using social media to connect with your customers online

www.marketingsavant.com888.989.7771The MarketingSavant GroupThe MarketingSavant Group

Using Social Media to Connect With Your Customers Online

The MarketingSavant Group

www.marketingsavant.com

888.989.7771

[email protected]

Marketing Seminars for Door County Business Owners

www.marketingsavant.com888.989.7771The MarketingSavant Group


About Dana VanDen Heuvel

Dana VanDen Heuvel is an award-winning marketing blogger, author of the American Marketing Association's Marketech Guide to Marketing Technology and the MySpace, YourSpace, TheirSpace Guide to Social Network Marketing and the creator of the AMA's TechnoMarketingtraining series. Dana is a widely recognized expert on blogging, podcasting, RSS, Internet communities and interactive marketing trends and best practices and speaks regularly on these topics at industry events. Dana founded BlogSavant, one of the nation's first weblog and social media marketing consultancies and currently runs The MarketingSavant™ Group, a marketing technology consulting and training firm that helps marketers leverage emerging marketing technology to reach and keep customers. Learn more from Dana's blog at www.marketingsavant.com.

The MarketingSavant Group is a specialist company that focuses on transforming our clients into the preeminent thought leaders and trusted advisors in their industry. Through our thought leadership marketing approach and deep experience in digital and social media marketing we do extraordinary work for B2B clients to move your entire organization beyond the competitive realm and into the unique niche of industry thought leader. We focus on genuine organizational transformation through marketing, innovation, intellectual capital development and not on producing a campaign that’s merely a quickly forgotten flavor-of-the-month tool.

We formed MarketingSavant to work with ethical, intellectual, innovative and challenging clients in the Business-to-Business market sector. Our approach and our philosophy are to always put altruism before capitalism. We do well by doing good, and we like to work with clients who share our philosophy.

http://www.marketingsavant.com/





http://www.marketingsavant.com/services


After-Event Slides & Resources

• The slides and resource links are available electronically after the event:

www.marketingsavant.com/dced



What Will We Talk About?

• Fundamentals

– Social Media: What Is It?

– Social Media Strategies & Channels for Sales & Marketing

– What To Do Next…

– What’s Possible? (Discussion)


What is Social Media?



SOCIAL MEDIA IS AN UMBRELLA TERM

THAT DEFINES THE VARIOUS ACTIVITIES

THAT INTEGRATE TECHNOLOGY,

SOCIAL INTERACTION, AND THE

CONSTRUCTION OF WORDS,

PICTURES, VIDEOS AND AUDIO. http://www.wikipedia.org

Social Media: Defined!


• How people use decentralized, people-based networks to get the things they need from each other.

• WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?

• BOTTOM LINE:

• Social media isn’t just a list of destinations.

• It’s a new standard of expectations.


Why Should You Care?

93% OF SOCIAL MEDIA USERS BELIEVE A COMPANY

SHOULD HAVE A PRESENCE IN SOCIAL MEDIA.Cone, Business in Social Media Study, September 2008

BECAUSE 3 OUT OF 4 AMERICANS USE SOCIAL

TECHNOLOGY.Forrester, The Growth Of Social Technology Adoption, 2008

BECAUSE 2/3 OF THE GLOBAL INTERNET POPULATION

VISIT SOCIAL NETWORKS.Nielsen, Global Faces & Networked Places, 2009

BECAUSE TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL NETWORKS

IS GROWING AT 3X THE OVERALL INTERNET

RATE, ACCOUNTING FOR ~10% OF ALL

INTERNET TIME.Nielsen, Global Faces & Networked Places, 2009

BECAUSE YOU’RE HERE AND NOT SOMEWHERE ELSE.

BECAUSE YOU HAVE GUT FEELING THAT TELLS YOU

SOCIAL MEDIA IS THE PLACE YOU NEED TO BE TODAY.Door County Business Owners, February, 2010



If You’re Online…You’re In Social Media

Source: Universal McCann Social Media Tracker Wave 3


Social Media is About ROI!

