Social media for small businesses: getting started

Social Media – where to start?

Pete Wilson, Digital Strategy Manager, Sage UK

Bonjour pwils10!Now you know how to greet people in French!

Social Media – What is it?

• Social = sharing• Media = content

“Social media is the most visible way to demonstrate your companies credibility to the type of customer you wish to attract’

Penny Powers, Founder of Ecademy

Social Media – What is it?

• Online communities of like minded folk linked through technology

Social Media insight

• Sometimes small is beautiful

Social Media – What is it?

• It’s reputation• How big is the gap?• Monitoring social media can help

Social Media insight

• Social media has created new measures of trust

• We are all being judged by these

Social Media – What is it?

• Free but it’s not without cost• It requires an investment of time• It is a long term commitment

“Social media is content hungry. Encouraging people to get involved and showing them the value of their contribution is vital to maintaining momentum.”

Cath Sheldon, Digital PR Specialist Sage

Social Media – What is it?

• A traffic driver to your site• A boost to your visibility• An online equivalent of attending trade events

“The link between social media & SEO is proven. Sites, such as Yelp &Trusted Places demonstrate the power of user reviews.”

Dan Horsford, Digital Media Strategist, PHD

Social Media insight

• Social Media activity can start with your site

• ‘Share’ tools can spread the word

• User reviews add trustworthy content

• RSS feeds can push content out for you

Social Media – What is it?

• Tangible demonstration of your expertise• The start of building a trusted business

“Social media has always been about the individual and SMEs are typically run by individuals. By building the individual’s reputation the companies brand is built.”

Paul Mead, MD, VCCP Search

Social Media – What is it?

• A customer support channel• An early warning system• But sets an expectation amongst users

If you are listening to me you will act on what I say.

Social Media insight

• Be prepared for really honest feedback

• How you react speaks volumes about who you are

• On the information superhighway bad news never dies

Social Media – Getting started

• Are the basics of digital marketing in place?• This is the stuff that will make money now

Social Media insight

• You need an end destination for social media to deliver value

• A site or blog that converts interest into action

• Twitter is not the end game

Social Media – Getting started

• Set goals & measures

Social Media insight

• Social media is so new that there are no rules about what or how to measure

• But starting by listening to what is being said about your industry and your company is a good starting point

Social Media – Getting started

• Eavesdrop

Social Media – Getting started

• Define your online personality

Social Media – Getting started

• Based on your eavesdropping get a little more active

Social Media – Getting started

• Develop a content strategy

• What - audience needs?• What - subjects and formats?• When - sustainable frequency?• How - measure?

Social Media – Getting started

• Reactive to proactive

Social Media insight

• As you bring other people into the activity you will need guidelines

• What we say, how we say it

• Exit strategy

• How we distribute comments internally

Social Media – Getting started

• OMG. MBL IS TH FTR OF SCL MD• Mobile is social• Location based apps can prompt trial• Barcodes are beautifully trackable • Again technology (smartphones) make this

possible

Social Media – Getting started

‘People overestimate the impact of

new technology in 2 years and underestimate

the impact of new technology in 10’

Bill Gates

Social Media – Useful links

Join thesewww.ecademy.com

www.linkedin.com

http://www.facebook.com/help/?page=721#!/

pages/create.php

http://twitter.com/

Use thesehttp://hootsuite.com/

www.blogger.com/start

www.google.com/alerts

www.backtype.com

Read thesehttp://mashable.com/

http://econsultancy.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites