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Social Media Workshop for B2B

AgencyFourPresented by: George Giles | Founder & Senior Partner

Company http://agencyfour.com / LinkedIn http://sqz.co/q5ZPc86

A master class on Social Media in the B2B space, what works, what doesn't, and how to do it yourself.Feb 28, 2013

On Twitter use #socialTLVor @agencyfour to ask questions

Social Media is a

PowerfulReal time

InteractiveMarketing Tool

Social Media SECRETS

1. Hard Work2. Understanding your audience3. Strategy 4. Execution5. Tracking

LinkedIn Top Social Tool for Business

More than 8 in 10 companies listed on the 2012 Inc. 500 (81% of them) use LinkedIn*- Up from 73% in 2012

Facebook has declined to 67%- Down from 74% in 2011

Does that mean you have to use LinkedIn or other sites?No, each business has unique goals and customers that require the right tools and strategy

Source: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

The Rise and Fall of Social Media in Business

Source: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

The Rise and Fall of Social Media in Business

Blogging 44% publish a blog (up 37%)- Software, advertising/marketing, and media companies were the most likely to blog- Government services organizations were least likely

YouTube use fell to 30% (down from 45%)

Pinterest use at 18% (not tracked in 2011)

Source: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Real Value of Social Media to Inc. 500 companies

How central is social marketing to business growth: - 27% say social tools have been very necessary - 35% somewhat necessary- 24% somewhat Unnecessary- 15% very Unnecessary

Keep in mind we don’t know their: - Strategies- Audience- Work effort- Goals or Tracking

Source: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

ROI (Return on Investment) of Social Media

Only one-third (34%) of the 2012 Inc. 500 report having the ability to determine financial return on social media investments.

Among that third, 19% say social media has helped them cut recruiting costs.

Keep in mind we don’t know if or how they are tracking

Source: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Does your business NEED a social media presence?

APPLE doesn’t

But we’re not Apple – few companies are

Why should we use social media in B2B?

• Social media = another chance to reach a user• We don’t need to own, pay, or build the social media infrastructure in order to participate • React quickly to questions or opportunities• Low barrier to entry• Supports branding • Establishes expertise• Drives in-bound traffic• Targeting by demographic & geographic profile

Power + Reach The goal is not follows & likes

It is about leads and sales

Social media VS Other Marketing Tools

• Direct Mail, Telemarketing, or Email Marketing: We need to own, rent, or have a list

• Paid Advertising We have to pay to promote our business to the audience Once we stop paying the traffic stops

• Event Marketing We have to physically attend to participate and usually with a significant investment of time, money, and staff

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) SEO takes time to implement & see results

Social media networks

• What social media networks are you familiar with?

Social media networks43 ThingsAcademia.eduAdvogatoaNobiiAsianAvenueaSmallWorldAthlinksAudimated.comBeboBIGADDABiip.noBlackPlanetBlaukBlogsterBolt.comBusuuBuzznetCafeMomCare2CaringBridgeClassmates.comCloobCouchSurfingCozyCotCross.tvCrunchyrollCyworldDailyBoothDailyStrengthdeliciousdeviantARTDiaspora*DisaboomDol2dayDontStayInDraugiem.lvdoubanDXY.cnElftownElixio

English, baby!EpernicusEons.comeToroExperience ProjectExplorooFacebookFacepartyFaces.comFetlifeFilmAffinityFilmowFledgeWingFlixsterFlickrFocus.comFotkiFotologFoursquareFriendicaFriends ReunitedFriendsterFrühstückstreffFubarFuelmyblogFullCircleGaia OnlineGamerDNAGapyear.comGather.comGays.comGeni.comGetGlueGogoyokoGoodreadsGoodwizzGoogle+GovLoopGrono.netHabbo

hi5Hospitality ClubHotlistHR.comHub CultureHyvesIbiboIdenti.caIndaba MusicIRC-Galleriaitalki.comItsmyiWiWJaikuJiepangKaixin001KiwiboxLafangoLAGbookLaiBhaariLast.fmLibraryThingLifeknotLinkedInLinkExpatsListographyLiveJournalLivemochaMakeoutclubMEETinMeetup (website)MeetthebossMillatFacebookmixiMocoSpaceMOGMouthShut.comMubiMyHeritageMyLife

My OperaMyspaceNasza-klasa.plNetlogNexopiaNGO PostNingOdnoklassnikiOpen DiaryOrkutOUTeverywherePatientsLikeMePartyflockPingstaPinterestPlaxoPlayfirePlaylist.comPlurkQapacityQuechupQzoneRaptrRavelryRenrenReverbNation.comRyzeScienceStageShareTheMusicShelfariSina WeiboSkoobSkyrockSocialVibeSonico.comSoundCloudSpacesStickamStudiVZStudents Circle Network

