online networking: using social media to grow your network

Online NetworkingUsing Social Media To Grow Your Network

Social media is a way of interacting. This encompasses any platform, website, community, forum, etc. that allows the user to interact, engage and share with others within the same space.

• Social Bookmarking (Delicious, Blinklist)• Social News (Digg, Propeller, Reddit)• Social Networking (Facebook, LinkedIn)• Social Photo and Video Sharing (YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest)• Wikis (Wikipedia, Wikia)

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?

The ones you know– Facebook (personal profiles)– LinkedIn (professional profiles)– YouTube (video sharing)– Flickr (photo sharing)– Twitter (communication–updates on life)

COMMON SOCIAL NETWORKS

SOCIAL MEDIA’S IMPACT ON OUR CULTURE

Facebook350M+ users50% of users login every dayAverage user has 130 friends3.5B+ pieces of content shared/week

TwitterProjected 26M users in 201040% retention rate for users50% of updates are published with mobile and web-based tools

BlogsSites with blogs gain 55% more traffic77% of Internet users regularly read blogs133M+ blogs indexed by Technorati

YouTube51% users visit weekly52% of 18-34 year-olds share videos with friends/colleagues.85M unique visitors worldwide

Social networking focuses on building and reflecting social relations among people. Most social network services are web-based, and supply a way to interact through the Internet independent of geography and “face-to-face” limitations.

COMMON SOCIAL NETWORKS

• Familial and business relationships• Friendships• Interests and hobbies• Values

• What else?

Social networks connect people who share some common bond:

Recruiting• Recruiting new, valuable team members. LEVERAGE your social communities!

– Interact with niche communities where you can find talented candidates• EX: Meetup.com

– Build relationships with niche bloggers who can promote job opportunities• EX: wikio.com/blogs/top/technology

HOW CAN WE APPLY THIS?

Managing Remotely• Social media can allow us to interact with team

members/clients remotely and more effectively. It is all about building relationships, and social media helps enhance those relationships.– Video–Video chats or conferences via Skype– Google Docs–create lists that can be updated

and shared across the team– RSS Feeds–ensure your team sees what you see

HOW CAN WE APPLY THIS?

Thought-Leadership• Everyone wants to be a leader and expert in

their field. Social media helps prove to your audience that you know your stuff!– Tweeting articles– Writing blogs– Sharing links– Creating a polished presence– Contributing to the community

HOW CAN WE APPLY THIS?

Every single minute, more “stuff” is being sent your way. Emails, text messages, voice mails, instant messages, Twitter messages, Facebook posts, etc.

• Identify what you want to “hear”• Harness RSS feeds for news and blog updates (Google Reader)• Utilize social aggregators that allow you to update a single time to multiple platforms• Prioritize your social media time

TIPS AND TACTICS TO MANAGE THE “NOISE”

MAKING SOCIAL MEDIA FUN AND EASY

• Customize your profiles– Include pictures, job information, interests, etc.

• Connect with a varied community– Family, friends, co-workers, professional associates,

companies

• Find a niche– Provide interesting content updates that include links

• Promote others– “Scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours”

BUILDING A STRONG SOCIAL PRESENCE

Rules for Communication:• Am I telling a story?• Do I really believe this to

be true?• Is this valuable?• Would I want my

mother/father to see this?

• Identify your niche and needs• Zero in on platforms that will fulfill those needs• Understand your audience• Set metrics and goals• Make it a time priority• Divide and conquer

CREATING AN EFFECTIVE SOCIAL MEDIA PLAN

QUESTIONS?

Michelle Keyser, Regional Marketing Managermichelle.keyser@rasmussen.edu

Dana Haesemeyer, Online Community Managerdana.haesemeyer@rasmussen.edu

Chris Kent, Community Development Managerchris.kent@rasmussen.edu