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Social Media Case StudyAustralian Physiotherapy Association leverages AS You See It seminar series to raise awareness amongst physiotherapists for Ankylosing Spondylitis utilising World AS Day - May 7, 2011

Social Media Case StudyWorld AS Awareness Day 7 May 2011


Contents

Introduction

SAA endorsement and seminar feedback

Objectives and agenda

Tactics:

The event in perspective - situational analysis•

Social media strategy•

Five guiding principals of social media•

Social media channels used in the campaign•

Social media ecosystem for World AS Day blog•

Real Stories, Real People - human engagement•

Meme•

Why Stories? We are made of stories•

Australian Physiotherapy Association•

Results

World AS Day Blog/Syndication

About Kathie Melocco

Addendum: The Social Media ecosystem cheat sheet

“The highest-paid person in the first half of this century

will be the storyteller. All professionals, including advertisers, teachers, en-trepreneurs, politicians, athletes and religious leaders, will be valued for their ability to create stories that will captivate their audiences.” Rolf Jensen - Former Director of the Copenhagen Institute for Future Studies.


Introduction

Social media has been described as being the largest communication development since Gutenberg’s printing press.

Web 2.0 social media platforms offer unparalled options for engaging with customers, stakeholders and building relationships in real time.

Through social media companies can tap into viral marketing of products, services and events. Facebook, for example, has more than 700 million users worldwide; professional networking organisation LinkedIn has more than 100 million users and Twitter 200 million. These people are both audience and marketers, sharing information and news with their own networks to achieve exponential growth of information.

We have harnessed the power of social media to build relationships with physiotherapists, health advocates and activists, doctors, and spondylitis organisations, engaged with AS patients and amplified their voices in a campaign that has achieved international recog-nition in the health community.

To Note: Social media identified the opportunity of World AS Day and has enabled the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) in the first in-stance to take a leadership position for their members in advocating early diagnosis to ensure a patient’s quality of life long term.



SAA endorsement and seminar feedback

“To the organisers, Many thanks for a wonderfully infor-mative and professionally run webinar. I gained a lot of valu-able information and found all speakers to be excellent and inspiring. Thank you.”- Suzie Winch, Physiotherapist

“Hello, Thank you for the great seminar presented on Saturday 5th May, AS you see it.”- Tracey Ward, Physiotherapist, The Prince Charles Hospital.

“Hi. I want to thankyou so much for giving us this opportunity to take part in this webinar. It is a fantastic initiative, enabling a wider audience. I have an 8 week old baby, so there is very lim-ited opportunity to get to training courses, so to be able to do it from the comfort of my home was just awesome!”- Jasmine Hulls, Physio-therapist

“Thank you so much for presenting the Webinar on Sat May 7th. It was very informative and well presented. I really appreciated being part of this seminar, at home. I look forward to further Webi-nars. Many thanks.” - Judith Hutchings, Physiotherapist

The Spondylitis Association of America has indicated this is one of the most ‘expansive educative campaigns for physiotherapists ever undertaken’. Note: The peak body has been actively referring the seminar to physical therapists.

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Objectives and agenda

Campaign Objectives:

Raise awareness of Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) with Physiotherapists•

Primary goal of educating physios on the signs and symptoms of AS to be •able to recognise AS and empower relevant patients to seek a referral to a rheumatologist

Leading rheumatologists •

from Australia educated the

physiotherapists

The important role of •

Physiotherapists included

in agenda

2 online learning modules •

developed by Abbott for

Physiotherapists post event

– endorsed by Australian

Physiotherapist Association

for CEP

SeTTING THe AGeNDA

A seminar for Physiotherapists only.

