2. Social Media Webinar#mhscnsm Sarah Kuglin Redwood Valley Technical Solutions Web Design and Social Media www.rvtechsolutions.com Facebook.com/rvtechsolutions Twitter.com/sarahkuglin LinkedIn.com/in/sarahkuglin Gplus.to/sarahkuglin 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 2
3. What do you think of when you hear… 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 3 Social Media
4. Social Media is a conversation… 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 4 supported by online tools.
5. What is Social Media? Wikipedia: “Social media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words and pictures.” “It’s media (content that is published) with a social (anyone can add to it) component.” - Mike Volpe It’s all about building community and relationships with people who want to interact with you using online tools. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 5
6. 10/11/2011 6 9 out of 10 Internet Users visited a social networking site each month in 2010. SOURCE: COMSCORE, FEBRUARY 2011
7. 10/11/2011 7 US Internet users spend 3x more minutes on blogs & social networks than on email SOURCE: THE NIELSEN COMPANY, NOVEMBER 2010
8. 10/11/2011 8 Inbound marketing costs 62% less per lead than traditional, outbound marketing. SOURCE: HUBSPOT, 2011
9. Social Media & Business Make a plan, carry out your strategy Tools to use Social Media Marketing Engage & Share Measuring your efforts Monitoring and tracking Expect Change Main Benefits for business 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 9
10. Social Media & Business Every Business or Organization Uses Social Media Differently Before you begin, make a plan. What are your goals for social media and how will you use the tools to meet those goals? Are you looking to generate sales leads, create awareness, loyalty, build a community? Offer your customers a place to interact with you? What kind of relationship do you want to have with your customers? Are you ready to answer your customers in public? Are you ready to take negative feedback? Social Media Website/Tools are Free – the cost is your time and effort put into building your community. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 10
21. Your Strategy Your strategy should achieve the goals of the organization as a whole, and require participation by all areas of the business. Designate your team of administrators, content providers and resources. It needs to be done professionally and consistently. Use a Social Media Policy in-house if necessary. Everyone one should be on the same page! 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 13
22. Your Strategy Will you use a personal approach while maintaining the voice of the company? Don’t always market or sell - engage and have a conversation too. “Forget B2B. Think B2H(uman).” -Dharmesh Shah Think of ways to be creative and enticing. How can you share ways to use your brand - Add Value! Take a look at your competitors, how are they using social media? Make an calendar for your content. Content is Key!! 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 14
23. Your Strategy While making your plan, think of the different scenarios that may occur and develop a plan for each scenario. Define the plan in advance to avoid confusion or slow response time. Engaging and responding to comments creates a relationship. Who will reply? Who will reply when a response is needed outside of business hours? 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 15
24. Your Strategy How will you handle negative feedback? Treat negative feedback like any other customer service issue. Do your best to move a negative conversation off-line. Suggest a resolve and a way to contact you offline. Social Media gives you a way to respond and resolve negative experiences. Respond immediately! Others will see your promptness to resolve. Don’t remove negative posts (with exceptions). Defining all of this will help you create a sharing strategy! 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 16
25. Which Tools are for You? There are thousands of tools, find a few of the right tools for you. Where are your clients and potential customers at? Identify the goals of the business, project or brand. Research your competitors and your customers, where are they at? Explore options like LinkedIn for Business Recruitment, Twitter for sharing and conversations, YouTube for videos on how to use your products, Facebook for interactions like photos, videos and questions. Research Social Media Demographics 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 17
26. Which Tools are for You? Source: Flowtown 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 18
27. Just a Few of the Tools Blogging Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn Google + FourSquare Flickr RSS Feeds MySpace And Many More… 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 19
30. What is Blogging? Blogs offer a Social Media add on to an existing web presence A micro publishing platform. Anyone can publish content on the web! Software that is used like a Content Management System. Hosted and Self Hosted Options (use your own domain name and web host). Can be a business, information or personal blog. Allows your visitors to interact with questions or comments. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 21
31. Examples Start by writing a blog article on your site. Include knowledgeable and relevant information, photos and videos. Share that blog post with a link via other marketing tools: Email Marketing Facebook Twitter LinkedIn An easy way to direct traffic back to your website, you show your knowledge and expertise, and in turn gains trust and builds a relationship with visitors. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 22
