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Social Media for Self-Promotion

Using On Line Tools for Your Business

+Overview

Definition

The Technology LinkedIn Facebook Twitter YouTube Blogs GeoLocating

Choosing a Social Media Tool for your Business

Tips to Promoting Your Business Online

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A DefinitionA social networking site is an online place where a user can create a profile and build a personal network that connects him or her to other users.

+ “It levels the playing field and provides small business owners another platform or medium to leverage from a marketing perspective,”

Scott Bradley

- a social media strategist who runs the blog Networking Effectively.

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The Crazy Social LandscapeBlogs

Videos, Podcasts

Photos, Widgets

Digg, RSS….

Communities

It’s about providing a human or personal

touch

+The Crazy Social Media Landscape

Rank Site April 2009 (total minutes)

April 2010 (total minutes)

% Growth

1 Facebook 1,735,698 13,872,640 699

2 MySpace 7,254,645 4,973,919 -31

3 Blogger 448,710 582,683 30

4 Tagged.com 29,858 327,871

998

5 Twitter 7,865 299,836 3712

source: Nielsen NetView, U.S., Home and Work

+ “In the past five years, such sites have rocketed from a niche activity into a phenomenon that engages tens of millions of internet users. “

Pew Internet and American Life Project2008

+How Effective is Social Media?

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How is Social Media different from traditional media?

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Social Media are Different Because

They are social

They are immediate

They are free, or very inexpensive

Social media gives power to the consumer Abundance of user-

generated content It is a two-way

conversation

It is word of mouth

+Reaching the Market

Research shows the GenX/GenY audience likes interactivity. They are: Inundated with marketing messages Skeptical of advertising claims

You only have

1 to 2 Seconds to

grabtheir

attention

+Survey of US small business shows A new, growing segment of small business owners who aggressively use

social media to promote their businesses.

Roughly 45 percent of respondents have profiles on Facebook and Twitter to promote their businesses.

79% of respondents report annual marketing budgets of less than $5,000 per year with the 44% spending "less than $1,000" annually on advertising and marketing

80% of respondents have four or fewer employees

Asked about their "biggest complaint" regarding online marketing the top two were "too costly" (26%) and "there's not enough time to do it well and still run a business" (15.9%)

75% said they monitor online reviews of their business. The most common method was by visiting specific review websites (47%) and by searching on their business name (44%)

+5 ways small business can benefit form social media

1. Branding Opportunities

2. Build Link Popularity

3. Attracting Traffic

4. Interaction With the Public

5. Networking Opportunities

+Ways to use social networking

Store coupons that are only available via the company’s Facebook fan page

Twitter, the capability to instant message store updates to customers and followers in real time , you can use the service to alert customers to sales and specials.

Posts a new tweet, it automatically becomes an update on the store’s Facebook fan page, driving even more traffic to both the physical and virtual stores.

Just being on Facebook and Twitter is not enough. You have to actively engage customers and offer them something of value, which could be a coupon but could also be something fun and memorable.

+LinkedIn

If you're not already on LinkedIn, you definitely need to be.

Create a profile

Connect to people you know

See profiles of anyone else on LinkedIn

Company Search – Searchable by specific company

Job Postings - LinkedIn allows employers to post jobs on the site.

Blog Link – link your professional blog to linked in, your contacts will then see your blog postings

Twitter Link - Similar to Blog Link, link your tweets from Twitter. Anyone who is not on Twitter, can see what you are tweeting about.

Remember, this is professional. Keep your personal private and your professional public.

80% of companies are using LinkedIn as their primary tool to find employees

http://www.linkedin.com/

+FacebookIf Facebook was a country, it would be the worlds 4th largest

Promote yourself through your Facebook network

Share your achievements

Talk about the work that you are doing

Create a fan page to promote your work

Use Facebook advertising to get yourself seen

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Blanchardville-WI/Blanchardvillecom/147129601305#!/pages/Blanchardville-WI/Blanchardvillecom/147129601305?v=wall

+Twitter80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices people update anywhere, anytime

Design your profile with your business in mind.

Be someone worth following.

Follow the right people.

Twitter from time to time about your specialties.

Prepare to simulcast.

http://twitter.com/blanchardville

+YouTubeYouTube is the 2nd largest search engine in the world

Do you know how to create a YouTube video? YouTube can be a very powerful tool to get your message out there.

Create a video of your business, just see how many hits you will get

Construct a video “commercial” and upload it

Have video tours of your location

http://www.youtube.com/user/BlanchardvilleWI

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BloggingEveryone says you need to blog, why?

Do you have a specialty or expertise?

Blog it.

Keep telling people what you know and what you do.

Associate it with your business.

http://pixelzz.wordpress.com/

+Geo Location =Social media + GPS Technolgies

http://foursquare.com/venue/1978680

+Don’t Spend a lot of TimeLink Them All Together

After log in your business Facebook account, go to the link: http://www.facebook.com/twitter/, which opens a webpage shown.

+Link Them All Together

Click on “link to Twitter” to get your two accounts linked

+Link Them All Together

Click on “allow” as shown

+Link Them All Together

Choose the types of updates your want to receive by checking the various options. You can always unlink to Twitter by clicking “unlink from Twitter” as indicated in red rectangle.

+Improving your business

The main cost associated with social media is time, not cash

Faced with adapting old marketing techniques to a new, ever-changing set of ideas

Needing to reach our audience in a way that matters to them

That meant less print, less static, methods. And incorporating social media into your overall marketing strategy.

+Are You Ready?

Is social media integrated into your master marketing/communications plan?

Do you have collaboration? You can’t do it in a silo.

Do you understand the budget implications–in people not products.

Do you have a social media “champion?”

+Do’s of Social Networking

Clean up your online image.

Build an online reputation.

Show off your expertise.

Get involved in the conversation

Actively pay attention.

Do keep your social media content fresh and relevant

Take it offline.

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Keep Them Separate

Professional and personal Apps not always

applicable De-friend at will You don’t have to follow

everyone Sometimes friends aren’t

friends

+Don’ts of Social Networking

Don’t mention your job search if you are still employed*

Don’t forget this is a public forum

Don’t forget private settings, private isn’t always private

Don’t be negative

Don’t forget to continue to add new contacts

Don’t forget to have a clear message

+10 steps to the perfect websiteWhat makes for a good website?

1. Logo

2. Tagline

3. Portfolio

4. Services

5. About me

6. Contact

7. Blog

8. Call to action

9. Use social networking websites

10. Language and communication

+ 30 Tips for Using Social Media in Your Businesshttp://www.inc.com/articles/2010/01/30-tips-for-using-social-media.html

8 Steps to Starting a Bloghttp://www.inc.com/ss/8-basic-blogging-features-you-will-actually-use#8

How to Take Advantage of Online Review and Answer Siteshttp://www.inc.com/guides/online-review-and-answer-sites.html

How to Improve Your Site's Search Engine Optimizationhttp://www.inc.com/guides/search-engine-optimization.html

Inc’s Business Owner’s Social Media Toolkithttp://www.inc.com/business-owner-social-media-tool-kit/index.html

Great Resources for Social Media Marketing