april 19 social marketing & yr business

Social networking & your business: making it work

Susan Mernit Oakland Local

April 19, 2012

What is social networking?

•  Social media meets *friend* networks meets referrals, leads, endorsement – Examples:

•  (SPAGGIA List, North Oakland): Who’s a good carpenter/contractor?

•  Facebook friend stream news: George just checked into Oakland MarrioR, Lisa: I LOVE the polenta @Caffe817,

•  Pinterest: Oakland coffee shops we love •  YELP: *recommenda[ons* for everything

•  Google places: show up on a map

2 houseoflocal.org susan mernit

Social networks are marke[ng—by people you know


How can you market with social media tools?

•  First-‐Build an online presence (pick 3) – Google Places, Google search – Facebook, TwiRer – Yelp

•  Then-‐create community & messages – Marke[ng messages & offers

– Endorsements – News & events & newsleRers


Let’s get started…..


Take an audit-‐What are you selling & to whom?

•  Do you know how your clients show up on the web? Are you discoverable through search? If someone hears of you—can they find you?

•  97% of consumers look for local business online.


7

Scream Sorbet, Oakland, CA

HRp://screamsorbet.com Sells at Farmer’s Markets, has retail stores Temescal & SF Makes fresh sorbet & gelato. Established 2009.

houseoflocal.org susan mernit

Scream Sorbet

•  Google links: 21,900 •  Social media tools: •  Facebook (1,488 likes):

hRps://www.facebook.com/screamsorbet

•  TwiRer (961 followers): hRp://twiRer.com/screamsorbet

•  Yelp (312 reviews): hRp://www.yelp.com/biz/scream-‐sorbet-‐emeryville

•  TOTAL Social media connec[ons=1,064

8

Twi<er

COST=FREE


Scream Sorbet social marke[ng-‐Yelp

COST=FREE


Scream Sorbet Facebook COST=FREE


Scream Sorbet-‐Google Search

11 COST=FREE


Scream Sorbet Google Places

First search result for sorbet 94608—address, photos etc.

COST=FREE 12 houseoflocal.org susan mernit

Scream Sorbet Google MAP search

Zip code plus keyword on map interface= Google Places businesses showing up On a map –for Free

COST=FREE


RECAP

SCREAM SORBET social markeNng tools:

•  Google search •  Google Places •  Yelp •  Facebook •  TwiRer

Free= knowing how to use The tools OR hiring someone To help


What’s your offer?

•  Tac[cs for social media – Marke[ng messages & offers

– Endorsements – News & events & newsleRers – Deals for friends – Coupons (cau[on)

houseoflocal.org susan mernit 15

Essen[als for all

•  Google search –  This means op[mizing your web site with marke[ng messages robots find

–  Using SEO (search engine op[mized) words on your site

RESULT: CUSTOMERS FIND YOU

•  Google Places •  Link: www.google.com/places –  Need Google account –  Verifiable address –  Can fill in basics & go back

RESULTS: SHOW UP IN SEARCH & MAPS


Do you need Yelp?

•  Yes –  You need to monitor what people say

–  You need to manage your lis[ng

•  Ask customers for good reviews

•  Postcards asking for Yelp reviews

•  Ask for Yelp feedback in email newsleRers, etc

•  No –  Yelp reviews aren’t always considered reliable, especially for non-‐food, entertainment

–  Yelp perceive as favoring paid adver[sers

How do you decide whether to invest in Yelp? 17 houseoflocal.org susan mernit

How about Facebook?

•  Yes –  You build a free business page

–  You make it a place page (or not)

–  You ask your network to “like” it

–  Put offers and news on the page

– Manage it like your website only DAILY

•  No –  You live under a rock –  You don’t care about word of mouth and referral

–  You don’t know how to separate your personal page from your business page

–  You don’t have a personal page


Facebook is the water cooler right now

•  Over 500,000,000 ac[ve Facebook users

•  250 million of them (over 50%)visit daily

•  72% of all US internet users are on now Facebook

•  48% of 18-‐34 year olds check Facebook when they wake up

•  Over 40 is fastest growing category for US


Who is the Facebook user? •  Average user has 130 friends on the site •  Average user spends an average 15 hours and 33 minutes on

Facebook per month •  Average user visits the site 40 [mes per month •  Average user spends an 23 minutes (23:20 to be precise) on each

visit •  Average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups and

events •  Average user creates 90 pieces of content each month •  200 million people access Facebook via a mobile device each day •  More than 30 billion pieces of content are shared each day

•  Source: facebook.com, pingdom.com

20

Facebook is filled with friends, neighbors and customers you need to engage houseoflocal.org susan mernit

Do you need TwiRer?

Yes

•  24 million users in US •  Your audience is mobile-‐-‐55%

of TwiRer users access the plarorm via their mobile

•  TwiRer IS growing quickly—grew 31.9% in 2011

•  You have a B to C business with news, updates, deals

No

•  Audience is not mobile •  Products are expensive

considered purchase items

•  Business is B to B

21

Oakland tweeters: hRp://twitaholic.com/top100/followers/byloca[on/Oakland,+CA/


How do you know it’s working?

•  Google alerts for your business name-‐google.com/alerts

•  Google Analy[cs on your web site-‐google.com/analy[cs –  Check referrals from social media

•  TwiRer –  Tweetreach (tweetreach.com, measures reach)

–  Followers & men[ons

•  Facebook insights – Metrics for FB business pages


Tools that help

•  Hootsuite (hootsuite.com): schedule tweets & FB posts

•  Seesmic Desktop (seesmic.com): schedule tweets & FB posts

•  Google docs (google.com/documents): Share and save tweets, links, posts for reuse


Should you hire help?

•  Yes –  Social media marke[ng plans: $1-‐3,000

–  Social media manager, $45 and up per hour

–  Analy[cs reports should be part of contracts

•  No –  Do what you can manage

–  Save the cash –  Build knowledge through classes via ACSBDC, Oakland Local trainings


Resources

•  Susan Mernit

•  White papers: www.slideshare.net/susanmernit

•  Reports: susanmernit.com

•  More small biz resources: Houseoflocal.org

•  The Web – Mashable.com-‐great resource for social media marke[ng [ps

–  Create a page on Facebook: hRps://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php


Keep in touch!

Question welcomed: @Susanmernit @oaklandlocal

Email: [email protected]

Site: oaklandlocal.com Follow Oakland Local on Facebook !


april 19 social marketing & yr business

Technology

susan mernit oakland

social networks

social networking

north oakland

oakland marrior

social media tools

google places

google search facebook