Social Media 101 for Business

AJ GerritsonFounding Partner

617.986.0224

aj@451marketing.com

linkedin.com/in/ajgerritson

@ajgerritson

www.451Marketing.com

Agenda• Defining Social Media • Review of Major Tools and Goals

• Twitter• Facebook• LinkedIn• Blog

• Social Media Best Practices• Q & A

What is Social Media?

Social media uses web-based technologies to transform and broadcast media monologues into social media dialogues.

Social media is an umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interactions, and the construction of words and pictures.

Communication is Changing

90%14%

of people trust peer recommendations

Only trust advertisements(Qualmann, Socialnomics, 2010)

Facebook population

Friends of fans

60M friends

Fan base500K fans US data

Word of mouth at unprecedented scale

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016$0

$1,000

$2,000

$3,000

$4,000

$5,000

$6,000 +314%

(Forrester Research, 2011)

US

$ S

pen

t o

n S

oci

al

(Mil

lio

ns)

Why Should Our Brand Use Social

Media?

Demonstrate Value – Users See You as Reliable, Responsive, Intelligent

Increase Sales, Loyalty and Awareness

Gauge Your Audience: The New, Digital Focus Group

Today We’ll Cover Four Major Tools

I’m eating a #doughnut

I ‘like’ doughnuts and doughnut-eating groups

I have doughnut-eating skills and expertise

These are my opinions and expertise on doughnuts

Social Tools Explained…

…Using Doughnuts

(I’m eating a #doughnut)

January 15, 2009

> 500 Million Accounts

91% of active users

polled follow a brand 7.8 million brand

recommendations each month

39% of companies

have acquired new customers using Twitter

Goals for Using Twitter:

1.Engage Current Fans & Increase Awareness

2. Increase Traffic to Website

3.Customer Service

4.Marketing/Competitive Research

Content

#Hashtag

Credit the Source

Link

Check out our latest blog post by @maxesilver "Not -So-Quiet Riot: Why Boston’s #RubyRiot Was a Success" http://ow.ly/4Zn3D

@451Heat

≤ 140 Characters

Anatomy of a TweetHandle

What is a #Hashtag?Twitter users use the # symbol,

called a hashtag, to mark keywords or topics in a tweet.

Hashtags help to categorize the content and context of Twitter messages.

Trending Topics(Often comprised of #hashtags)

Question

@Reply

Retweet With Context

Content

Twitter Interactions

Opportunity to Extend Your Brand

Proven Ways to Get More Followers

(Dan Zarella, HubSpot)

1. Show who you are – a complete bio

2. Stop talking about yourself – don’t be that guy at the cocktail party

3. Identify yourself authoritatively

4. Avoid negativity - like sadness, aggression, negative emotions and feelings, and morbid comments

Who Should You Follow?

• People you want to engage with:• Customers • Potential customers

• People in your industry: • Competitors• Partners• Industry influencers

(I ‘like’ doughnuts and doughnut-eating groups)

Over 900 Million Users

41% of companies using Facebook

have acquired new customers from it

51% of Facebook fans more likely to buy from a company they

40% of users 35 years or older

(if it were a country, it would be the 3rd most populated)

Goals for Using Facebook:

1.Branding and Loyalty

2. Increase Fans & Awareness

3.Sales (sometimes)

4.Customer Service

Anatomy of a FB PostContent

Picture

Link

≤ 250Characters

Author

Opportunity to Extend Your Brand

(I have doughnut-eating skills and expertise)

Over 161 Million

43 years old/$107,000 annual income

(a new member joins every second)

Members

Women42%

Men58%

>1,000,000 groups

Goals for Using LinkedIn:

1.Network with Potential Clients

2.Build Profile and Network in Your Industry

3.Showcase Brand, Products, Thought Leaders

Optimize Profile

Engage in Community

AJ Gerritson

Leverage Groups

Set Alerts

(These are my opinions and expertise on doughnuts)

55% more web traffic

Companies With a

70%more leads

57%have acquired a customer through their blog

Goals for Using a Blog:

1. Increase Brand Awareness

2. Increase Traffic to Website, Online Visibility

3.Establish Brand/Corporate Figures as Thought Leaders

4.Show Personality

Central place for content creation, establishing voice, and positioning thought leaders

Opportunity to Extend Your Brand

Leverage Thought Leaders

Social Media Best Practice

Listen

WHAT are people saying about

your brand or product/services?

WHERE are people discussing

your brand or products/services?

WHO is discussing your brand

online?

Also Listen For…

IndustryCompetitors

#TrendingTopicsNews

Establish Your Voice

Depending on your brand, your voice can take on different tone…

Conversational/Casual News Source/Formal

Show Brand Personality

Ask

Respond

Reward

Champion Your Stakeholders

Use Your Tools

Questions?

– Founded in 2004

– 30 Communications Professionals Based in Boston

– Partners Nicholas Lowe, AJ Gerritson, and Tom Lee

– Named a 2011 & 2012

AJ GerritsonFounding Partner

617.986.0224

aj@451marketing.com

linkedin.com/in/ajgerritson

@ajgerritson

www.451Marketing.com

Social Media 101 for Business