SEMINAR ATTENDANCE

MODULE RESULTS

107

41



Research tells us that the •

delay in diagnosis is 8-10

years

A correct diagnosis can •

dramatically improve a

patient’s well being and

quality of life

We formed a physiothera-•

pist advisory board - the

first of its kind! We then

utilised this group to de-

velop 2 online educational

modules. These have now

been accredited by the APA

(Australian Physiotherapist

Association)

We then chose to introduce •

the modules as part of an

educational package with

the commencement of a

national seminar series –

The event in perspective - situational analysis

staged in Sydney, Mel-

bourne, Adelaide

We determined along the •

way via social media that

April was to be World AS

Awareness month culminat-

ing with May 7 as World AS

Day. This was announced

by the International Society

of Ankylosing Federation

(ASIF)

Brisbane/Hobart event •

celebrated WorldASDay –

and was webcast LIVE to

a national and international

physiotherapist audience

TARGeT AUDIeNCeSITUATIoNAl ANAlySISPhysiotherapists, Australia-•

wide

Physiotherapists via social •

networks

Key stakeholder groups•

Health activists (social •

media issues management)


Social media strategy

Long term viral campaign on AS Awareness with Physiotherapists and outreach to the social • eco-sphere

The focus of our outreach social media was attracting physiotherapists to attend the seminar/• webinar and to real stories… real people

Intervention• Identify physical points

• Identify points of assumption

• Intervention tied togoals (organizing, persuasion,pressure on target, etc) andappropriate for groupcapacity

• Interventions launch/repeat corememes

TOOLS: points of intervention | nonviolent direct actiontoolbox | strategic communications & newmedia toolbox

Identifying Targets and Audiences• Targeting Institutions: What institutions are operating?

• TargetingDecisionMakers: Whocangive us whatwewant?

• Audiences: Whoare we talking toandwhat dowewant themtodo?

• What dowe know/need toknowabout ouraudience(s)? What are their filters/assumptions?

TOOLS: power map | influence map | spectrumofallies | focus groups

Battle of the Story(deconstructive)• What are the stor(ies) we need tochange? (Statusquoassumptions and/or froma specific institution?)

• Use narrative power analysis todeconstructwith elements of story

• Identify underlyingassumptions

• Are there larger mythologies of the dominant cul-ture thatmust be challenged?

TOOLS: battle of the story

Battle of the Story(constructive)• Use narrative power analysis toapplyelements of story andconstruct our story

• Howdoes our story target underlyingassumptions in the dominant story?

• What are our sharedassumptions?

TOOLS: battle of the story

Design: Campaign Narrative &Action Logic• Synthesize campaignnarrative

• Memes: Howdowe encapsulate our story?

• Viralization: What are the venues, networks, cultural currents,media environments and/or spectacles where our meme couldcatchon?

• ActionDesign: Tactics? Scenarios?

• R & D: Creativity, experimentation, testing

• Grouppreparation for action

TOOLS: what’s in a meme? | tactic star

Results?• Victory!?

• Story has changed?

• Goals met?

EvaluationIs there evidence that:

• Our memes are spreading?

• Target has moved? Framinghas shifted?Organizinggoals met? (new leadership,membership, alliances, morale, etc)?

PRACTICES: reflectionwriting | paired/smallgroup listening | groupdebriefing | self &community care | celebration!

Visioning &Campaign GoalSetting• What dowe really want?

• What are the incrementalsteps toget there?

• Research

• Power analysis

• Outreach& Education

• Organizing

Shared problem/Issue identified

Action

Narrative Power Analysis

Strateg

yD

eve

lop

ment

Re

fle

ct i

on

Ongoing Practices• Building networks & alliances

• Leadership development• Skill & capacity building

• Monitoring narratives & (re)assessment• Self & community care

• Celebration!• Innovation!

BEHAVIOURAL CHANGE & SOCIAL MOVEMENT BUILDING

Stakeholder Analysis

kathiemelocco.net.au Digital Storytelling

Tactic

Strategy:How will the tactic move us toward achieving

our goal?

Message:What will the tactic communicate? What

will it mean to others? Will it be a persuasvie story?

Tone:Will the action be solemn,

jubilant, angry or calm? Will the energy attract or repel the

people we want to engage?

Timing:Can we leverage unfolding events as

opportunities? Does the political moment hold potential for us, or vulnerability for our

opponents?

Audience:Who do we want to reach with our tactic? What

response do we want our action to inspire in them?

Allies:How will the tactic affect our allies or potential

allies? How will they receive it? Will it strengthen the relationship or jeopardise it?

Resources:Is the action worth our limited

time, energy and money? Can we get more out of it than we put in? Do we have the capacity to

pull it off effectively?

Target:What message will the tactic send to the people who have the power to meet our

demands? Will it pressure them to capitulate or enable them to dismiss us or retaliate?

