How The Heck Do I Do Social Media Marketing - A Basic 101 Lesson

Preview:

DESCRIPTION

Wondering how the heck to get started in Social Media Marketing? What are the basics you need to know before diving in with the sharks that swim in these social media waters? View this presentation! This was a solo presentation given at Search Engine Strategies in New York in March 2010. This session covered the basics of social media, things too look out for, things to do and not to do, what goes into a strategy and how different types of social media communities relate to the types of people that are present in social media. Check out http://www.socialconversations.com for more!

Citation preview

Social Media 101Liana “Li” Evans, Director of Social MediaSerengeti Communications

SES New York – March 2010

HOW’D WE GET HERE?

Social Media’s Rise

•Quick Fix for Marketing Plans•Substitute to Sound SEO Practices•Substitute to Sound PPC Practices•Silver Bullet for Strategies that Aren’t Working•To Be Taken Lightly•Done by Interns•Fast & Easy

Social Media Is Not

So What’s It All About?

It’s Not About You

The Value They Find

If Something is Valuable

It Gets Shared

Sharing & Conversation

When it comes down to it, Social Media is about sharing a conversation or an experience and that conversation can

include different forms of content.

I WANT SOME SOCIAL MEDIA GOODNESS!

Don’t Just Jump In

WHAT you do is just as important as WHERE you do it

What’s Your Strategy?

This Isn’t Strategy

Implementing tactics in the absence of

strategy is like doing nothing at all

• Being popular is overrated• Research where your audience is • Understand what’s being said• Don’t try to control the conversation• Be real, honest and upfront • Be prepared to accept the negative• Don’t limit your plan to 1 type of social media• Be prepared to be “popular”

Some Things To Keep In Mind

Social Media is More Than Facebook

Where’s Your Audience?

Define Your Goals Before Starting

The Stuff You Can Measure

• Video or Photo Views, Comments, Ratings, Links• Twitter Followers & Retweets• Number of Reviews (Positive & Negative)• Blog Comments & Subscribers• Replies to Forum Messages• New Users to Forum• Subscribers, Friends to Profiles• Answers to Questions Asked

Beyond Traffic & Conversions

Confused Yet?

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

Start From the Beginning• Who Is Your Audience?

– Is it different offline than online?– Are you missing opportunities?– Don’t Assume!

• What Is Your End Goal?– Lift market share– Branding– Increase sales

Listen & Learn

• Where is your audience hanging out• What are they saying about you• How do they communicate & share• Who are the influencers

Plan, Plan, Plan• Create Your Strategy Based On Your Research• Remember – It’s Not Really Free

– Resources: Money, People, Platforms & Tools

• Policies• Who Helps Runs This?• Contingency Plans• What Is Success?• Promotion!

Implement & Measure

• Define Your Goals• Measure Your Progress

– Analytics– Buzz Monitoring– Links, Page Rank, etc.

• Is It Worth Your Investment?

UNDERSTANDING THE TYPES OF SOCIAL MEDIA OUT THERE

So What About All These Sites?

Social News

Social Bookmarking

Do’s & Don’ts

• Do: Write your content for your audience• Do: Make friends• Do: Your research – is Digg really good for you?

• Don’t: Submit your own stuff• Don’t: Pay for votes• Don’t: Be Stingy

Things To Keep In Mind• Content sites benefit the most

– If you are looking for just eyeball counts to your site, Social News & Social Bookmarking is great

• Not High Quality Traffic– Usually “Hit & Run”– Time on Site & Bounce Rates are abysmal

• Viral Potential– If it get popular, lots of traffic, lots of links

Social Sharing

Do’s & Don’ts

• Do: Create Your Own Content• Do: Participate in Groups• Do: Brand Your Content Subtly

• Don’t: Be Promotional• Don’t: Limit Yourself to 1 site• Don’t: Expect to go Viral

Things to Keep in Mind

• Social Sharing is Very Engaging– People are very visual– People love to be entertained

• Not all videos go viral– Nor do they have to, to be successful

• Videos & Photos Appear in Search Results

Social Networking

Do’s & Don’ts

• Do: Promote on your other properties• Do: Engage your fans & friends• Do: Upload media (photos, videos, etc.)

• Don’t: “Set it & Forget it”• Don’t: Spam your fans / friends• Don’t: Expect your fans to market for you

Things to Keep in Mind

• Social Networks Can Be Addicting– Think about “Farmville”

• News streams can drive traffic– Bounce rates & time on site numbers are better

than social news or social bookmarking

• It’s not just young kids– Fastest growing segment on Facebook is

women over 45

Blogs

Do’s & Don’ts

• Do: Link to other bloggers• Do: Comment on other blogs• Do: Create an editorial calendar

• Don’t: Link drop in comments• Don’t: Submit your stuff to Digg• Don’t: Spam bloggers with press releases

Things to Keep in Mind

• Bloggers are not like journalists– They don’t have boundaries

• You need to be consistent– If you don’t keep putting out content, no one

will have a reason to come back

• Blogs can eclipse static websites with theirability to drive traffic

• Community is important

Review Sites

Do’s & Don’ts

• Do: Monitor • Do: Make sure your information is right• Do: Engage with commenters

• Don’t: Make fake reviews• Don’t: Be afraid of the negative• Don’t: Forget to say “Thank You”

Things to Keep in Mind

• Traffic from review sites is quality traffic– They explore more of your site– They want to know why people like you

• Negative reviews are an opportunity– People are also cynical and don’t believe it when

reviews are always 5 starts

• Ensure you own your business – Upload your own photos, ensure info is correct

Microblogging

Do’s & Don’ts

• Do: Hold a conversation• Do: Share links, pictures & videos• Do: Remember it’s quality not quantity

• Don’t: Spam hashtags• Don’t: Auto Direct Message• Don’t: Use Auto Follower programs

Things to Keep in Mind

• Twitter can drive a lot of quality traffic– People who follow you are interested in what

you have to say

• Great way to get information out quickly• There are a lot of tools to make managing

Twitter a lot easier• Engaging in Twitter can lead to great

opportunities in other communities

There’s So Much More

THE OTHER THINGS TO THINK ABOUT

Social Media Doesn’t Happen in a Vacuum

• Remember to Integrate– Email: Tell your already interested audience– SEO: optimize your profiles– PPC: promote what your doing– PR: Don’t send a press release, use your media!– Direct Mail: Include easy ways to find your social

profiles– Marketing: Social Profiles on TV, Radio, Print– Integrate & Pollinate

It’s Beyond the Browser!• Iphone, BlackBerry, Palm, Droid

– Smart phones are a common way of life– People can watch videos on their phones– You don’t need a web browser to find a restaurant review– Most social media sites have a way for community

members to access via mobile – that isn’t a browser!

Social Media Policies?

• Employee Usage Policies• Blogging Policies• Avatars, Pictures, Videos?• Talking with The Press• Comment & Trackback Policies• Giving Freebies

You Don’t Want This To Happen

Or This…

Who Owns The Strategy

Everyone Has a Stake

Zappos Understands

Summary• Understand Your Audience• Define Your Goals• Research & Listen• Plan Your Strategy• Measure!• Not All Social Sites Will Work for You• Integrate!• Remember, It’s Not About You!

Questions?

Contact

Director of Social Media

Serengeticommunications.com

LEVANS@Serengeticom.com

SocialConversations.comTakeitInHouse.com