Social Media Tools for Small Business

Social Media Tools for Small BusinessFor yoyomama – February 12, 2009

LintBucket Media (LintBucket.com) is a boutique marketing agency headquartered in Vancouver that focuses on social media marketing and community building.

Our Services:Social Media Marketing & CommunicationsBlogger Outreach ProgramsCommunity DevelopmentInternal Social Media ImplementationSEO-driven Copywriting

OneDegree.ca is one of Canada's leading online publications about digital marketing, online communications and social media -- penned by some of Canada's bright lights and rising stars in these areas.

MyNameIsKate.ca – blogging about the intersection of marketing, technology and design, plus other juicy bits.

http://mynameiskate.ca/yoyomama.html

Social Media is all about PEOPLE

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmpalmer/99806770/

People Figures: David Armano - Logic + Emotion Blog

But, first things first …

Do you own your own name?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/71894657@N00/916718299/

Do you own your own name?Does Your Email Address look like one of

these?elaine@shaw.ca

honeybee@gmail.com

creativemarketing@telus.net

professionallawfirm@rogers.com

WHY?!?

Do you own your own home?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/96221617@N00/308791590/

Do you own your own home?Do you have a website?

With a real domain?Can you update your website when YOU want?

Are you running website analytics?Do you review your analytics on a semi-regular

basis?

Don’t get involved in social media until these are taken care of!

And have you weather-stripped it?Findability is Essential to Doing Business!Optimize your site for search enginesOptimize your content for search enginesConsider testing Google AdWords programs

SEO is beyond the scope of this talk but there are a lotof big wins to be had via SEO!

What’s your handle?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/38960136/

What’s your handle?My Handle Variations•katetrgovac•ktrgovac•mynameiskate•katicus•queenkaticus

Psst … do as I SAY, not as I DO

http://www.usernamecheck.com/

Why Important?Findability – most social media sites are being indexed – user names and user profiles are starting to show up.

ProfileConversations

Personality

Your Professional ProfileWhere should you have a professional profile?LinkedInFacebook[Plaxo – not as popular, but some people got into it]

Really, Facebook?Yes – use the “group friends” and privacy settings!http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/

Your Professional ConversationsWhere should you be having professional conversations?Twitter[plurk, identi.ca – not as popular][yammer – “internal” twitter – good for companies]

Tip: you don’t have to “follow” back everyone who follows youTip 2: Don’t use the web interface – use an application like Tweetdeck, Twhirl or Twitterfox

Your Professional PersonalityWhere should you show off your professional personality?A blog (your own OR a group blog)Flickr [could also use Picasa]

Blogging scare you?Try “mini-blogging”: tumblr or posterous

What about video blogging or podcasting? Let’s discuss!

That’s YOU professionally.Same drill for your BUSINESS.

Your Business ProfileWhere should you have a business profile?LinkedIn – Company pagesFacebook – Fan Page[I’m not a fan of Facebook’s “groups”]

Tip: save a file with boilerplate descriptions of you and your company: 1 line, 2 line, 1 paragraph, 100 words, etc. Will come in handy!

Your Business ConversationsWhere should you be having business conversations?TwitterDifferent account for your businessCan be a group effort using tools like BrightKit

What to Tweet about?Your business’ news | industry news | “internal” news | partner newsOn Business account – follow back everyone

Your Business PersonalityWhere should you show off your business personality?A blog (seriously – every company needs a blog)What to blog about?•A little about you•A LOT about your customers•Some about your partners•Some about your industryGood examples? http://tombihn.com/blog/ & http://laptopbaglifeline.com/Tip: Group blogs are a good thing! Engage employees or partners!

Flickr (show off customers loving your products)

Your Connections: Prof. & BizWhere can you connect?There is a social network out there for every interest!Or you can start your own with tools like NingAlso, topical recommendation sites like Yelp or Chow

Monitoring Your BuzzHow do you find out what people are saying about you?Review your web analytics!Set up Google Alerts for your and your business nameSet up search feeds (RSS feeds)

Your name and business nameLinks to your websiteLinks to other profiles

Monitor these searches using tools like an RSS reader (e.g. Google Reader or Bloglines) or a personal homepage (e.g. MyYahoo, iGoogle, or Pageflakes)

Social Media PromotionsHow do you get the word out about your business?Blogger Outreach programs

http://www.slideshare.net/mynameiskate/blogger-relations-presentation

Facebook Adshttp://www.doshdosh.com/facebook-marketing-resources/

Blog Network Adshttp://www.blogherads.com/

Social Media News ReleasesResource: http://www.lintbucket.com/smr-help.html

Email NewslettersExample: http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/underwire/

How Much TIME?!?!http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeyc/322654818/

How Much TIME?!?!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahbelle1/2363974644/

IMPORTANT: Social Media Principles

http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbyladybug/2152179077/

IMPORTANT: Social Media Principles

Measure EverythingBe HumanBe TransparentMake Sure Your Content is PortableSocial Media is a Long Term ProspectMake It Easy for People to Talk About You

Questions?http://www.flickr.com/photos/calavera/65098350/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vernhart/1574355646/

Photo Sources and LinksAny Questions: http://flickr.com/photos/calavera/65098350/Thank you M&Ms: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vernhart/1574355646/Suitcase Handle: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/38960136/Paper Homes: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96221617@N00/308791590/Dollar Heart: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmpalmer/99806770/Birth Certificate: http://www.flickr.com/photos/71894657@N00/916718299/Clock: http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeyc/322654818/Uhaul: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahbelle1/2363974644/Ten Commandments: http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbyladybug/2152179077/