This presentation was delivered in May and provides an overview of key social media sites and how they can be used for business

1. Social Networking for Business
St. Charles County Chambers
Technology Committee
May 21, 2009

2. Introductions
Presenters
• Ken Tucker – Changescape
– Overview
– LinkedIn
– Summary
• Mike Wilkerson
– Twitter
– Facebook
• Amy Walkenhorst – Protronics
– MySpace

3. Agenda
• What is Social Networking
• Why is it valuable for business
• LinkedIn
• MySpace
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Summary

4. Before Social Networking
• Initially, everyone tried to drive everyone to
their website
• We didn’t really care about outcomes other
than how many visitors hit our websites
• Cost a lot of money with unpredictable results
• Paradigm shift and the creation of Web 2.0
technologies
• Shift from driving high volumes of traffic to
driving the right traffic

5. What is Social Networking
• Sites such as MySpace and Facebook made it
easy to reach new audiences and to catch up
• Professional Networking sites for reaching out –
like LinkedIn
• Demonstrating thought leadership through blogs
• Piquing interest with sites like Twitter- “what are
you doing?”
• Emergence of new forms of communication and
connection on the web

6. Why is Social Networking
Valuable for Business
• The proliferation of social networking sites
• Their popularity and effectiveness proved
their value – search engines love these sites
• The technology provided the platform
• All about conversations and interactions and
interconnectedness
• Businesses have to adopt to stay relevant
• Best Practices for Business use emerging

7. Why is Social Networking
Valuable for Business (cont.)
• Find new customers and drive sales
• Build Brand and Brand Loyalty
• Improved Customer Service
• Catch and resolve concerns/complaints early
• Find peers and professional groups
• Drive innovation
• Uses the popularity of these sites to deliver
traffic to your site (use their SEO to direct traffic
to your site)

8. • What is LinkedIn?
– Professional Social Networking Site to reach out
– Reconnect with colleagues and classmates
– Power your career
– Get expert help
– Productivity applications and features

9. • What does it allow me to do?
– Build a professional online profile
– Build connections with people you know and trust
– Have visibility in the network of networks
• Ask for introductions, see who others are connected to
– Give and Receive Recommendations
– Join Groups
– Demonstrate thought leadership
– Increase connectability and search ranking

10. • Let’s take a look
• Resources
– http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/01/ten_ways_to_use.html
– http://www.linkedin.com/answers?trk=hb_tab_ayn
– Google “LinkedIn tips” or “How to use LinkedIn”

11. Words of Caution
• Not everything is wonderful
– Brain Drain – Intellectual Property can be lost
– Potential Brand exposure
– Drain on network resources
• Streaming audio and video
• Non-business use of the network
– Loss of productivity
– Security
• Malware (Malicious software) prevalent on these sites

12. Summary
• Fortune 500 use social networking sites
• Find customers – or have them find you – when
THEY are looking for your products and services
• You will get out of these sites what you put in
• Your internet presence is not just a website.
Instead, it’s every point your target audiences are
exposed to your brand online
• Success requires planning, commitment, follow
through, and monitoring

13. About the STCC Tech Comm
• We meet the 3rd Thursday of every month
• Focus: provide information on a variety of tech topics
• Your input is important to us – surveys and evaluations
• Provide a seminar series twice a year
– Using Technology to Battle the Economy
• Run and Grow Your Business through Technology (April 09)
• Business Sustainability (Fall 09)
• Potential Webinar series TBD
• Attendance open to any St. Charles County Chamber Member
• All that is required is an RSVP to your chamber rep for
soda/pizza and proper accommodations
• Next meeting: A field trip to see the EPC Recycling facility in
Earth City – June 18.

14. Thank You
St. Charles County Chambers
Technology Committee
May 21, 2009