social media for iowa county entrepreneurs

Social Media:Opportunity for Business

Iowa County Entrepreneurs, March 24, 2010

Wendy Soucie25 years + experience B2B - manufacturing / professional service firms.

Unique focus - technical products and engineering.

Based in the Midwest with national reach.

© Copyright 2009 Wendy Soucie Consulting LLC - All Rights Reserved

In this presentation…3 common social media mistakes businesses are

making

Understand why business goals and a social media strategy is important

Evaluate social media tools for the right tactical reasons

Consider 6 ways social media improves “business as usual”

2© Copyright 2009 Wendy Soucie Consulting LLC - All Rights Reserved

What is social media?

social media:conversation via the Internetused to create shared value

for participating consumers and businesses

It’s about connecting with people


Traditional Marketing

© Copyright 2009 Wendy Soucie Consulting LLC - All Rights Reserved 4

Source: HubSpot

The Internet changed the rules

Most of us go online to:Check online groups Read blogsCollect feedback Read product reviewsEducate ourselves

People are taking control 5© Copyright 2009 Wendy Soucie Consulting LLC - All Rights Reserved

New Channel Approach


Source: HubSpot

3 common social media mistakes

There’s a better way

Common business blunders:

Not answering the question of “why”

Using social media as free advertising

Asking the first available person to do “something”


Social media landscape

© Copyright 2009 Wendy Soucie Consulting LLC - All Rights Reserved8

Social networking and blogging sites are now the 4th most popular activity on the Internet

67% of global online users visit social network and/or blogging sites

Time spent online is growing at 3 times the rateof overall Internet user growth


9

228 Million in US using

74.1% of US Pop.

130 M social network users

Ave age of user is 32 yrs

Social media landscape

Assess

Identify Goals &

Objectives

Develop Strategy

Identify ways to engage

Select Channels & Tools

Measure & Track

Apply Model

A Process


SocialMedia-academy.com/methodologies/htm

The right way to get started

Assess the social ecosystem

Create a strategy and action plan

Engage the entire organization

Measure and track success

Know why and where before you start11© Copyright 2009 Wendy Soucie Consulting LLC - All Rights Reserved

Assessment Identifies Influencers

Blogs

Yahoo, Delicious,

other niche sites


LinkedIn

FaceBook

Twitter

YouTube

Free Assessment Tools

Itunes search

Compete.com

TweetDeck Search

Search.Twitter.com

Trendrr

Addictomatic

Google Alerts

Google Reader

Google Analytics

Technorati search


List of 26 tools http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/155299http://www.dreamgrow.com/46-free-social-media-monitoring-tools/

http://www.socialmediatoday.com/SMC/155299�

http://www.dreamgrow.com/46-free-social-media-monitoring-tools/�











What business owners need to do

Clarify Business Goals ExtendBrand TacticMarketing

Strategy


Tools:AdvertisingPublic relationsDirect mailSocial media, etc.

Take a strategic approach

Goal Strategy

Clarify Business ExtendBrand ToolsMarketing


Be realistic – What resources?Get training – Do you know how to apply the tools?Define success – Can you agree on measurement?

Where does social media go?


Marketing

Sales

Social Media

Product Dev.

Social Media

Human Resources

Social Media

Customer Service

Social Media

The investment pays off in loyalty

Engage in conversationShare knowledgeBuild awarenessGrow networkGenerate ideasCreate brand evangelists

Earn trust17© Copyright 2009 Wendy Soucie Consulting LLC - All Rights Reserved

Tool HierarchyMicro

BloggingSocial

NetworksSocial

Bookmarking

Video /Photo Sharing

Travel/Review Sites

Social Directory Search

RSS Feeds

Blogging / Wikis/ Forums / Content Generation

Website as your home base


Adapted from John Jantsch, Duct Tape Marketing, Microsoft Live Office

Easier adoption for SMB

What?

• Home for all information and place to send people• Silos of content/ information• Search optimized , site map submitted• Makes it easy to do business

How?

• Decide business goals• Ease of use for audience first• Design second• Submit site map to Google/Yahoo

Where?

• Html, Open Source – PHP, content management• Flash - NO• Integrated - Cloudprofile.com, Hubspot.com

What?

• Web logs (sites) where entries or posts are listed in chronological order.• Blogs allow for readers to engage with comments.• Free and hosted sites• Easy WISIWIG editors for adding text, photo, video

How?

• Fast and inexpensive (can serve as website and blog)• Search engine friendly. • Interactive.•USG

Where?

• Blogger.com (Google) (7) – networkmindshare.blogspot.com• Wordpress.org (17) – wendysoucie.com, endresultmarketing.com• Typepad – techpr.typepad.com• Posterous.com – madfiber.posterous.com• Cloudprofile.com wisocialmedia.cloudprofile.com

Search Engines

What?

•Web pages that list websites, images, video and other information• Search based on user input - key words. •The results are based on an algorithm – certain sites feed others.

How?

• Search Optimize pages for key engines /target audience• Local search campaign important•Key data terms on every page• Focus key content on different pages

Where?

•Google.com (1)•Bing.com (9*)•Yahoo.com (3)•MSN (live.com)

Social Networking


What?

• On-line community that builds social relations among people, with shared interests• Profile is required to see or participate• Networks can be small/large, social/business or all of these• Web-based interactions with text, presentation, video , or photos depending on site

How?

•Connect with people•Contribute content of value to your network•Participate through comments, questions, answers

Where?

• FaceBook.com• LinkedIn.com• Fastpitch.com•Ecademy.com

Measuring Social Media ROI

Traffic - # of unique visitorsInteraction - # of comments, sales, downloadsSales – ecommerce on site conversionLeads - # generatedSearch Marketing - # of calls using trackablephone #’sBrand MetricsPR – placement, mentions, stories, visibilityCustomer Engagement – sharing, evangelismRetention – of connections, clients, etcProfits - $ generated

Source: Econsultancy – Chris Lake

The investment pays off in dollars

Improve customer supportRetain customersGenerate leadsIncrease salesExpand marketsDevelop new products

Gain market share24© Copyright 2009 Wendy Soucie Consulting LLC - All Rights Reserved

6 ways social media can improve “business as usual”

1) Expanding the conversation before and beyondthe sale

2) Developing relationships with online influencers

3) Discovering hidden knowledge to increase online effectiveness


6 ways social media can improve “business as usual” (cont.)

4) Sharing valued-added content in multiple ways across multiple channels

5) Collecting timely feedback from current, potential, past and lost customers

6) Understanding important issues relevant to your target audience

Stay nimble


Example


Louis E. Page Fencing

• OBJECTIVE: Generate awareness, drive traffic to website

• STRATEGIES: Listen, participate, entertain and inform, add knowledge


Drive Traffic & Network

Value

Louis E. Page - Tactics


• FUTURE: Youtube

Why Wendy Soucie Consulting?

Network . Contribute . Participate

We provide: Social media assessmentsMarketing best practicesThought leadership strategiesSocial media building blocksTraining resourcesImplementation help and coaching


Contact Wendy Soucie

Enter the conversation. Engage with your customers.

Wendy Soucie, PrincipalWendy Soucie Consulting, LLC

Applied Social Media for Business

608-225-1985Social web links:http://xeesm.com/wendysoucie

[email protected]


http://xeesm.com/wendysoucie�

mailto:[email protected]�



My Relationships

• Wendy Soucie Consulting LLC • Founder/Principal

• Social Media Academy • Certified Social Media Consultant• Founding Member • Alumni 2009• Black Diamond Consultant

• Integrated Alliances• Regional Executive Director – WI

• End Result Marketing • Social Media Strategist
