Social Media: Making It Work for Your BusinessShashi Bellamkonda

Social Media Swami

Online Tools Checklist for your business

•Network Solutions – University of Maryland Small Business Success index http://growsmartbusiness.com

Prominent role to Social Networking

• Social Networking has been the global consumer phenomenon of 2008.1

• Two-thirds of the world’s Internet population visit a social network or blogging site and the sector now accounts for almost 10% of all internet time.1

• Facebook added its 200 millionth user on April 8, 2009. If Facebook were a country, it would be the fifth-largest in the world after China, India, the US and Indonesia.2

• From January to March 2009, people ages 26 to 44 made up the fastest-growing segment of the US Facebook population 2

•1http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/nielsen_globalfaces_mar09.pdf

•2 http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007034

Network Solutions Swami’s - 3 Word Mantra

Photo: courtesy: http://flickr.com/photos/metrojp/92038203/

LISTEN

PARTICIPATE

Photo Courtesy: http://flickr.com/photos/redcarpet/50339009/

CONTRIBUTE

Photo Courtesy: http://flickr.com/photos/presta/129832836/

Your Listening Plan

• Who is talking about your business, product or competitor? Are they Customers? Prospects ?

• Where are these conversations happening? Find a clue to what they enjoy doing? Clues to where you may find more customers

• What are they talking about? Is this feedback? More product features or a call for help? Do you need to be part of this conversation?

Listening Tools

• Google Alerts• Technorati • Search.Twitter.com• Backtype• Radian6• Buzzlogic• BuzzMonitor• Buzzlogic

Participate

• Comment On Blogs• Participate in Forums/Community Boards• Answer Linkedin Questions

Contribute

• Tell your story• Make videos of your expertise• Talk about your employees• Share exciting events/news

Road to Success

• Referrals for your business• Web Site /Blog Traffic• Comments/Conversation with Customers /prospects• Inbound Links• Your own customer community

Google Juice

• Google results are from Social Media Profiles

•From 250 to 35,000

Online Positive Reputation Grows

• Network Solutions won the Society of New Media Communications and Research Award for Corporate Online Reputation Management

Earned Media

Best Practices

• Be authentic and Show your human side• Be Familiar and get to know the turf• Be careful – What you say could stay for ever• Hold two way conversations• No Self-promotion/No message blasts• Refer to other sites • Post interesting and original content

Your Social Media Plan

• Setup Alerts • Join and setup profiles in 3 social networks• 15-20 minutes a day tracing the alerts and responding • Choose 3 blogs on your field to read and comment• Converse, don’t sell• Answer questions and become an expert in your niche on LinkedIn• 2 hours a week - Learn and write about the products you promote• Measure your efforts

How many times were you mentioned How many people read your posts Inbounds links Are your customers evangelizing

• Attend one local event a month

• Ask for help if you need it

Questions ?

• Shashi Bellamkonda shashib@networksolutions.com• Small Business Success Index

http://GrowSmartBusiness.com

• Network Solutions Blog : http://blog.networksolutions.com

• Web Community Network : http://www.LinkTogether.com• Small Business Network : http://www.MySolutionSpot.com• Personal Blogs:

Technology & Social Media: http://www.shashi.name Digital Thoughts: http://readythoughts.blogspot.com Restaurant Reviews: http://www.carryoncurry.com