Digital Storytellingkathiemelocco.net.au



Five guiding principals of social media

1.BUILD A STRATEGY THAT IS SOCIAL BY DESIGNSocial should be baked into

everything you do, not added at

the end of a campaign or done

on the side.

Social media should be

integrated with your broader

marketing efforts and part of

how to achieve your business

objectives.

2.CREATE AN AUTHENTIC BRAND VOICEPeople on Social Media are clear

and open about who they are,

providing straightforward infor-

mation about their business.

Social media is an ideal place

to bring the brand personality

to life through an authentic and

consistent voice - humanise.

3 . MAkE IT INTERACTIVEPeople spend time on social

media channels communicat-

ing and sharing with others,

so always engage in two-way

conversations.

Think about the aspects of your

brand that are inherently social

and create content that people

will be excited to pass along.

4.NURTURE YOUR RELATIONSHIpSJust like in the real world, build-

ing relationships with people

on social media takes time and

requires a long-term investment.

Keep content fresh and easy

to consume, use ads to stay in

touch, and reward people for

their loyalty.

5. kEEp LEARNINGSocial media allows you to get

feedback from people in real

time, giving you the ability to

modify on the fly.

Use reporting tools to learn

about your followers and the

content and products they find

most interesting.


fACEBOOk TwITTER YOUTUBEA Facebook event was created

on the APA facebook page with

participation from various groups

interacting.

The APA Facebook page mast-

head was branded for some

days promoting WorldASDay

and the seminar for physiothera-

pists.

All Facebook physiotherapy

groups in other countries were

notified of the seminar.

The WorldASDay account

continues to be active – and

community engagement is now

active. We networked into the

2 major physio resources via

this medium — physiopedia

and physiobob — a global high

volume blogging and forum

platform for physios.

Twitter has also been instrumen-

tal in building our relationship

with the SAA and the Cana-

dian Physiotherapy Association

among other national organiza-

tions.

Locally twitter is attracting phys-

iotherapy rss feeds via a number

of platforms.Significant interest

in the physiotherapist role is be-

ing created at a consumer level

ie bloggers, although this has

NOT been our focus and should

be seen as as a separate benefit.

The World AS Day chat was held

with physios and patients live

The hashtag used was #worl-

dASdaychat.

Two welcome messages from

Jenna Visscher were posted on

the WorldASDay YouTube Chan-

nel and continue to be virally

distributed.

The community service an-

nouncement from the Spodylistis

Association of American was

also posted onto YouTube.

LINkEDINWe have established a LinkedIn

discussion group for the APA

as an ongoing medium for the

presenting team and physio-

therapists.

To note: integrated social media

has enabled us to cross fertilise

all platforms – ie physiopedia

founder has joined the LinkedIn

discussion group and should be

regarded as a key influencer to

nurture longer term for relation-

ships with physiotherapists.

Social media channels used in the campaign



BLOG wEBSITE STORIfYThe World AS day blog was up-

dated daily and sometimes twice

daily with relevant blogs which

were then tweeted and used by

the APA on Facebook.

Viral takeup of blog posts has

been excellent with the story

of ‘Physiotherapists coming

together with three bloggers’ re-

ceiving a conservative 9,312,500

page views via viral re-postings

on facebook alone and contin-

ues to grow. Cumulative stats

will be provided at the end of

June 2011.

The wordpress blog was pulled

into appropriate APA LinkedIn

profiles to integrate the viral

nature of the campaign via the

application on LinkedIn. There is

still some way to go with maxi-

mizing this as physiotherapists

begin to experiment themselves

with the various applications.

The Spondylitis Association of America has indicated this is one of the most ‘expansive

educative campaigns for physiotherapists ever undertaken’. Note: The peak body has been actively referring the seminar to physical therapists.

We have also used the latest cu-

rating tool for journalists, Storify,

to pull together elements of the

entire campaign to ‘tell the story’

of World AS Day.

This is a powerful medium for lis-

tening, curation and engagement

as twitter, facebook, videos, blog

stories and more can be incor-

porated into one story, shared

and commented upon by users.

BLOGGER OUTREACH The WorldAsDay blog has been

syndicated and to date has been

reposted on some 144 sites.

