Blogging and Social Media For Business

Chris Cree

Social Media Strategy Consultant Chris Cree Helping people exercise the Golden Rule in online communications.

Using Social Media to:

Expand Territory

Reach a Broader Audience

Gain Valuable Feedback

Increase Sales

See More Repeat Business

Get More Referrals

Wikipedia Definition: 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. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and "building" of shared meaning, as people share their stories, and understandings. Social Media

Boil it down. A Simpler Definition: Social Media Communication Formats Publishing User Generated Content That Allow Some Level of User Interaction

Social Media Some Common Features

User Accounts

(Not all found every time)

Friend Lists

Built-in Interaction

Easy to Add Content

Customizable

Public & Private Content

RSS Syndication

API’s

Social Media Example Sites News Digg, Reddit, Netscape, Newsvine, Shoutwire Bookmarking De.licio.us, Furl, ma.gnolia, Spurl Networks MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Live Journal, Yahoo 360 Photos Flickr, Picasa, Photobucket, ImageShack, SnapFish

Social Media Example Sites Video YouTube, Google Video, Seesmic, Joost, Revver Microblogging Twitter, Tumblr, Pownce, Jaiku, Spock, Plurk Miscellaneous MyBlogLog, StumbleUpon, Wikipedia, Slideshare, Last.FM Savannah SavannahNow, Evoca, OddPodz, Balaya, CityTrex

Social Media Can Help Business Potential Benefits of Sound Social Media Strategy

Increased Web Traffic

More Inbound Links

Build Brand Awareness

Improve Customer Loyalty

Sense Market Changes More Rapidly

Earlier Problem Detection

Relatively Low Cost

Integrates with Traditional Marketing

Develop Word of Mouth

Reach Beyond Local Market

Executive Visibility and Leadership

Compounding Efforts Over Time

Social Media The Up Side is HUGE

A Subset of Social Media Simply a Web Site With Special Characteristics (Much MORE than Just a Diary) Blogs

Blogging Software Designed to Make Web Publishing Simpler For People with Modest Technical Abilities Blogs

Blogs Some Common Features

Individual Posts

(Not all found every time)

Comment Sections

Easy to Add Links

Audio or Video Possible

Reverse Chronology

Public or Private

RSS Syndication

Low Cost

Easy to Add Photos

Highly Customizable

Search Engine Authority Search Engines’ Business is Producing Relevant Results Their Competition is Always Just a Click Away Their Search Algorithms are Closely Guarded Corporate Secrets

Search Engine Authority Age of the Domain How log ago was the domain (URL) created? All else being equal... The Big 4 Factors A web site that has been around for 5 years will be seen as more of an authority than one 5 weeks old, and get ranked higher as a result. Older Domain = Higher Search Rankings Cannot be controlled.

Search Engine Authority Page Depth Number of web pages on a given domain (URL) All else being equal... The Big 4 Factors A web site with 1,000 pages will be seen as more of an authority than a web site with 5 pages, and get ranked higher as a result. More Page Depth = Higher Search Rankings

Search Engine Authority Inbound Links Number of links into domain (URL) from other sites All else being equal... The Big 4 Factors A web site with 5,000 inbound links will be seen as more of an authority than a web site with 5 inbound links, and get ranked higher as a result. More Inbound Links = Higher Search Rankings

Search Engine Authority Regularly Updated Content New content being added to domain (URL) All else being equal... The Big 4 Factors A web site that is updated several times a week will be seen as more of an authority than a web site with that hasn’t changed in 4 months (or 4 years!) and get ranked higher as a result. Regularly Updated Content = Higher Search Rankings

Search Engine Authority

Age of the Domain

Page Depth

Inbound Links

Regularly Updated Content

The Big 4 Factors More Big 4 = Higher Search Rankings

Hold Blogs Up Against

Age of the Domain

Fixed – Platform Irrelevant

The Big 4 Factors

Page Depth

Every Blog Post is a New Web Page

Inbound Links

Blogs Make Linking Easy & Attract Links

Regularly Refreshing Content

Blog Posts & Comments Add Content

All Else Being Equal… A Properly Implemented Blog Will Outperform a Traditional Static Web Site In the Search Engines Every. Single. Time.

Social Media Example #1 When Things Go Horribly Wrong Old Media Approach to a New Media Problem

Social Media Example #2 Engaging the Twitter Community

Twitter

Zappos CEO Active on Twitter

Publicly Capture all @Zappos Tweets

436 Zappos Employees on Twitter

Actively Engaging

Multiplying Efforts

436 Different Circles of Influence

Makes Company “Personal”

Social Media Example #3

jetBlue Crisis Response via YouTube

jetBlue Engaging Twitter Community

ON http://jonathanfields.com/blog/jetblue-twitter-customer-service-or-to-spy/ Traveler Mentions jetBlue on Twitter @jetBlue “Follows” Traveler Dialog Results Traveler Blogs About the Experience

ON http://jonathanfields.com/blog/jetblue-twitter-customer-service-or-to-spy/ People Like Me Read Blog Post I Follow @jetBlue on Twitter I Tell People Like You You can’t BUY that word of mouth marketing

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Contact Info 111 Misty Morning Way Savannah, GA 31419 P: 912-927-7734 F: 912-927-7143 C: 912-667-8055 Skype: Chris-Cree Google Talk: ChrisCree Twitter: ChrisCree SlideShare: ChrisCree Chris Cree