6 Steps to Social Media

Marketing SUCCESS!By Herb Lawrence, ASU Small Business and Technology Development Center Director

What is Social Media?Social media is media designed to be disseminated through social interaction, created using highly accessible and

scalable publishing

techniques. - wikipedia.org

What is Social Media?An ongoing

conversation that’s happening RIGHT NOW

A promotional channel for content distribution

A long-term return on efforts

A steady stream of information

Marketing Fundamentals Haven’t changed

Effective MarketingSegmenting your MarketDeveloping Target Groups Information ChannelsTarget Needs/WantsCraft Compelling MessageAnalyze ResultsTime Management

The “On-Line” Elephant

Web Site

Social MediaSEO Permission

E-MailLocal

ListingsBlogging

FacebookTwitter

LinkedInYouTube

Bookmarking

SlideShareFlickr

Photobucket

Tumblr

Google MapsYelpJonesboro.comFourSquareGowalla

Traditional Media

Where they Get News/Information

Current Statistics3 out of 4 use Social networks regularlySocial media overtaken e-mail as #1 activity on the web

◦17% of all web usage200 million blogs

◦900,000 blog posts daily◦34% of opinions about companies, brands and

products93% of social media users believe

companies should have presence on social media

Customer Involvement Changed

Customer NOW Find You (Maybe)

New Consumers

Begin Search on-Line Includes B2BReview WebsitesRead Blogs on SubjectRead Comments Poll Friends on-lineConduct Local Search

ALL BEFORE YOU EVEN KNOW THEY ARE THERE!

THE CHALLENGE

Social Media Platforms

Of nearly 800 million users, 20 million join fan pages daily

5 Billion links, photos, videos shared on FB daily

Fastest growing segment 35 and older

FB added 100 million users in 6 months@

Social Media Platforms

Over 80 Million users

80% of Twitter usage happens off of twitter.com

Over 10 million updates a day

140 character micro-blog

Social Media Platforms

2nd largest search engine

4th largest site on web13 hours video

uploaded every minute250,000 videos

uploaded daily250,000,000 viewed

daily

Social Media Platforms

Network for Business Professionals

55 Million WorldwideDominate Group 35-49 & 50+Develop Business ConnectionsIndustry Data

How is Social Media Used?

• Customer Service• Product/service

feedback• Industry networking• Promotions/Contests• News, company

updates• Internal Collaboration

Creating a Social Media Plan

STEPS◦Pre-planning◦Listen to the conversations◦Create TARGET profile◦Set Specific Goals◦Join Conversation◦Measure Return

Step 1 PREPLANNINGASK YOURSELF:

◦Information Flow in Your Industry◦Where do People Get Information?◦How do Consumers interact with

Industry?◦Do they Use networks?◦What INFLUENCES your Customers?

Step 1 PreplanningWhat are your CURRENT

Channels?E-Mail?

Websites

Direct Mail

Newsletters

Step 1 PreplanningAsking Questions reminds you

WHO YOU ARE and WHO YOU WANT TO BE

It also indicates how SOCIAL MEDIA can be used to compliment your business goals.

PreplanningAction Items

◦Make a List of Questions

Step 2 Listen to the Conversation

Secure your brand on social platforms◦ Blogs, twitter,

Facebook, LinkedIn◦ Usernames unique◦ Try to be consistent

Set up monitoring platforms◦ Google Alerts◦ SocialMention.com◦ Technorati◦ Twitter Search

Step 2 Listen to the Conversation

KEYWORD categories to identify:◦Key industry influencers◦Competitors◦Industry news sources◦Blog Comments

Listen to the Conversation

Action Items:◦Secure your BRAND◦Set up Monitoring Channels

Step 3 Create Target ProfileTarget Audience is 24-50 males

◦ 350 billion spending power◦ 16-19 hours online each week◦ 96% joined social networks

78% trust peer recommendations◦ Only 14% trust advertisements

Belong to: Quantcast◦ Twitter: 31◦ Facebook: 33◦ LinkedIn 39

Step 3 Create Target ProfileFind KEY attributes by

ListeningChart out their presence in

social mediaMarket Segmentation

◦ Demographic◦ Geographic◦ Psychographic◦ Behavioristic

Continue to gather customer information along the way

Create your Target ProfileACTION ITEMS:

◦Establish Target Profiles◦Give them names, photos, or

anything else to help you relate to them BUYER PERSONAS

Step 4 Set Specific GoalsBrand Awareness/AdvocacyIncrease Traffic/Opt-InsBusiness PartnershipsSearch Engine ResultsGenerate LeadsReduce CRM CostsIncrease Revenues

