Social media overview

Welcome to the ULM College of Business Strategic Planning Series

Session: Social Media Overview

First things first…

• Sign in

• Paperwork

Introductions

My Name is…Kelsi Guidry

Please introduce yourself and the company you represent.

What is Social Media?

Group Review and Discussion of Social Media

Social Media is…

• Social Media allows groups to generate user-created content that are published and shared freely in peer-to-peer conversations in social environments, such as social networks, blogs, wikis, or video hosting sites.

Social Media in Plain English

YouTube Videohttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpIOClX1jPE

Social Media: What’s in it for your company?

4 Major Focuses

Social Media: What’s in it for your company?

1. The production of content is essential to the life of your company– 25% of search results for the

World’s Top 20 largest brands are links to user-generated content

– 34% of bloggers post opinions about products & brands

– The #2 largest search engine in the world is YouTube

Social Media: What’s in it for your company?

2. Social Networking is the fastest means of sharing– The fastest growing

segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females

– More than 30 billion pieces of content (web links, news stories, blog posts, notes, photos, etc.) are shared on Facebook each month

Social Media: What’s in it for your company?

2. Social Networking is changing the way people evaluate products, and interact with brands that mean something to them.– People view products

online, compare them to others, blog about their likes and dislikes, and make comments about your brand.

– AirCut example

Social Media: What’s in it for your company?

3. You can use social media for collaboration– 2009 study revealed that

on average, online students out performed those receiving face-to-face instruction

– Wikipedia has over 20 million pages…some studies show it’s more accurate than Encyclopedia Britannica

Social Media: What’s in it for your company?

4. Companies use social networking for marketing– 78% of consumers trust

peer recommendations– Only 14% trust

advertisements– Only 18% of traditional

TV campaigns generate a positive ROI

– Successful companies in social media listen first and sell second

Why these components make social media so important to business?

• Each component has a specific reason for contributing to the success of social media

• Major importance is that it is no longer a 1 way communication street.

Why is social media so popular?

Lets first go over the components of a typical social network.

Components of a Social Network

• Profile• Becoming “Friends”• Messaging• Commenting• Pictures• Video Publishing• Blogging

Now that we know what social media is…

What can it be used for? And How?

Group Discussion

• Commenting

• Media Publishing– Videos– Pictures

• Blogging

Group Review and Discussion of Social Media

Content Production

Creating knowledgeable content via video, audio, and/or written.

Blogging

• A blog is your home• A blog acts as your tool

to express your expertise and opinion.

• Blogs allow comments for direct feedback

• The more quality content you blog, the higher expert ranking you can achieve.

Commenting• Just about everything can

be commented on. Whether it be comments on your site or others.

• Provides link back to your website

• Commenting is an extension of your content. It allows you to express your expertise for others to read

Media Publishing• By adding pictures and

videos you are adding content that many individuals have the potential of looking at.

• Educational/Tutorial videos can act as resource someone will watch over and over

• Picture and Video tagging will create a viral effect.

Social Networking

Building relationships

How to build business relationships

• Tailored to facilitate communication and referrals for professional purposes.

• Friends• Messaging• Commenting

How to build business relationships

• Facilitating new friendships

• Maintaining relationships

• Seek out “Friends-of-Friends”

Communicate in and outside work

• Quick questions and answers during work

• Groups for employees to receive group messaging.

• Creating Events

Event Ideas to encourage participation?

Discussion

Event Ideas

• Meetings• Lunch Outings• Fundraising Events• Parties• Business Specials/Sales• Sporting events• Trips

Collaboration

Employee and Consumer Discussion

Employee Collaboration on…

• Projects (Hi5)• Documents (Google Docs)• Questions and Answers

Consumer Collaboration• Forums• Commenting• Product creation• Wikis

Social Media Marketing

Creating a Strategy

Connecting with your current goals and strategies

• Step 1) Describe Organizational Goals• Step 2) Describe Organizational Functions• Step 3) Describe Social Media Initiatives

Step 1) Describe Organization Goals

• Identify business goals• 3 to 5 major goals• Measurable goals

• Example: Improve communication among employees, customers, members, and/or stockholders.

More Goals….

• Increase customer base• Generate Leads• Drive Sales• Build Awareness• Make money from

content• Improve internal

communication

Step 2) Describe Organizational Functions

• Activities that support goals and objectives

• 10 to 20 defined function categories

• Examples: – Customer Service– Marketing & Sales– Market Research– Financial/Accounting

Step 3) Describe Social Media Initiatives

• List and describe the potential initiatives that rely on social media.

• Examples: – Create and maintain a

corporate Facebook page.– Create and maintain a

CEO blog– Comment in forums

Step 3) Describe Social Media Initiatives

• Review how each function is performed within the company and ask questions such as the following:– How can we use social media and social

networking to improve how this function is performed?

– Can we improve conversations, information sharing, and collaboration among people who perform this function?

Connecting with your current marketing strategy

• Create, publish and share content

• Informing, educating and even entertaining those communities of people that care about the issues, problems, wants and needs met by your company

Strategy Starters

• Listening: What your customers want.

• Communications: Blog as a home base

• Methods: Mix of content to create

• Community: Embracing the people you seek

• Neighbors: Plan to reach out in your community

Strategy Starters

• Outposts: Communicate with other communities and share the way back to your place

• Marketplace: Build a marketplace external to your community

• Attention: Build awareness and encourage relationships

10 Tips for your company to have a successful social marketing experience1. Consumers want to express themselves without

the business telling them how.2. Use social media as a way to listen to your

consumers.3. Treat your relationships as long-term

conversation.4. Bring consumers into your inner circle. Product

planning should not be limited to you staff5. Find incentives to encourage participation . You

want greater number of engaged consumers.

10 Tips for your company to have a successful social marketing experience6. Recognizing that your customers have the

power, now, to talk back.7. When things go wrong, don’t try to cover up;

don’t make false excuses.8. Participate intelligently in the online social

community.9. What do your customers or brand enthusiasts

care most about?10.Leverage YOUR people as online community

leaders.

The End!Use Social Media to your

advantage

Keep in Touch!Kelsi Guidry

Kelsi Guidry and MyWants Offers

• A FREE Social Media Strategy Guide• Social Media Coaching and Consulting• Social Media Services• Social Media Presentations• Blog and Website Development• Anything related to Social Media

= Free Social Media Content, Learning, and Access to Answers From our Staff

= Social Media and Web Services Website to Learn What We Offer

Thank For Attending The ULM College of Business Strategic

Planning Series

Session: Social Media Overview