StumbleUponTaggedTalkbiznowTaltopiaTaringa!TeachStreetTermWikiThe SphereTravBuddy.comTravellerspointtribe.netTrombi.comTuentiTwitterTyltedVkontakteVampirefreaks.comViadeoVirbVoxWakoopaWattpadWAYNWeeWorldWellwerWeOurFamilyWepolls.comWer-kennt-wenweReadWiser.orgWooxieWriteAPrisoner.comXangaXINGXt3YammerYelp, Inc.Zoo.grZooppa

199 top sites (Feb 2013)

Reported Network Size

5,017,628,477

Top Social Media Networks

What are the top social networks with over

Top Social Media Networks 100+ million users

FacebookTencent QQQzoneSina WeiboGoogle+TwitterWeChatVKLinkedInRenrenOdnoklassnikiWindows LivePinterest *

1+ billion784+ million597+ million503+ million500+ million500+ million300+ million190+ million200+ million160+ million148+ million100+ million48.7 million

United StatesChinaChinaChinaUnited StatesUnited StatesChinaRussiaUnited StatesChinaRussiaUnited StatesUnited States

*Pinterest was ranked as the third most popular social media network in the United States by visitor traffic (Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest)Source: Hitwise

Top B2B Social Media NetworksDedicated professional networking site200 million registered usersFounded May 2003Focus: Business

Micro blogging site for B2C and B2BOver 500 million active usersFounded March 2006Focus: Everything

Social networking service for B2C and B2BOver 1 billion active usersFounded February 2004Focus: Heavily consumer focused

Social networking service for B2C and B2BOver 500 million active usersFounded June 2011Focus: Everything

Social Media Conversations

There are two types of conversations: • One way conversation

• Two way conversation

One Way Conversations

Your audience isn’t listening or is listening but not respondingYour audience is talking but you’re not listening or responding

One Way Conversations 2012

You are not talking to your audience

One way Conversations 2013

You are not talking to your audience

That is ALL her posts

Two way Conversations

You and your audience participate in a back and forth conversation

The POWER of Listening

Once you join a social network there is an idea that “if you build it they will come”. Unfortunately that doesn’t work for all business’.

Look for mentions about your business, questions in your realm of expertise, and related news that you can offer a unique insight to. Monitor your social channels for conversations to participate in and for conversations aimed at you.

Act fast or risk losing the opportunity.

Types of content to Post

• Interviews• Lists • Resource Centers• Polls and Surveys• Revisions/Updates• Reviews• Comparisons• Rants (Carefully worded and thought out rants)• News• Case Studies• Tell a Story• Predictions• Stupid & Funny• Contests• Pricing• Guest Posts

Strategy

1. Drive sales2. Drive lead generation3. Establish expertise4. Expand your network5. Promote live events6. Support existing customers7. Find new promotional opportunities

Introduction to LinkedIn* 200+ million registered users

•47.6% of users use LinkedIn 0-2 hours per week

• 26% use it from 3 to 4 hours a week

• 12.2 % use it for 5-6 hours per week (that is nearly 1,400 minutes per month)

• 76.9% of users say LinkedIn helped them research people and companies

• 68.8% said that it helped reconnect with past business associates

• 49.7% said it was good for building new network relationships with individuals who may influence potential customers

* Research data from Powerformula.net

WHY should we use LinkedIn for Business?

By building up a personal brand the account will:- Establish trust from skills & recommendations- Establish expertise- Be found more in searches- Get more invites to connect- Find more opportunities- Be exposed to a larger network to promote to, hire from, and work with

How to use LinkedIn for Business?

Define a company expert- Skip the paid LinkedIn account- Complete the basics (profile, add, join relevant groups)- Add Skills then get people to endorse you with keywords- Get recommendations

How to use LinkedIn for Business?

Get skills endorsedSend an email to your followers

“Greetings, valued LinkedIn connection -

A quick, one-click favor to ask of you. Can you endorse just one of my skills on my LinkedIn profile? The link's below for your convenience.

Why would you do this? Simple - I'll be reciprocating a skill endorsement on your profile as well. We both benefit in terms of better visibility and credibility on this great resource we use.

Visit me @ http://il.linkedin.com/in/marketingconsultantisrael

Thanks for your support,

George “

How to use LinkedIn for Business?

