Welcome to
Social Media 101

So what is social media?
O Social media is the use of web-based and
mobile technologies to turn communication
into interactive dialogue. It is a group of
Internet-based applications that build on the
ideological and technological foundations
of Web 2.0, which allows the creation and
exchange of user-generated content.

Web 2.0
O A Web 2.0 site allows users to interact
and collaborate with each other in
a dialogue as creators of user-generated
content in a virtual community, in
contrast to websites where users are
limited to the passive viewing
of content that was created for them.

Web 2.0
O A Web 2.0 site allows users to interact and
collaborate with each other in a dialogue as
creators of user-generated content in
a virtual community, in contrast to websites
where users are limited to the passive
viewing of content that was created for
them.

User Generated Content
O UGC is on-line content that is produced by
users of web sites, as opposed to traditional
media producers such as broadcasters and
production companies. It reflects the
democratization of media production
through new technologies that are
accessible and affordable.

Social media is an online
conversation!
Look who’s talking:
O your customers O your critics
O your donors O your fans & friends
O your volunteers O your competition....
O your employees O anyone who has internet
O your investors access and an opinion.

Social Media is not free
Resources required for social media may
include:
O Strategic consultation
O Training
O Creating content
O Integrating tools
O Distributing content
O Relationship management
O Measuring value

So what is social media
REALLY?

Questions?

Social Media
Tools

History of Social Media

Information Overload?

Information Overload?
O You do not have to acquire
ALL the knowledge
O Pace yourself
O Interact only with people or
topics that you care about
O Do not start using all the
tools at once
O Take breaks and remember
to breathe

Social networking sites
O People and organizations
connect and interact with
friends, colleagues and fans.
O Popular social networks include
Facebook and MySpace,
Linkedin, bebo, and Ning.
O There are niche social networks
for just about everything.

Social networking sites
O create online profiles
O share photos, video, and audio,
links
O send private message and
instant message
O learn more about people and
organizations
O Follow brands, celebrities, and
gain your own fans

Facebook pages
O Your brand’s homepage on
Facebook.
O Allow you to post photos, videos,
events and other messages.
O Users interact with you by
O Becoming fans
O Commenting on your posts
O Participating in discussions
O Post photos to your page
O Fans see your page updates in
their newsfeed

Facebook applications

Linkedin
O On LinkedIn your can:
O Post a profile and resume
O Connect with colleagues
O Share professional
recommendations
O Find jobs
O Forums to demonstrate
expertise and find answers
O average individual salary on
LinkedIn is $109,000

Social Networking
Do Don’t
O establish a presence on the O create a page and fail to
social networks your customers maintain it
and colleagues use
O try a hard sell approach
O create a page to promote your
brand O censor comments
O point your fans to your O spam your fans/friends with
company blog or contest frequent private messages –
you’ll drive them away
O encourage a discussion and
participate frequently O post false information
O explore targeted advertising
opportunities

Blogs
O A blog is a website with
regular entries of
commentary or news
usually presented in
reverse chronological
order.
O Blogs serve to establish
your company as
transparent, relevant,
active, and expert.

Blogs
O engage in dialogue with
your customers
O improve your search
engine visibility
O promote product launches
and events
O gain expert status by
providing useful tips

Blogs
Do Don’t
O post on a regular schedule O write press releases – be
real about why something is
O encourage conversation by exciting
asking questions
O let complaints go
O respond to people that unanswered
comment on your posts
O make users register to
O use a few bloggers from comment – they won’t
your company for more bother
viewpoints
O delete fair but critical
comments

Microblogging
O Microblogs are blogs limited
to a sentence or two (about 140
characters)
O People use microblogging to
promote themselves, share
content and follow friends,
celebrities and brands
O Companies use it for
marketing, public relations
and customer service by
giving their brand a voice
within the community

Twitter
Twitter can help you:
O share timely information
O promote useful content including
resources, contests, deals, etc.
(not just your own)
O personify your brand
O connect with your customers and
develop leads
O build credibility and influence
O listen to consumer buzz
O research competitors
O network and learn from experts in
your field

Microblogging
Do Don’t
O find and share useful content O sound like a press release –
you’re in a social space
O pose questions and reply to
others O spam with constant links to
your company website, either
O keep it fun - put a friendly face in tweets or private messages
on your brand
O post useless information – do
O promote sales, deals, news, people really care what you
updates, and build buzz for big had for lunch?
releases or events
O know what people are saying
about your brand

Video Sharing
O Video sharing sites let you
upload videos and share
them with people.
O They’re a perfect
repository for video blogs,
taped seminars, witty
Power Points,
commercials, how-to’s and
a behind-the-scene look at
your organization.

Video Sharing
O helps you gain exposure and
direct traffic back to your
website
O sparks interest without a
hard-sell
O videos can be low-fi and
cheap to produce -
immediacy and content is
more important than quality.
O videos can be a place to
showcase your leadership in
a field, and spread customer
testimonials

Social news & bookmarking
O Social bookmarking
sites allow users to save,
share, organize,
comment on and search
webpage bookmarks.
O Community votes on
your submissions so
they either rise to the
top or drop to the
bottom.