• The relationship is apparent and significant: socially engaged companies are in fact more financially successful. So now we know it pays to be social, but it is important to note that by “social,” we’re talking about deep engagement, not merely having a presence. (Altimiter ENGAGEMENTdb study)

But…It Can Be…“Complicated”


It Can Also Be Distracting…• Why you must have a

strategy in place

• Mobilize your volunteers, donors, advocates and everyone else to help with social media efforts



Social Media Is Just a Set of Tools…

BlogsWidgets Micro Blogs Online Chat RSS Social Networks Social Bookmarks Message Boards Podcasts Video Sharing Sites Photo Sharing Sites Virtual Worlds Wikis Local Search

(…just to name a few)



Evaluate the Social Tools



Your Website

• Your “home base”

• Sets the tone, authority and mission –needs to be “perfect”


Everything should have at least two homes (if not more)

• The first, where it originated, the second the overall home, which is your website/blog

• Network tools should connect believers and tell the world where to find your information



Get Blogging (Transparency)

• You “almost need a blog”

• Dynamic vs. static content

• Audiences ‘connect’ with blogs

• Metaphor for:

– Transparent communication

– Authenticity

– Responsibility

– Reputation

• “Connectable platform” (Wordpress, Typepad)



Why Blogs?

• Those who use blogs and social networking sites as an outlet for civic engagement are far more active in traditional realms of political and nonpolitical participation than are other internet users. In addition, they are even more active than those who do not use the internet at all. (PEW Internet – 9/09)



Even if you have great website, consider a blog site. Remember, content and conversation are paramount.

The best organizations connect customers to their website, blog and to other relevant social media sites where your audience hangs out.



Tap Into Your Community

• Community members can be worth 30% more

• Tap the power of your customer base

• Increase long-term lifetime value

• Involve them in something meaningful

• Know what customers really want to buy



Facebook

• Events

• Fan Pages

• Groups

• Personal Pages of Fans

• Paid Advertisements


Facebook Ads

• Quick Targeting

–Age

–Education

– Location

–Gender…

• Start/Pause/Stop

• CPC Basis

• Export Reports



Facebook Causes

• Start a Cause

• Raise $$

• Show FundraisingMomentum

• In order to accept donations through Causes, a nonprofit must be a 501(c)3 that is also registered with GuideStar

• Payments through Network for Good



Microblogging (Twitter)

• Easy, free access to distribution of your marketing tools

• Requires little “buy-in” from believers or potential believers

• Another way for your tribe to share your message

• Search allows you to connect with your tribe

• Easy to cross-reference more “in-depth” tools

• To try: Twitter, FriendFeed, Seesmic



Microblogging

Links: 26 Charities and Non-Profits on Twitter

http://mashable.com/2009/03/19/twitter-nonprofits/





• American Cancer Society

• “More Birthdays”

Driving Conversations



Social Media Listening

• What are people saying about your organization?

• Your competitors?

• Your tribe?

• Your peers?

• Services to try: Radian6, TweetBeep, TweetAlert, Google Alerts



Listen to the Conversation• Be transparent. Be open and

honest in all communication.

• Be ethical. Live by the WOMMA Practical Ethics Toolkit

• Be relevant. Share information and perspectives that are valuable to the online community

• Personalize and be personable.

• Address negative discussion head-on.

• Court evangelists & advocates.

Even if you’re not ready to join the conversation, it pays to have a sound strategy for dealing with any social media conversation taking place about your brand.



Free

Scratch the Surface



Comcast provides support via Twitter



Using Video

Easy, free way for people to really “get involved” from afar.

Services to try: vimeo, viddler, 12second.tv, ustream.com, and mogulus.

Stream from your computer or invest in a small flip camera.



Share Things

Like Photos… …and Videos



Podcasts & Vodcasts

• More human & emotional than blogging

• Be found on Google

• Low investment

• Easy distribution

• Differentiator

• Share more than text



Where are all the pretty pictures?

• Don’t forget to represent your events, your believers, your workers with pictures.

• This is way more important than most people realize.

• Stock is stupid. I want to see your FACE.

• To Try: Flickr, Photobucket, Picasa, Facebook, Twitpic



Social Media Overkill?



Feature: Friendfeed

• Consolidate

• Simplify

• Track

• Comment


Case Studies


Case Studies

2:10p



American Marketing Association

Social Media: Marketing and

Measurement

Brooklyn Museum/ Integration

• Feature: The Brooklyn Museum

Integrated Campaigns

Social Media

Magazines

TV and Radio

Direct MailOnline

Advertising


Martell Home Builders uses social media to connect with home buyers

ToolkitBlogFacebook fan pageYouTube VideosTwitter streamSmugMug photos*



Martell Home Builders

3 Lessons:

1) Be Transparent

2) Holistic Strategy

3) Human Relationships


Goodwill uses social media to increase sales of its high-end merchandise

ToolkitBlogFacebook fan pageYouTube VideosTwitter streameBay sales page



Integrated Social Media Strategy Goodwill Repositioning

Blog

YouTube

MySpace

ebay Store



A Few Good Stats

• Over 11,500 unique visitors to the virtual fashion show 9/12 launch • Over 42,000 page views • 16% of fashion show visitors have been converted into online Goodwill

shoppers • Fashion Show Visitors from 31 countries and 48 states plus DC • 48% of fashion show visitors are from the DC, MD, VA region (the area

we serve) • Blog is averaging between 600 & 700 visitors a week • 5.6% of blog visitors are being converted into online Goodwill shoppers • Blog visitors from 77 countries and all 50 states