- Answer questions in groups- Ask questions in groups- Use your LinkedIn URL in your email signature- Set up saved keyword searches for your groups to get an email alert- Research competitors and their LinkedIn activity

How to use LinkedIn for Business?

Grow Your NetworkThe easiest people to add are Human Resources and Headhunters. They also tend to have the largest networks.

Then add open networkers (LIONS) who will add you back.

CAUTION: Once you add someone they can see your email address and email you. Use a disposable email account (Gmail) to deal with any spam.

How to use LinkedIn for Business?

CompetitorsIf you want to know what your competitors are up to on LinkedIn, add them as a connection.

CAUTION: Once connected you can see their activity, their connections, their groups and vice versa. It’s best to connect to them with someone’s account from your company that isn’t very active on LinkedIn, thus protecting your activity and connections.

How to use LinkedIn for Business?

Set up a Company Page - Add products/services- Add a YouTube video and sales contact- Add links back to your site- Post updates- Set up your own LinkedIn group related to your target audience

LinkedIn Groups

What can we do with LinkedIn Groups?LinkedIn groups are organized by topics, professions, regions, interests, etc.

You can use LinkedIn Groups to/for:- Lead generation- Promote your business/service- Promote press release, events, white papers, articles, webinars, news, products, websites, newsletters, surveys, and more and more and more- Establish yourself as a topic expert- Network- Find leads/jobs/partnerships- Find employees and consultants

LinkedIn Groups

What can we do with LinkedIn Groups?You can write someone that you share a LinkedIn Group with even if they aren’t a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd connection.

Go to the group, Members, Scroll through the list, then you’ll see “Send Message” to the right of their name. Messages can include email and website address’.

LinkedIn Groups

What can we do with LinkedIn Groups?Adding connections from LinkedIn Groups is very easy because you don’t need to have their email address.

To improve your changes of gettingaccepted as a connection:

-Complete your profile-Write a relevant invite message- Personalize the invite message with something other then the generic message

LinkedIn Groups

What can we do with LinkedIn Groups?Set up your own LinkedIn groups around a topic or profession. People will join the group over time.

Benefits:- Lead generation- Networking- Promote your business / service

To successfully build your group up; participate regularly, add content that has value, engage with questions, don’t sell, don’t spam, control who joins and what they post, add users as connections, and promote through your own expertise and topic knowledge.

Paid LinkedIn Accounts:Inmails, saved profiles, more in-depth search functions, profile analytics for people who viewed your account and the keywords they used to find you.

Tracking:Tracking campaigns and posts on LinkedIn is a challenge, especially when it crosses over to the LinkedIn mobile app. Here are two free ways to track:

One of the most basic methods of tracking any links that you post is by using shortened URLS. You can customize the link for each group you post to by using a query string ?=group1 at the end of the URL, like so http://link.com/homepage.asp?=group1 Then add that to a URL shortening service like bit.ly to get the short URL.

Do make sure that you test these URLs before you use them to ensure they are compatible with your system!

The second method is to use landing pages, conversion pages, sign-up pages, along with Google Analytics. The specific page will only be used for the campaign so you know where the traffic came from. From analytics you can see the incoming landing pages, number of conversion, along with referral traffic sources, geography, time on site, bounces, etc.

Use Twitter to:

• Post news relevant to your company

• Post special offers or discounts to drive sales

• Post events to provide real time updates

• Post questions or ideas to get immediate feedback

• Follow important industry figures influencers/media

• Tweet about things that interest you, and have fun with it! Your customers might appreciate getting to know you as a real person, not just a brand.

Twitter Tips:

• SEE what other businesses are doing on Twitter

• USE Twitter search engines for keyword searches around brands, products and topic of interest

• FOLLOW Twitterers with similar interests to establish a brand presence within the conversation

• START a conversation

• DEDICATE time to Twitter. Having more than one employee on Twitter

will ensure an ongoing company presence. Spread your messages out over the day, don’t bunch them up.

• ASK questions and get feedback from your followers

Twitter Tips:

• Retweet content from clients and news which keeps the account active and will gather followers• Use #hash tags to start topic groups• Talk directly to people (conversation)• Don't discuss sensitive information• Link to outside content • Live tweet from events • Avoid using ALL CAPS• Don’t SPAM• Check frequently• Have a STRONG password • Post pictures and videos

When to use Twitter for business:

Do you post on the weekend?OR Is this you on the weekend?

When to use Twitter:

Twitter engagement rates for brands (B2B & B2C mixed) are 17% higher* on Saturday and Sunday compared to weekdays.