To note: BJC Health (Dr Irwin

Lim) blogged about the Seminar

series and in this instance

acknowledged Abbott for their

support.

Feedingedge has blogged

significantly about this campaign

for physiotherapists as has Hope

and Apples2011 the WorldAS

awareness competition.

Physiopedia — www.physio-pe-

dia.com — has mentioned and

blogged about this via its sister

platform .

PhysioBob — www.physiobob.

com — forums are active with

discussion about AS and the

webinar.


AS you See ItSeminar SeriesWorld AS Day

Website

RSS

othersPodcasts

Health Activists blogs

TwitteryouTube

Facebook

Social media ecosystem for World AS Day blog



World AS Day blog

The World AS day blog was updated daily and sometimes twice daily with relevant blogs which were then tweeted and used by the APA on Facebook.

Viral takeup of blog posts has been excellent with the story of ‘Physiotherapists coming together with three bloggers’ receiving a conservative 9,312,500 page views via viral re-postings on facebook alone and contin-ues to grow.

The wordpress blog was pulled into appropriate LinkedIn profiles to integrate the viral nature of the cam-paign via the application on LinkedIn. There is still some way to go with maximizing this as physiotherapists begin to experiment themselves with the various applications.

The WorldAsDay blog has been

syndicated and to date has been

reposted on some 144 sites.

To note: BJC Health (Dr Irwin

Lim) blogged about the Seminar

series and in this instance

acknowledged Abbott for their

support.

Feedingedge has blogged

significantly about this campaign

for physiotherapists as has Hope

and Apples2011 the WorldAS

awareness competition.

Physio-pedia as mentioned has

blogged about this via its sister

platform.

Physiobob forums are active

with discussion about AS and

the webinar.

SyNDICATIoN


A key message was that the campaign was about engaging AS patients, hearing their stories and making physiotherapists aware of AS symptoms. Real Stories, Real People was chosen as the tagline and immediately drew attention.

Health activist and blogger Jenna Visscher noticed our Real Stories, Real People campaign in its early days, and has been a strong supporter of and evangelist for the campaign. She is an AS patient and also an artist, and during 2010 set herself a target to draw an ‘art apple’ a day for 365 days to raise awareness of AS as part of her Hope and Apples website and blog. Jenna kindly drew a special apple for us to use as our World AS Day logo; in addition she provided another

drawing to use on a poster given to Australian physiotherapists.

Real Stories, Real People - human engagement

INTeRNATIoNAl eNGAGemeNT

HOpE AND AppLESJenna engaged the interests of

two other very active health ac-

tivists and bloggers who shared,

blogged and tweeted about our

campaign and provided blog

posts for our website.

Websites such as hopeandap-

ples.com, hurtingbuthopeful.com

and thefeedingedge.com spread

our story far beyond Australia.

loCAl HeRo

MITCH CREwSChampion junior Australian

surfer Mitch Crews has AS - but

hasn’t let it impact on his career.

Mitch is one of the lucky ones.

His AS was diagnosed early, only

six weeks after he first started

experiencing pain.

He told his story on our blog

worldasday.com and also spoke

at the AS You See It seminar on

7 May in Brisbane.



Meme

“Just as in the game of ‘Telephone’ (where a message is whispered from person to person, being slightly mis-replicated each time), selection favours the memes which are easiest to understand, to remember, and to communicate to others…. Rather than debate the ‘inherent ‘truth’ or lack of ‘truth of an idea, memotics is largely concerned with how that idea gets itself replicated. Memotics is vital to the understanding of ideologies and marketing campaigns of all kinds, particularly health activisim, and important in social media as we seek to humanise a brand or campaign wherever possible. It can help to provide immunity from dangerous information – contagions. You should be aware, for instance, that you’ve just been exposed to the Meta-meme, the meme about memes…” - Kathie Melocco

A meme is a capsule for a story

to spread virally. If you want to

challenge and transform the

dominant culture and spread

new ideas, you need some

vocabulary to talk about the

units of culture, and analyse

how stories spread, stick, morph

and change. Memes are rapidly

fertilized and cross-pollinated in

today’s 24/7 multimedia environ-

ment.