32. LinkedIn Contact people based on their experience and field of work. Create your profile on LinkedIn and: find your friends and acquaintances professional network join interest groups participate in discussions find employees and employers Post Questions and Participate in Discussions Join Groups – Get Emails on Updates. Create and Browse company profiles You can pay a monthly fee for a more advanced account with access to more information. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 23
33. Join the Group 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 24
34. www.twitter.com Twitter Use 140 Characters to share your message - Tweet. Retweet messages by others to share news and information. @ symbol refers to accounts on twitter. You can refer to others by using their name with the @ symbol. - @sarahkuglin is my profile name. Send and receive message that are not public. Use Hash Tags to search or create topics related to the interests, discussions, events, etc. Our event hash tag is #mhscnsm. Add photos to your updates too! 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 25
35. 10/11/2011 26 Twitter’s active user base generates 90 Million tweets per day 79% of Twitter followers are more likely to recommend the brands they follow SOURCE: RJMETRICS, JANUARY 2010 / CHADWICK MARTIN BAILEY & IMODERATE RESEARCH TECHNOLOGIES, FEBRUARY 2010
36. Ways to use Twitter Watch for mentions and retweets, follow others and interact with your followers. Search, join and contribute in conversations and topics relevant to your brand to gain followers. Share links to articles and information on your website to increase traffic and awareness. Search for people, interests, your brand and what’s being said, etc. Twitter Analytics to analyze your sharing and interactions 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 27
38. 10/11/2011 29 1 out of every 8 minutes online is spent on Facebook 40% of Facebook’s user base is age 35+ SOURCE: COMSCORE, FEBRUARY 2011 / ISTRATEGY LABS, JANUARY 2010
39. Facebook Facebook Statistics: 750 Million active users on Facebook Average user has 130 friends People spend over 700 billion minutes per month on Facebook Facebook users share over 25 billon things a month 1 Million Branded Pages on Facebook 2.5 Million Minnesotans on Facebook 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 30
40. Facebook Pages Pages are for businesses and organizations. Anyone with a Facebook profile can create a Facebook Page. People or Fans can “Like” your Facebook Business Page to see your content in their news feed and receive updates. When someone Likes your page it shows up on their wall with a link to your page - Viral Fans who like your page can interact, leave comments, add photos, etc. on your page too. Only page admins can see fans of the page. Many more marketing things you can do… 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 31
41. Facebook Commenting may be turned off, but it’s not suggested. Administrators of the Facebook Site can be anyone with a personal Facebook account. When an Administrator posts on the wall, it can or cannot show their personal profile. Administrators can be removed at any time. Option to allow followers to post comments, photos and videos on the wall or tag your business in their photos. Profanity can be blocked. People can be reported and banned from your Page. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 32
42. Cool Things You Can Do with Facebook Share information, photos and videos on your page. Share links to your website to increase traffic and awareness. Brand your page, using tabs and a Fan Gate Change your Facebook URL www.facebook.com/rvtechsolutions Facebook Targeted Ads Create Events or send private messages to fans. Facebook Aps – Promotions, Games and more Facebook Insights: Track your Facebook comments, fans, interactions and more. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 33
45. Social Media Marketing Social Media gives us an avenue to target individuals with marketing that is unique and valuable to them.-Inbound Marketing Your followers want to receive your information. Ability to target unique communities and demographics. Allows peers to share your information – viral. The viral nature of social sharing helps spread news and ideas FAST. Augments traditional marketing efforts by scaling down rather than up. Allows brands to be more responsive and interactive. Ability to answer direct questions on a personal level. We now have the same platform that very large, global companies use. 78% of people trust peers, only 14% of people trust ads. -socialnomics 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 36
46. Social Media Marketing Your website and blog is your hub! Providing valuable content will help create and maintain community and relationships around your brand. Integrate your Social Media Sites with links to them on your website and blog. Make sure you allow readers to easily share your content via their social networks too. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 37
48. Engage with Followers Social networks require content, participation and engagement to grow. Engagement builds trust. Interacting builds community and relationship. Share content that has value to your target audience Ask questions Share facts and relevant information - Resource Share Stories – Bring your brand to life! Offer special “insider info” Participate and monitor conversations (not just your own) Provide value (offer discounts or giveaways, free Items like whitepapers, webinars, how to and tips) 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 39