Brick & mortar stores during the two weeks following the launch of the fashion show:• Customer count + 6.6%• Rack sales (clothing) + 16.5% • Total sales + 8.275%



Goodwill of Greater Washington

3 Lessons:

1) Incorporate Into Marketing Strategy

2) Regional Execution

3) Entertainment + Trust = Desire to Shop


Nicolet uses a blog and social media to educate and connect with their tribe

Social & Thought Leadership ToolkitBlogTwitter (rates)RSS feedsPodcastsBusiness Pulse SurveyVOC community center



Social Media & Thought Leadership Marketing

• Goal/Result: Become thepremier business bank in NE WI

• Thought leadership POV: Banks should be transparent & here to help businesses grow

• Business Pulse universally regarded as the “business barometer” for the N.E.W economy

• Measures media mentions, speaking opportunities, customer acquisition & retention, moving into “customer voice” & crowdsourcing space



Nicolet National Bank

4 Lessons:

1) Leverage Transparency & Thought Leadership

2) Unfiltered Conversation

3) Content Matters

4) Education = Trust


Comcast Cares…Because This Guy Didn’t…

http://www.measuredup.com/review/A-Comcast-Technician-Sleeping-on-my-Couch-2482


Comcast uses social media to take care of it’s most vocal customers

ToolkitTwitterBlogsSocial Media ListeningCustomer ServiceYouTube Videos



Comcast Cares

3 Lessons:

1) Listen Intently, React Immediately

2) Educate The Team (Internally)

3) Social Media Success + PR = Momentum


Indium employs social media to generate leads for electronic assembly components

ToolkitBlogs (10 of them)VideoRSS feedsLinkedInTwitterFlickr


Social Media MarketerIndium Corporation

• 25% reduction in marketing spend

• Major account wins

• Entire organization involvedin the ‘community’



Thought Leadership MarketerIndium Corporation

“[Being a Thought Leader] is being considered the best, most authoritative, trusted source. It means being the “go to” people. It means being given the first look, being invited into a development project and asked for advice. It means being the organization that others MUST HAVE involved with a project. And it all leads to increased sales, profits, and image or it simply didn’t matter..”

Rick Short, Indium



Indium

3 Lessons:

1) Focus on Specific Content

2) Start Small With Commitment

3) Create Dialog Where None Exists



Social Media Marketer:Adams Magnetic

• Goal: Separate themselves as thought leaders in the industrial magnets market to drive new direct business

• First to hold the “market conversation”

• Building the community around industrial magnets through blogging, conference appearances and thought leadership articles

• New leads attributed to TLM activities

• Bested their competitors in growing website traffic



The Social Media Restaurant

• Caminito Argentinean Steakhouse is a single-location restaurant in Northampton, Mass

• Using a website, local ads, blogging, video, Twitter, MySpace and other digital tools to drive business

http://www.caminitosteakhouse.com/

http://www.caminitosteakhouse.com/



Caminito’s World…


Preparing Your Social Media Plan

2:10p


Balance Risk & Reward



Claim Your Name!

• Go to namechk.com

• Type in your district “handle” or “shortname”

• Reserve your name on important sites



Learn to Converse (Blog)

• Foundation of content/consistency/ connection

• Metaphor for Social Media & networking

• Transferable skills to video & social nets…

• Transferrable benefits to SEO, SEM & TLM



It’s Also About “Getting Found”• Blogs enhance search findability

• Search provides a strong, highly measurable ROI for marketing dollars spent.

• Search garners click-through rates that exceed all other forms of online advertising.

• Search offers marketers the potential for immediate sales online, as well as for online and offline sales at a later time.

• Search can even enhance brands.

• Over 80% of consumers and businesspeople engage in on a regular basis



Share, Link and Guide

• What will your audience find useful?

• Share competitors info – it drives them nuts, and gets them to link to you!

• Easy, time-conscious way to stay relevant without creating original content



Harness the Power of Social Networks

• Connect with your supporters in their network.– Facebook, LinkedIn, MySpace,

etc…

• Build applications for them in their networks.