For the APA campaign and given

that many professionals are

still coming to terms with social

media, and are lurking rather

than active participants, it was

determined to use US blogger,

Jenna Visscher’s Art Apple a

Day project as the meme for

WorldAS promotion to phsyio-

therapists virally. Jenna herself

is an AS survivor and an active

health activist, bringing to the

project influence and a sup-

portive community to tell their

stories throughout the project

and add the human element to

the webinar.

Jenna chose the apple as the

meme symbol for her AS aware-

ness project because Apples are

known to have anti inflammatory

properties.

meme PRoCeSSeS USeD IN THe CAmPAIGI


Why stories? We are made of stories

We DREAM IN NARRATIve, DAY-DREAM IN NARRATIve, REMEMBER, ANTICIpATE, HOpE, DESpAIR, BELIEVE, DOUBT, pLAN, REVISE, CRITICIzE, CONSTRUCT, GOSSIp, LEARN, HATE, AND LOVE by NARRATIve – bARbARA HARDy

bACkGRoUND To SToRIeSWe live in a world shaped by

stories. Stories are the threads of

our lives and the fabric of human

cultures. A story can unite or

divide people(s), obscure issues,

or spotlight new perspectives.

A story can inform or deceive,

enlighten or entertain, or even do

all of the above.

As humans, we are literally

hardwired for narrative. Harvard

University evolutionary psy-

chologist Steven Prinker argues

that stories are essential to

human learning and building

relationships in social groups.

There is growing consensus in

the scientific community that the

neurological roots of both story-

telling and enjoyment of stories

are tied to our social cognition.

In fact research shows that we

are 88% more likely to remem-

ber a story than any other piece

of communication.

People uses stories to process

the information we encounter

from our families and upbring-

ing, educational institutions,

religious and cultural institutions,

the media, and our peers and

community. We remember our

lived experiences by converting

them to narratives and integrat-

ing them into our personal and

collective web of stories. Just

as our bodies are made of blood

and flesh, our identities are

made of narratives.

Physiotherapists were told real

stories online via all social net-

works of people suffering with

Ankylosing Spondylitis. Although

the disease is not common

these stories re-inforced the

physiotherapists’ role at the front

line. Often they are the first to

suspect the disease and by an

early diagnosis can significantly

add years to a person’s quality

of life.

Anecdotal responses from

talking to physiotherapists post

the event was that they saw the

WorldASDay everywhere and ap-

plauded the APA’s use of social

media in such an integrated

campaign fashion.

ReAl SToRIeS... ReAl PeoPleKelly Christal Johnson,

blogger, health activist and

AS patient, told her story on

the World AS Day site



Australian Physiotherapy Association

Supported the educational seminar series and en-

dorsed the meme (apple) used for the campaign –

Jenna Visscher whose art apple a day blog aims to tell the story of AS over

365 days and raise awareness for the disease

Assisted Abbott cross promote to

members in all states.

Email blasts about

webinar sent to all 12,000

members – several times

Joined Abbott in social discussion across the

social media eco-sphere – LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook,

forums, bloggers and niche medical social

communities


Facebook real stories real •

people had some 20,000

impressions during the

campaign period

Physiopedia the leading •

forum for physiotherapists

promoted the event

SAA – the peak body for •

the patients promoted the

event extensively among

members

Viral activity generated in-•

quiries from patients seek-

ing a qualified AS Physio-

therapist – discussions are

being held with the APA to

this regard

Blog readership and viral •

impact of the WorldASDay

site enjoyed significant

impressions. One blog

post alone generated some

200 facebook likes for the

campaign

Positive mentions and •

reputational outreach for

the APA was extensive with

tweets being re-tweeted

and sent viral

APA Facebook page which •

had been relatively static

until campaign is now on

the increase with mem-

bers seeing the value of

curation, connection and

engagement

Remote participants in the •

webinar tweeted how great

it was to watch the webinar

from wherever they were

Viral activity attracted •

significant media leads – eg

ABC News via social

media.

Activity has triggered the •

opportunity for Jenna

Visscher’s Art Apple A

Day project to be show-

cased at the APA confer-

ence to tell her story

and those of others to

all physiotherapists

attending the national

conference in Brisbane

later in the year. This

is a significant national

and international media

opportunity and discussion

should take place regarding

this activity ASAP.