Step 5 Join the Conversation

Phases of Social Equity1. Awareness

1. Value and Fun2. Qualify Fans/followers

2. Engagement1. Increase long-term communication

3. Social Commerce1. Product reviews, exclusive pricing,

product previews, registration

Step 5 – Join the Conversation Establish an Editorial CalendarChoose schedule for days

you will postKeeps on Track & Organize

ContentConsistencyHelps when you need

Content Ideas

Step 5 – Join the Conversation

BE TRANSPARENT & AUTHENTICDon’t be Evasive

Offer your name, title, organization, experience

Admit your interest in the topicDefine your Credibility

Be consistent across all SM profiles & Platforms

Step 5 – Join the Conversation

THINK Conversation, not Campaign!Don’t focus on sellingAsk questions/respondProvoke engaging

dialogueEarn a REPUTATION

Step 5 – Join the Conversation

BE the Expert in Your IndustryWrite about what you

know, Offer insights Offer LINKS to resources

When consumers TRUST your content, they will TRUST YOUR PRODUCTS/SERVICES

Step 5 – Join the Conversation

HAVE RULES OF ENGAGEMENT!

Handle NEGATIVE commentsWho will RESPOND

Admit mistakesRespond KINDLY

Handling negative comments correctly will turn BRAND DETRACTORS into ADVOCATES

Join the Conversation

ACTION ITEMS:

1. Create an EDITORIAL CALENDAR2. Create RULES OF ENGAGEMENT3. Share your Expectations with all

involved

Step 6 – Measure ROI

WHAT IS ROI?Non-Financial:

◦ Visitors◦ WOM◦ Page Views◦ Fans & Followers

FINANCIAL◦ Sales◦ Revenue◦ Transactions◦ Coupons

Step 6 – Measure ROI

QUALITATIVE QUANTITATIVE

Involved in Industry Conversations

How Customers Perceive us versus competition

Did we build KEY relationships

Moving from MONOLOGUE to DIALOGUE?

Website AnalyticsSocial MentionsSEO RankingLink ClicksNewsletter/E-mail

Subscribers added

Step 6 – Measure ROI

Develop Activity Timelines:Diagram EXACT Dates Social Media

Occurred◦8/11 blog started◦8/13 Facebook page started◦9/15 Facebook Ad Campaign Begins◦9/17 Facebook Ad Stops◦10/22 Product mentioned on techcrunch.com

Set MILESTONES◦500/1000/10000 Fans/followers◦First Link with 100 clicks

Step 6 – Measure ROI

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

TransactionsNew Customers

SalesRevenues

Average Order Size

BE SPECIFICFrequency, Reach, YieldHow often, How Many, How Much

Measure ROI

ACTION ITEMS:Track Key Social Media Activities

over TimeSet up Analytic Tools

◦ Such as Google Analytics

Make necessary Adjustments to increase Qualitative first◦ Quantitative numbers will follow Qualitative

Efforts

Compare Metrics to Goals

BUDGETING SOCIAL MEDIA PLAN

WAIT!!!!! ISN’T FACEBOOK FREE?

Budgeting for Social Media

TIMEDESIGN & BRANDINGANALYTIC TOOLSSOCIAL MONITORINGAUTOMATION APPLICATIONSSOCIAL MEDIA ADVERTISINGOUTSOURCING/CONSULTING

Levels of Social Media Engagement

LEVEL I◦Place holding

Usernames Setting up Fan Pages

LEVEL II◦Short-term Promotion

Answering questions Finding Key Influencers in industry

LEVEL III◦Dedicated Strategic Engagement

Active Profiles on Several Platforms Promotions, Contests, Active Content Distribution

Determine your level of engagement and budget for time accordingly

Bringing it Together

Ok…BUT…Where Do I start?

Tips to get started Platforms you can ACTIVELY

MaintainWhat outsourcing is needed?

◦Design, Development, content◦Brand Monitoring,

Plan your Content FLOWFind Tools to AUTOMATE

◦Ping.fm◦HooutSuite◦Tweetdeck

FIND SYNERGY

Thank You! Oh or call me: 870-972-3517

Let’s Connect On-LineE-mail hlawrenc@astate.eduWebsite: http://www2.astate.edu/a/business/sbtdc/ASU Small Biz Blog http://www.asbtdc-asu.comFacebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/asu.sbtdcFacebook Profile: http://www.facebook.com/herb.lawrenceTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/asbtdc_asuLinkedIn: http://www.LinkedIn.com/a/asusbtdc