Social Media overview

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SOCIAL MEDIAFOR DUBLIN

11/5/08

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• Web 2.0 overview

• Why is it important?

• Guidelines and applications

• Case studies

• Key takeaways

TODAY’S DISCUSSION

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18%

25%

12%

25%

48%

44%

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Projected growth of CGM

Spending on social media and

“conversational marketing”

– albeit still in their nascent stage –

will surpass traditional marketing spend

by the end of 2012

-TWI Surveys, Inc

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Communications landscape

• New sources of information and influence

• We are no longer in control

• Authenticity and openness are essential

• Business conduct must be ethical and transparent

• Social media/Web 2.0/CGM is here to stay

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Continuing evolution

Lines blurring between:• Converging marketing disciplines• Online/offline reputation management• Public and private communications• “Pros vs. Joes” (journalists and bloggers

vs. anyone with a computer)

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• Social media is even more important in the travel, tourism and hospitality business!

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• Social media even more important in the travel, tourism and hospitality business!

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Social media guidelines

• This must become part of how we do business • Balance emphasis on social media with expertise in

content• Incorporate social media strategies and tools the way we

would any other• Deliver the right message to the right audience via the

right medium• Unique opportunity to listen to, learn from and influence

the consumer-led conversation

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Basic social media strategy

1. Listen to the conversation

2. Review and analyze learnings

3. Engage if and when it makes sense

4. Monitor and adjust

5. Measure results

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Top 10 reasons to monitor social media

1. Complaints – catching something early shows responsiveness

2. Compliments – capture and share via Del.icio.us

3. Expressed need – monitor key words, offer assistance

4. Competitors – reach out to customers proactively

5. Crowds – watch for trends, spikes

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Top 10 reasons to monitor social media

6. Influencers – easy to identify via social media

7. Crises – watch for triggers8. ROI – measure impact of efforts over time9. Audit – analyze sum of online

communications10.Threads – conversations across different

platforms

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Social search• Aggregators

– Del.icio.us, Shadows, Yahoo's MyWeb, Furl, Digg• Collaborative directories

– Prefound, Zimbio, Wikipedia• Taggregators

– Technorati, Rojo, Bloglines• Social Q & A sites

– Yahoo Answers, Google Answers

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Blogs

• Every niche has online influencers

• Online buzz about a site or brand is priceless

• Blogs deliver invaluable market research

• Blogs can create a community of brand ambassadors

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The big picture

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The big picture

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Takes one to know one• Start a blog yourself

– Serves as a home base for all social media activity– Facilitates two-way conversation– Search engine optimization benefits– Powerful market research tool– Give voice and personality to your brand

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Top social networking sites

• Myspace

• Facebook

• Flickr

• LinkedIn

• Fastest growing: Twitter, Tagged, Ning

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Niche social sites

• Tripadvisor• IgoUgo• Virtualtourist.com• Chowhound• Guidespot

• Yelp• MyTravelGuide• RealTravel• Epinions• DontGoThere.org

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Online reputation management• Google is your true home page• Show your best face online

• Check entries on Wikipedia, travel Web sites

• Monitor and participate in blogs and message boards

• Respond when it makes sense– Reach out and fix problems where

possible

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Personal brand management

• How are you connecting?• How much is too much?• Define role and value of

social media for you as well as your brand

• Know that what you say online to one person, one time … you’re saying to everyone, all the time

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CASE STUDIES

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Experience Columbus

• Launch of edgy new destination marketing campaign• Goal: get local ambassadors talking and engaged• Hosted blogger event 7/31• Invited 50 and 35 bloggers attended – all 35 blogged• Results: overwhelming response, BUT thick skin

needed!• “The campaign may not have received four-star

reviews. But Experience Columbus certainly did.” ~Advergirl

• Results saved online at http://delicious.com/LaraK/ExperienceColumbus

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Caminito Argentinean Steakhouse• Single-location restaurant in Northampton, Mass• The Prime Cuts Blog shares cooking and kitchen tips, tricks,

recipes and more• Prime Cuts TV channel on YouTube and Viddler for

weekly/bi-weekly how-to videos• Social monitoring and response program• Active on Yelp.com; encourages visitors to leave reviews

there

• Presence on MySpace, Upcoming, Facebook, Twitter, Plurk,

FriendFeed, LinkedIn and Flickr • Results: 30% increase in sales when competitors are flat or

down

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GETTING STARTED

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Joining the conversation: Listen

• Observe online communities where your brand is actively discussed

• Participate in conversations as if with someone in real life whom you respect

• Pay attention to how community members interact with each other

• Reach out to people as a person NOT as a marketer or communicator

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Joining the conversation: Engage• Be helpful and bring value to the conversation• Positively represent the personality and perception of

your brand• This is the only way to earn your online audience’s

– Respect– Business– Loyalty– Referrals

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Four Stages of EngagementFour Stages of Engagement

I. Listen

IV. EvaluateIII. Contribute

II. Participate

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• Creating content• Participating in larger conversations• Integrating into social networks• Provide a valuable application• Build relationships on and off-line

Contributing to the community

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• Blogs: Blogpulse, Google, IceRocket, Technorati• Podcasts: Digg• Twitter: Tweeterboard• Tags: Del.icio.us• YouTube and Flickr: Rankings/counters on-site• Forums: Board Tracker• Web Stats: Compete, Alexa, Google Analytics• Wikipedia Edits: Wikiscanner, wired.reddit• Paid Services: Radian 6, CustomScoop, Nielsen

Buzz Logic, Cyber Alert, Andiamo Systems

Measurement tools

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Benefits of social media• Deeper relationships with visitors/guests• Increased awareness for brand• Better communication with audiences• Broadening of professional network• Search engine prominence• Increased web or blog traffic

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1. Join – and really maximize – LinkedIn and Facebook

2. Use RSS feeds to bring your news to you daily

3. Join Technorati – aka blog central

4. Start a del.icio.us page for your brand and/or yourself

5. Read travel blogs and join relevant socnets/communities

6. Join Twitter and try microblogging (70/20/10)

7. Begin social media monitoring/listening program

Seven things to take away

QUESTIONS?Lara.Kretler@Fahlgren.com@LaraK on TwitterBlog at www.larakretler.com614-383-1618 (w)937-271-9151 (c)

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