Results

moRe ReSUlTS

Confederation of Physical Therapists website and blog listing for the global webcast with registration details provided. This peak body serves some 101 country members representing 350,000 physiotherapists.



Results

wORLD AS DAY SpIkE IN pAGE VIEwS fOR BLOG SYNDICATIONS AND VISIBILITY Of wORLD AS DAY BLOG SITE ON SpONDYLITIS fEEDS


About Kathie Melocco

Kathie Melocco is a interna-

tional multi award-winning PR

practitioner, futurist and market-

ing strategist with more than

20 years’ experience working

across a wide variety of industry

sectors.

She is the former head of the

world’s No. 1 PR consultancy

and Vice President – Asia Pacific

of the one of the world’s leading

independent communication

consultancies, operating in 47

countries.

She is the winner of the United

Nations Award for communi-

cation that addresses priority

issues for MBF Breast Health .

wHAT wE DOWe help companies become

more responsive, flexible, inno-

vative and effective by learning

to see in a new way, through

transmedia (aka digital media)

story.

Our insights come from a

synthesis of psychology, media

and technology, neuroscience,

culture, and creativity.

We understand stakeholder

expectations of companies and

the evolving communications

and media environment. We help

increase trust, change behav-

ior, engage communities and

achieve commercial success

through digital storytelling.

wHO wE wORk wITHWe work with leaders in busi-

ness, advertising agencies, PR

agencies and Not for Profits to

identify what is their unique digi-

tal story and identify the ‘how’ to

engage customers, constituents

and stakeholders to achieve the

required behavioural change

and business goal using digital

media.

We consult globally and special-

ize in the Healthcare environ-

ment.

wHY STORY-TELLING IS A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE fOR YOUR COMpANYThese are three reasons why you

should be using transmedia sto-

rytelling for branding, marketing,

and advocacy campaigns:

Persuasion: Transmedia 1.

stories are the most fun-

damental and immersive

form of communication,

engaging our brains at

the intuitive, sensory and

executive levels

Audience Connection: 2.

Transmedia strategies

create many points of

Contact Kathie:

Mobile: 0458 818 666

Twitter: twitter.com/kathiemelocco

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/

kathie.melocco

Linkedin: au.linkedin.com/in/kathiemelocco

Blog: kathiemelocco.blogspot.com

Email: [email protected]

Social media and digital storytelling coachingSocial media and digital storytelling workshopsSocial media and digital storytelling campaign management

entry that reach and link

multiple demographics and

target different user needs

to effectively expand the

customer base

Financial Impact: Trans-3.

media storytelling rede-

fines ROI, extends brand

shelf-life, and can create

value-added IP assets and

ancillary revenue streams.



Addendum: Social media ecosystem cheat sheet

WEBSITE CUSTOMER COMMUNICATION

BRAND EXPOSURE TRAFFIC TO YOUR SITE SEO

A microblogging site that enables users to send tweets or messages of 140 characters or less

Use keyword search monitor-ing through a program such as Hootsuite, TwitJump or Radian 6 to track what people are saying about you & your competitors.

Offers unique opportunities for web site integration and to engage with customers in a vi-ral way, helping your company stand out from the masses.

Potential can be large, but pro-motion is an art form - promote your brand too heavily and turn off followers, yet don’t promote enough and receive little atten-tion.

Value to your site’s SEO is limited but tweets will rank high in search results - good for ranking your profile name and breaking news though shortened URLs are of little benefit.

A social networking site where users can add friends, send messages and build their own profile

Great for engaging people who like your brand, want to share their opinions and participate in giveaways and contests.

Facebook brand pages are great for brand exposure - jumpstart your brand exposure through the ad platform or hire a Facebook consultant to help you grow your brand presence.

Traffic is good, Thanks to the new location specific additions make sure you optimise your introduction with key words and ensure your business is registered in places/maps for location.

On the rise significantly as Facebook goes head to head with Google. Watch this space and make sure your introduction is rich with links.

An image and video hosting website where community members can share and comment on media

Unnecessary to spend too much time on this, though properly tagged photosets of company events can help customers put a face on the team behind your brand.

Participation in industry-based groups might get your photos, and thus your brand, viewed by people with similar interests, but numbers will be small.