On average, only 19% of the brands’ tweets were published on the weekend. If a brand spaced its tweets out evenly throughout the week, then 28.6% should occur on the weekends.

Look at your website analytics to see how much traffic you get on the weekends, it will be an indicator for when you should be on social media.*Source: Buddy Media | June 2012

When to use Twitter:

Tweets published during “busy hours” (8 a.m. and 7 p.m ) performed best with 30% higher engagement rates than those that occurred after-hours.

Twitter posts on “non-busy hours” get 24% lower engagement.

Keep in mind the time zone of your audience to post on their time.

If you have to post bad news schedule it to post on Saturday in the middle of the night (2am ). That way the least amount of people will see it.

*Source: Buddy Media | June 2012

Twitter Best Practices: - Keep Tweets to less than 100 characters

- They get a 17% higher engagement rate than longer tweets

- Tweets with links have an 86% higher retweet rate than Tweets sans links

- Make sure the link works before you post it. In 92% of cases, Buddy Media determined it was because they didn’t insert a space before the linkhttp://mylink.com We also find people add a period . after the linkCheck out this great link http://mylink.com.

- Be part of the conversation, but respond quickly and think about your reply carefully, even a negative Tweet about your company could have benefit

- Don’t always follow the rules, see what your audience needs and adapt

*Source: Buddy Media | June 2012

Twitter Best Practices:

- Tweets with hashtags get 2x the engagement of those without, only 24% of tweets during the time of the study used them

- Using 1 or 2 hashtags is fine, but if you add a 3rd, you’ll see an average 17% drop-off in engagement

- Posts with images have double the engagement of those without even though users can’t see them until they click on them. We’ve found images with human faces get more engagement then other types of pictures.

- If you ask followers to “RT,” you’ll get a 12X higher retweet rate than if you don’t

- If you spell out the word “retweet” that figure jumps to 23X

- Search for mentions of your company, brand, products *Source: Buddy Media | June 2012

Twitter Strategies: Content

- Provide good content & users will share it- Use webinars and whitepapers to educate and PULL traffic- Always push/pull people back to your site- Respond to questions quickly- Celebrate your users (praise loyal fans and thank them)- Follow quality people- Get a good mix of business and personal (60/40)

Goal- To be the expert - Branding - Lead Generation- Quality Traffic

2012 vs. 2013 activity for Adam Sandler on Twitter (it’s the same)

What not to do

1. McDonald's Promoted Trend Goes WrongJanuary 2012, McDonald's ran a paid promoted trend using the hash tag #mcdstories

Users posted their horror stories. McDonald’s had no recourse. McDonald's later admitted that "#mcdstories did not go as planned.“

What can we learn = Think your campaign through!

What not to do

2. Bad Timing = InsensitiveAmerican Rifleman posted this tweet during a shooting spree at a movie theater in Colorado.

What can we learn = Check to see what’s going on online and apologize when necessary.

What not to do

3. Mixing up public and private accountsKitchen Aid’s social media staff mixed up their Twitter accounts and posted from the company’s account instead

Obamas gma even knew it was going 2 b bad! She died 3 days b4 he became president. #nbcpolitics

What can we learn = Check to see where you’re posting from and/or don’t post something offensive.

What not to do

4. Working with the wrong peopleMacy’s partnership with Donald Trump was put to the social media test when Donald offered to pay $5 million for President Obama’s college records and passport information. Macy’s Facebook and Twitter pages were bombarded with anti-trump protests. Macy’s gave in and broke ties with Donald.

What can we learn = Be cautious of who you align your business with.

What not to do

5. Using an easy passwordThis month alone the following companies had their passwords compromised and someone else had control of their accounts.

What can we learn = Use a really hard password, make sure only the right people have it, change it on a schedule, don’t click on any suspicious links in messages.

The Negative

1: Respond quickly and professionally the first you hear of something negativeWhen it comes to social media, silence is often louder than words.

2: Be GenuineIf your customer thinks the brand wronged them in some way take care of the problem, respond immediately, look into it, and follow-up. If there is responsibility that needs to be accepted then OWN it and let your customers know. On social media it’s just not one customer that is listening, it could be the entire world.

