Originally presented at the Software Alliance Wales Workshop on 11th November, 2010. Speaker Richard Tubb talks about how UK IT companies network, and the tools to use to successfully engage with them

1. How Small IT Companies Network Richard Tubb

2. Who am I? Founded an IT company in 2003 “One Man Band” until 2007 Merged with another local IT co in 2009 Accredit UK qualified MSP 9 Members of Staff, 60+ Clients across UK richard@tubblog.co.uk www.tubblog.co.uk www.twitter.com/tubblog www.linkedin.com/in/richardtubb

3. I have been appointed Microsoft Small Business Specialist Partner Area Lead for Financial Year 2011 Work with the SBSC Community as the main points of contact with Microsoft. SBSC PAL FY11

4. I’m not this type of Pal

5. Where will you find UK IT companies? User Groups Peer Groups Social Media Social Networking (yes, they’re two different things)

6. User Groups User Groups Typically meet monthly Shared culture Guest speakers Vendors, Experts Socialising

7. Peer Groups Small groups High levels of trust Serious about Growth “Premier League”

8. Social Media –vs.- Social Networking Social Media typically means YouTube, Blogs, Google Docs Social Networking covers Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

9. Social Media –vs.- Social Networking “Social Media can be called a strategy and an outlet for broadcasting, while Social Networking is a tool and a utility for connecting with others.” - Lon S. Cohen

10. http://jess3.com/the-conversation-prism-v3/

11. First rule of Social Media Do NOT sell! Offer Value Educate Start Conversations Build Trust

12. Blogs Free and Easy WordPress Blogger

13. Why bother blogging? “I have nothing to say” “Who will read?”

15. Twitter 140 Characters Easy to find like-minded people “I follow you on Twitter” Asks questions, start conversations Share content of interest Use Hashtags #

16. LinkedIn Everyone has an account Swapped Business Cards? Connect! LinkedIn Groups LinkedIn Questions What does your Profile say about you?

17. Facebook Clear Business Applications Either create two accounts Preferably, use Filters (Friends, Work, Clients, etc) Fan Pages create way to cultivate interest

18. Flickr Create Photo groups for events Link to photos from Twitter, FB, LinkedIn

19. YouTube Buy, Beg, Steal or Borrow a Flip HD Camera Upload Video Interviews with clients, partners, raving fans Use Camtasia Studio to create video Screencasts Typical attention span is 90 seconds – make sure videos are short

20. Many platforms – use them all! Some people adore Twitter Some people don’t get Twitter Some people prefer Facebook Some people love LinkedIn Some people like e-mails Some people never read e-mails Some people are visual - YouTube Some people like to lurk Some people like to engage

21. Tools Only 140 Characters to play with Measure and Manage through Metrics Understand what is of interest Customisable Links

22. Tools Schedule Status Updates Manage multiple accounts Create Search Keywords Create Groups – no need to follow people Update LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, Google Buzz, FourSquare – all from one location Tailor content for platforms… Facebook = @, Twitter = # LinkedIn = neither

23. Tools Outlook Social Connector

24. Tools Daily e-mail digest of key-words Catches Tweets that you don’t spot first time

25. Create Content Loops Content, Content, Content Upload Photographs to Flickr, linking back to your web-site Post videos to YouTube, linking to your Blog Posts Use Twitter to link to Flickr and YouTube

26. E-Mail is Dead (ok, not quite but…) Make content re-usable and shareable Microsoft Skydrive Dropbox Google Docs Scribd Collaborative Working

27. Transparency Be yourself People are drawn to like minded individuals That doesn’t mean the world wants to know your every thought Don’t e-mail blog when angry It’s ok to show you’re human

28. Call to Action Create or start using your LinkedIn account – add me as a contact! Setup a Twitter account at www.twitter.com – then ask me via @tubblog for more details on local User Groups

29. richard@tubblog.co.uk www.tubblog.co.uk www.twitter.com/tubblog www.linkedin.com/in/richardtubb netlink.trading www.facebook.com/tubblog