• Assign someone in your company as the ‘community manager’.

• If you build it, they won’t come – put together a sound seeding strategy



Local Coffee Shops Run on Facebook



Facebook Ads –Hyper-targeting

“Local” Facebook Ads



LinkedIn

• Create a group & discussion

• Connect with professionals

• Connect with customers

• Ask questions

• Approach prospects



Customer Community

• Small business focused credit card company is changing the business financing discussion through ideas

• Created ideablob.com to stir the conversation about what it stands for

• Positioning itself as the most helpful credit card company to small business

• Involved in other small business related causes to help developing countries

• Online resources for small business owners just getting started



Tap Into Your Community

• Community members can be worth 30% more

• Tap the power of your support base

• Increase long-term lifetime value of parents & community members

• Involve them in something meaningful

• Know what your supporters really want to talk about



Crowdsource Your Next Big Idea

• Define an idea management process.

• Design and develop the online community.

• Promote the community with your customers.

• Invite them to contribute.

• Post questions to spur their thinking.

• Use: LinkedIn, Facebook, Ning, Blogs, etc…



Podcasts & Vodcasts

• More human & emotional than blogging

• Be found on Google

• Low investment

• Easy distribution

• Differentiator

• Share more than text



Driving Sales With Twitter



Become HUGE With Twitter



Tech Support Via Twitter



Share Photos and Videos Online

• Create a brand channel on YouTube.

• Interviews, screencasts, customer videos, installation photos, etc…

• Promote your company’s YouTube channel or specific videos on your Web site, emails, newsletters.

• Engage your audience by encouraging them to add comments, rate videos, share video.

• Update your content frequently to keep it fresh. This is critical to keep people coming back.



Social Media Is Just a Set of Tools…

(…just to name a few)

• Blogs

• Widgets

• Micro Blogs

• Online Chat

• RSS

• Social Networks

• Social Bookmarks

• Message Boards

• Podcasts

• Video Sharing Sites

• Photo Sharing Sites

• Virtual Worlds

• Wikis

• Local Search


Goodwill uses social media to increase sales of its high-end merchandise

ToolkitBlogFacebook fan pageYouTube VideosTwitter streameBay sales page



Goodwill of Greater Washington

3 Lessons:

1) Incorporate Into Marketing Strategy

2) Regional Execution

3) Entertainment + Trust = Desire to Shop


A Few Good Stats

• Over 11,500 unique visitors to the virtual fashion show 9/12 launch

• Over 42,000 page views • 16% of fashion show visitors have been converted into online

Goodwill shoppers • Fashion Show Visitors from 31 countries and 48 states plus DC • 48% of fashion show visitors are from the DC, MD, VA region (the

area we serve) • Blog is averaging between 600 & 700 visitors a week • 5.6% of blog visitors are being converted into online Goodwill

shoppers • Blog visitors from 77 countries and all 50 states

Brick & mortar stores during the two weeks following the launch of the fashion show:

• Customer count + 6.6%• Rack sales (clothing) + 16.5%• Total sales + 8.275%

http://dcgoodwillfashions.blogspot.com/



Alzheimer Society/ Twitter

• Feature: Use of Twitter for Awareness.A Million Tweets to Remember Campaign



Brooklyn Museum/ Integration

• Feature: The Brooklyn Museum

Integrated Campaigns

Social Media

Magazines

TV and Radio

Direct MailOnline

Advertising



Define the Plan

• Outline Organization Objectives

• Define The Audience

• Choose Social Channels

• Integrate Into Current Program

• Tie Into Metrics

• Implement the Plan



Understand Your Organization

Social Media is a NOT a universal answer!



Take Lessons from Leading Brands

• Deputize people throughout the organization• Understand each channel’s unique engagement• Find champions• Centralize coordination• Be in it for the long haul• Pick channels carefully• Fish where the fish are• Support engagement as an extension of company culture• Encourage employees to use social media to get work done• Make social media part of the job• Modularize and Synchronize across channels (activity

streams)



For Tomorrow

• Draft your social media policy

• Identify your internal constituents:– Identify one opportunity based on listening and

address it.

• Implement One Idea– Choose one social channel and implement one idea.

Integrate it into your current communications program and measure it.


After-Event Slides & Resources

• The slides and resource links are available electronically after the event:

www.marketingsavant.com/dced


Using Social Media to Connect With Your Customers Online

The MarketingSavant Group

www.marketingsavant.com

888.989.7771

[email protected]

Marketing Seminars for Door County Business Owners