The Negative

3: Embrace criticism and run with itListen, ask, listen again, ACT … then do it all over again. THAT is how you turn criticism into the chance for ongoing relationships and a better relationship with your audience

4: If it’s someone else's negative it’s an opportunityOreo used the Super Bowl blackout to bid on the keyword and promote themselves with humorYOU CAN STILL DUNK IN THE DARK

Set up a Facebook Company Page

• Complete your profile• Share relevant content from blogs, news, etc• Upload pics and videos to tag and send • Assume anything posted can be seen by everyone• Don't put anything up there you wouldn't be comfortable with • Add ALL of your Social Media links to your profile so people can find you• Be fun and interesting

Facebook: Private Groups

- Private groups are not searchable through Facebook- People must friend the adminand then be approved to join- Discussions are closed and not indexed or shop in results

Benefits- Customer group discussions- Online focus groups- Engage a targeted vertical - VIP group

Facebook: Best Practices

- Facebook uses “pay to play” to reach 100% of your followers- We typically see a reach of 10-15% of likes seeing the message- Don’t post from third party systems, as Facebook will purposely reduce your exposure potential- Post through Facebook whenever possible- Post with images, human faces perform better- Don’t always follow the rules, see what your audience needs and adapt - Search for mentions of your company, brand, products- Post during your target audiences business hours

Google+

- 500 million users* - Active users are mostly male and tech first adopters (engineers, programmers, IT)

RJ Metrics reports*:- 30% of users who make a public post once never do so again - Average post on Google+ has less than one reply, reshare and +1- There’s a 15% chance that a user will not post publicly again even after posting publicly five times.- Average time between posts is 12 days for active users.- The average number of public posts per active users declines steadily month after month.

*Source: Google (200 million as of June 2012)**Source: RJ Metrics

Google+

RJ Metrics reports*:In contrast, a report found that:

52% of Facebook users and 33% of Twitter users engage with the platform daily

Score found** that Google+ users spent an average of 3.3 minutes on the site in January vs. 7.5 hours for Facebook.

Does this mean it should be ignored? No. If your target audience is male early adopters then it has value. Treat it like Facebook, since most people use it for non-professional purposes.

It also has value for SEO since Google includes Google+ results in it’s results at a far higher rate then it should organically.

*Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project **Source: Score

Social Advertising

Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter all have ad options:

Facebook:Targeted banner ads, sponsored storiesCosts start at a penny Promoted Posts

LinkedIn:Targeted ads & video adsMinimum $10 a day

Twitter:Promoted Tweets targets a specific tweet with keywordsPromoted AccountPromoted Trends ($200k a day)Enhanced Profile Pages Still early in the rollout – USA onlyMinimum spend $5k for business accountsSmall business accounts need to be pre-approved by American Express

Social Media Tools Management: HootSuite

It’s a social media dashboard for social media management, scheduling, and tracking. It’s a SaaS application so you have nothing to download and available from anywhere with internet access and a browser.

It allows you to post message, schedule posts, and manage all your social messages from one interface.

Social Media Tools

Tracking: GetSqueezeTracking social media links is problematic. A good solution is shortened trackable URLs. We use GetSqueeze and have found our missing clicks that Google Analytics doesn’t tell us about. Anyone who attended the workshop will get a free GetSqueeze account.

Social Media Tools

FliptopSocial research tool. It allows you to upload a list of email address’ or Twitter @names and it produces a list of all the associated social media accounts and some additional information with about a 60% success rate.

You only get charged for the successful user completions US$0.10 a match.

Social Media Tools

Fliptop:It gives you more ways to reach your audience.

Social Media Tools Automated Twitter Tool

We use an automated tool for specific Twitter keyword searches.

Based on a set of keywords it builds a list of everyone who used those keywords in a Tweet.

This is a free tool developed by @mhawksey

Social Media Tools Uses for Automated Twitter Search

Great for events when you want to mine the data for possible attendees’ to message them to drive them to your booth.

Generate a leads list around a topic OR to generate lists around people who mention your brand, products, services.

Combine those names with Fliptop and you can gather the rest of their social media information.

Social Media Tools Social Search: Topsy.com

Topsy is a social network search engine. It searches through the social networks and provides results. Right now it indexes Twitter and Google+. Lots of filters and options allow you to make detailed searches and create email alerts for each search.

Mobile Devices With higher and higher use of mobile devices we run into tracking problems. Shortened URLS are necessary to track posts efficiently on mobile. For B2C we’ve seen increase of up to 40-50% of visitors on mobile, and they are buying on mobile. B2B we see from 15-25% on average. Most popular mobile devices are iPads followed by iPhones. iPads provide a near full viewing experience like a laptop or desktop.

Take Away

• Set up your LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ pages • Commit 20-30 minutes a day to it - AND HAVE PATIENCE • Add me on LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/N6mOHZ and recommend this workshop if you liked it! I will add you back.

George Gilesgeorge@agencyfour.comTwitter @agencyfourCompany http://agencyfour.com LinkedIn http://sqz.co/q5ZPc86