Even if you get thousands of vis-its to a photo hyperlinked with your URL, click through rates are among the lowest around.

Heavily indexed in search engines, passing links and page ranks. Also help im-ages rank higher in Google Images and in building inbound links.

A social networking site for business professionals

Not the primary focus, but cus-tomer engagement opportuni-ties are possible by answering industry-related questions, establishing yourself as an expert in the field.

Effective for personal branding and demonstrating your or-ganisation’s professional prow-ess. Encouraging employers to maintain complete profiles to strengthen your team’s reputa-tion is advisable.

Significant if you keep your business profile up to date and use opportunities to link to your blog, website etc strategically

Very high page rank - almost guaranteed on the first page of search results - especially for your company name or individual employees’ names, but that’s about it.

How to leverage social media tools to send your message truly viral

GooD ok bAD


Social Media Ecosystem cheat sheet

A video sharing site where users can share and up-load new videos

Whether you seek to entertain, inform, or both, video is a power-ful channel for quickly engaging your customers, responding to complaints and demonstrating your social media savvy.

One of the most powerful branding tools on the Web when you build your channel, promote via high traffic sites and brand your videos.

Traffic goes to the videos. If the goal is to get traffic back to your site, then add a hyperlink in the video description, but don’t expect traffic to correlate closely with video views.

Very good for building links back to your site because videos rank high. Also a tried and true way for your brand to get exposure.

A social news site where users can discover and share content

Not the site’s primary strength though occasionally an objective third-party writeup as a PR effort, perhaps to counteract bad press or customer sentiment, can be promoted.

Opportunities are huge, espe-cially for promoting objective press/blog coverage of your brand. Make sure content doesn’t read like an ad, or your site may be banned for being overly commercial.

The grandfather of traffic spikes, so become active in the com-munity or find someone who is. If your site is corporate, then consider launching an industry blog on a non-commercial web domain to establish yourself as a thought leader.

Very good because even if your story doesn’t become popular, then your page will still be indexed quickly. If your story does become popular this is likely the best site in terms of getting linked to by bloggers.

A social news community where members discover and share webpages

Paid StumbleUpon traffic can be a very targeted method of com-municating, but whether you’re reaching your existing customers is purely random and costly to determine.

A paid campaign can be good for brand awareness, especially following efforts to get free, organic traffic to your home page. Targeting is very accurate but keep in mind you’re paying 5 cents per visit.

Enables a diverse range of people to discover your content and share links via the su.pr link shortener on Twitter. Tagging helps, but you don’t want the same people repeatedly giving you a thumbs-up.

Very good if your story makes it to the top page for its tag. StumbledUpon’s large user base enables many people to find and link to your stories. For van-ity name searches, profile pages rank well too.

A social news site where community members can vote on stories

Editor-driven and moderated, so this shouldn’t be your primary focus.

Noncommercial sites are heav-ily favoured by moderators, so business sites should not waste time in this uphill battle.

Get in the moderators’ good graces and you have a chance to hit absolutely massive numbers - but it’s a long shot.

If you make the front page of Yahoo then you will get a ton of backlinks, but chances are unlikely unless you are a large, established brand.

A social news community where users posts links to the site’s home page

The community is fickle, and any-thing perceived as spam will be destroyed. However look into the categorized ‘subreddits’ to find small niche communities & you could get valuable feedback.

Unless you’re a bacon company don’t try to build your brand here. You’ll end up banned from the site without even realising what happened.

If Reddit loves you then traffic is often up there with Stumble-Upon and Digg. Be careful. Push too hard for votes from your friends & you could be banned, but don’t push at all & you’ll wind up with nothing.

Make the front page and many reputable sites will pick up your story, generat-ing valuable backlinks and extending trust to your site.

A social bookmarking site used for sharing and stor-ing bookmarked pages

Site is intended for people to bookmark content. You can see what people tag with your brand name, but communication with them is nonexistent.

Not enough ongoing brand recognition to make it worth your while unles you want to be known for providing reference content for later retrieval.

Not as big as it used to be, but informative, massive reference pieces bookmarked for later use can net you a few thousand recurring monthly visitors.

Pretty much everything about the site helps. Book-marked pages link directly back to your site. On the front page the big category pages are full of trust, which pass directly to your URL.

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