49. Engage with Followers Ask questions and listen to your audience. Researching and gathering information is one of the greatest avenues of social media for business. If your followers they leave a comment or ask a question, be sure to respond to them, they are expecting to hear from you! Get instant feedback! Ask for opinions! Ask for ideas on new product design (Kia seats), how to market better and what topics are trending with your audience. There is no right or wrong – every business may choose to take a different approach to sharing and engaging with fans. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 40
50. Engage in Social Media The best way to engage in meaningful conversations is to participate! Reply or Comment on Tweets and Facebook posts. Answer questions on LinkedIn. Leave comments on blogs that you read. Occasionally provide links to relevant information on your website or blog for others to read. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 41
52. Some Ideas on Sharing Partner with local organizations to create co-promotions and encourage viral sharing with incentives. Share photos and videos of your employees doing their jobs. Do interviews with patients and visitors on their experiences. Share content that has value to your target audience Be a resource! People will look to you for info and to answer their questions. Start thinking of creative ideas! 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 43
53. Some Ideas on Sharing Some suggestions for blog posts to share with Social Media: Industry-specific tips New product or services - features Recruitment / employment Tutorials and how-to’s Interviews with employees, customers, or partners Giveaways, contests, surveys How To Videos Planning Tools Events and Activities Answers to common questions and customer service needs. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 44
54. Some Ideas on Sharing Here are a few ideas for lead-generation pieces that you could offer: • Free pricing quote • Coupons • Contest • Drawings • Free webinar (use a site like www.gotomeeting.com to host a great webinar) • Free trial • Special discounts Chat with the doctor – allow fans to ask questions. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 45
55. Some Ideas on Sharing When should you share? How often should you share? Test, test, and test again! Watch your analytics - Do posts in the morning get more interaction than posts at night or vice versa? Do people comment or share the links you share? Maybe the videos and photos get more interaction? 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 46
65. Measure Measure based on the goals you set in your plan. Use tracking tools like Google Analytics, Facebook Insights and Twitter Analytics. Does your increase in website visits from your social media sites lead to higher sales? Tools like HootSuite offers reports you can customize based off what you want to track. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 48
67. Monitoring and Tracking Metrics you can measure and track: Leads and customers Subscribers Fans, followers and unique users Page views Mentions Posts that are getting the most interaction Shares and retweets Links Conversions and clicks Retention and loyalty and many other metrics 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 50
68. Monitoring and Tracking What’s being said about you or your brand? Search for your brand, your name, your competitors using the tools available. Respond and Manage your Reputation through Social Media – Provide Customer Service Listen for people looking for help, share with them how you can help them! 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 51
69. Using Monitoring Tools Google Alerts: www.google.com/alerts Social Mention: www.socialmention.com Twilert: www.twilert.com TweetDeck: www.tweetdeck.com HootSuite: www.hootsuite.com 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 52
70. Always Expect Change Social Media is here to stay but the tools and how they work are always changing. Remember, the social networks own your content and your followers. Use your website as your hub! Keep and open mind, embrace the technological changes. Remember, the concept of conversation and interaction will stay the same. 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 53
71. Benefits for Business By a long shot, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and blogs were the top four social media tools used by marketers, with Facebook leading the pack. 45% of people who've only invested 12 months or less in social media marketing report new partnerships were gained. By spending as little as 6 hours per week, 52% of marketers see lead generation benefits with social media. Nearly two-thirds of marketers indicated a rise in search engine rankings was a benefit of social media marketing Slightly more than half of marketers found social media generated qualified leads. -Social Media Examiner 2011 Report 10/11/2011 54
72. Benefits for Business Social Media = Exposure Increased Search Engine Rankings Use Social Media to drive traffic to your website, convert to leads. Get in front of people who are searching for your products or services. Encourages people to subscribe to your lists. Monitor your brand – Reputation Management Use Social Media tools to make human connections more efficient! 10/11/2011 55
73. Q & A 10/11/2011 rvtechsolutions.com/social-media 56 Tweet questions and comments about the webinar using the has tag #mhscnsm save the date MHSCN's day-long fall conference Thursday, November 3 at St. Anthony Main Event Center in downtown Minneapolis. Look for registration information soon at MHSCN.com