Photo Sharing
O Photo sharing sites give
you a place to upload
and organize your
photos
O You can invite friends to
check out your photos
and people can find your
photos by searching for
the keywords (tags) you
apply to your photos.

Photo Sharing
O detail the launch of a new
product, from initial
sketches to the launch
party
O promote special events,
charitable campaigns, and
awards ceremonies
O provide an inside look at
your organization, making
it appear glamorous, busy,
fun, or innovative

Message Boards / Internet
Forums
O An Internet forum, or
message board, is a
bulletin board system in
the form of a discussion
site
O conversation takes place
between registered
members who post topics
(threads) and make public
comments (posts) on
those threads

WIKIs (What I Know Is)
O A wiki is a website that
allows visitors to easily
add, remove, and edit
content – this makes them
great collaboration tools
O Wikipedia, for example, is
an encyclopedia is written
collaboratively by
volunteers from all around
the world; anyone can edit
it

Virtual reality
O Internet-based 3D virtual
worlds like Second Life
reimagine our world with all
its potential for commerce
and branding
O people interact through
characters called avatars
O residents explore, meet other
residents, socialize,
participate in individual and
group activities, and create
and trade items and services
with one another

Virtual reality
O hold media conferences in
Second Life to generate buzz
(World Bank reports in world)
O create and sell branded
products accompanied by
coupons and advertising for
real-world stores
O purchase land, build stores,
and open for business
O publish streams of audio or
video on people’s properties

Podcasts (Personal On-Demand Broadcast)
O A podcast is a series of audio
or video files which is
distributed by syndicated
download to your computer,
for use on an MP3 player or
computer.
O Podcasts can be simple
recordings of conversations,
presentations, or interviews
O They’re a chance to provide
build an audience around
your brand or message.

Web & Mobile Apps
O A web app is a computer
program accessed over
the internet.

Web & Mobile Apps
O By 2014, the mobile
app market is expected
to reach US $58-billion,
marking growth of
1,000% from 2010.
- Financial Post

Do you see the power of social
media yet?

Questions?

Ten Keys to
Social Media Success

1. Experiment with Social
Media
O Experiment
personally before
professionally
O Try a variety of social
media tools
O Be yourself, make
some friends, and
share

2. Make a Plan
1. Discovery 4. Execution
(people, competition, (tools, integration,
and search engines) policies, and process)
2. Strategy 5. Maintenance
(opportunities, (monitor and adapt)
objectives)
3. Skills
(identify internal
resources and gaps)

3. Listen
O Find where your
audience is
participating & identify
the influencers
O Read industry blogs
(including comments)
O Google your
organization’s name &
your competition
O Find tools that can
help you listen

4. Be transparent & honest
O Avoid puffery
(people will ignore it)
O Avoid evasion and lying
(people won’t ignore it)
O Companies have
watched their biggest
screw-up's rise to the
top 10 of a Google
search
O Admit your mistakes
right away

5. Share your content
O Don’t be afraid to
share. Organizations,
like people, need to
share information to
get the value out of
social media
O Make your content
easy to share
O Incorporate tools that
promote sharing:
O Share This, RSS
feeds, Email a friend

6. Be personal and act like a
person
O Don't shout. Don't
broadcast. Don’t brag.
O Speak like yourself – not a
corporate marketing shill
or press secretary
O Personify your brand – give
people something they can
relate to.

7. Contribute in a meaningful
way
O Think like a contributor,
not a marketer
O Consider what is relevant
to the community before
contributing
O Don’t promote your
services on every post
O Win friends by promoting
other people’s content if
it interests you

8. See criticism as an
opportunity
O Don’t try to delete or
remove criticism (it will
just make it worse)
O Listen to your detractors
O Admit your shortcomings
O Work openly towards an
explanation and
legitimate solution

9. Be proactive
O Don’t wait until you have
a campaign to launch -
start planning and
listening now
O Build relationships so
they’re ready when you
need them

10. You can’t do it all yourself
O You need buy in from everyone in the
organization
O Convince your CEO or boss that social media
is relevant to your organization
O Get your communications
team together, discuss
the options, then divide
and conquer

3 take away messages
1. Web 2.0 is about social
interactions.
2. Participate by enabling and
feeding the conversation
(follow the 10 keys to success)
3. Be transparent & honest

Social Media Etiquette

Questions?

Social Media Myths

“Social media is just a
fad – it will go away.”

“Social media is
inexpensive.”

“If we put our content
online we’re just giving
our expertise away
for free!”

“We can’t measure
social media results.”

“Social media might work
for certain industries and
business models
but it won’t work for
us.”

“Tell the programmers to
setup that social media
thing….and get them to
make it viral while
they’re at it!”

“YouTube is that site for
funny cat videos – you’ll
cheapen our
brand by putting
our video on there!”

“I’ve started a Facebook
page so I’ve got social
media covered!”

“If we just delete all
negative comments no
one will see them.”

“No seriously, I
don’t
think anyone will
notice if we delete those
negative comments.”

“If we build it they
will come.”

“We have to figure this
all out before we start
using social media.”

“Social Media is hard.”

“Social Media is easy.”

THE END