email subscription
• Social media integration
• Technical & community support
• Categories
• Tags
• Pinging services
• Multiple authors
• Custom URL with your own domain
Blog Software Comparison Chart: http://www.ojr.org/ojr/images/blog_software_comparison.cfm
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21. Tools of the Trade (Publish)
Multi-Media Sites
Publish photos, podcasts and videos
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23. Building Your Social Web Strategy
1) Who will you reach?
2) What will you publish?
3) How will you measure success?
4) How do you get started?
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24. Who Will You Reach?
Audience Segments
• Customers • Employees
• Prospects • Community
• Mainstream media members
(print, broadcast) • Suppliers/vendors/
• Social media affiliates
(bloggers, forum
participants, social
networkers)
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25. Who Will You Reach?
Buyer Personas
• What are their goals and aspirations?
• What are their problems?
• What media do they rely on for answers?
• How can you reach them?
• What's important to them?
• What words and phrases do they use?
• What sort of images and multimedia appeal to them?
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27. Who Will You Reach?
Demographics
Generation Y (The “Millenials”)
• Baby Boomers: Born
1946-1964 (ages 44-62)
• Generation X: Born
1965-1980 (ages 28-43)
• Generation Y: Born
1981-1990 (ages 18-27)
• Generation Z: Born
1991-Present (ages 17 &
under)
http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/profile_tool.html
Data from Forrester Research Technographics® surveys, 2007. For further details on the Social Technographics profile, see groundswell.forrester.com
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28. What Will You Publish?
Content Marketing
• Blogs • White papers
• Optimized press releases • By-lined articles
• Case studies • Photos
• eBooks • Podcasts
• Online magazines • Videos
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29. What Will You Publish?
Ideal Blog Topics Sample Blog Editorial Calendar
• Commentary on MSM
articles, other blogs,
news, events, trends
• Relevant links
• Tools, resources, tips,
ideas, lists
• White papers, case studies
• Company news
• Photos, video, podcasts
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30. What Will You Publish?
Blogging Tips — Domain Name
✓ www.Blog.com
✓ www.Blog.YourCompany.com
✓ www.YourCompany.com/Blog
X www.Blog.Wordpress.com
X www.Blog.Blogger.com
X www.Blog.Typepad.com
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31. What Will You Publish?
Blogging Tips — Engage Your Readers
• Write with passion in an authentic, human voice.
• Make every post relevant to the wants, needs
and interests of your readers.
• Publish content on regular basis. Target once per
week at minimum.
• Encourage comments and stimulate discussion.
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32. What Will You Publish?
Blogging Tips — Makes Post Easy to Read
• Limit to 400 words or less whenever possible.
• Use lists, bullet points, bold facing and headlines.
• Write in short paragraphs. Never more than 6
lines of text.
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33. How Will You Measure Success?
Search Engine Rankings
• Brand • Products/Services
• Industry/Divisions • Geographic
Searches Difficulty Cost Per Click Rank Visits Leads
Company Name 75 66 <$0.50 1 65 10
Service #1 500 70 $1.85 8(+10) 50 5
Service #2 800 72 $2.05 45(-12) 4 0
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35. How Will You Measure Success?
Site Analytics
• Visitors
• Pageviews
• Bounce rate
• Keyword performance
• Time on site
• Referrers
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36. How Will You Measure Success?
Connections
• Leads
• Subscribers
• Comments
• Followers
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37. 4 Steps to Get Started . . .
1) Conduct social media searches of blogs, forums and social
networks relevant to your company and expertise.
2) Monitor news, trends, blogs and forums through RSS feeds &
Google Alerts.
3) Become a part of the community.
• Read and comment on blogs and forums.
• Join a variety of social networks.
• Use social bookmarking sites such as Digg, Delicious &
StumbleUpon
4) Create a content marketing strategy and start publishing
great multi-media content that’s highly relevant to your audiences.
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39. Resource Center
Books
• The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott
• Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff
• The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil
• Wikinomics by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams
• Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin
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40. Resource Center
Blog Posts
PR 20/20 — All posts tagged “sbc08”
http://www.pr2020.com/Blog/?tag=/sbc08
• The New Four Ps of Marketing
• Six Tips for Getting Started on Twitter
• 8 Blogging for Business Tools
• 5 Things to Ask When Hiring a Web Firm
• Managing Your Online Reputation
• Selling to the Future: Learn Your XYZs
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41. Thank You
Paul Roetzer, President | PR 20/20
email: paul@pr2020.com
twitter: @paulroetzer
blog: www.PR2020.com/blog
(800) 920-1623
www.PR2020.com
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