How Can Small Business Use Social Media to Stand Out in a Crowded Marketplace

HOW CAN SMALL BUSINESSES USE SOCIAL MEDIA TO STAND OUT IN A CROWDED MARKETPLACE? www.worldwidecreative.co.za | www.theheavychefproject.com

THIS IS NOT JUST A SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENTATION...

THIS IS A PRESENTATION ABOUT BUILDING A COMMUNITY.

WHO IS WORLD WIDE CREATIVE?

WE SUBSCRIBE TO THE ‘HEAVY CHEF’ PHILOSOPHY

WHAT IS MARKETING?

WHAT IS MARKETING? WIKIPEDIA SAYS: Marketing is an ongoing process of planning and executing the marketing mix (Product, Price, Place, Promotion often referred to as the 4 Ps) for products, services or ideas to create exchange between individuals and organizations. Marketing tends to be seen as a creative industry, which includes advertising, distribution and selling. It is also concerned with anticipating the customers’ future needs and wants, which are often discovered through market research. Essentially, marketing is the process of creating or directing an organization to be successful in selling a product or service that people not only desire, but are willing to buy.

WHAT IS MARKETING? WE PREFER... “marketing is initiating and maintaining profitable relationships.”

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA?

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? “an umbrella term that encompasses blogs, intranets, wikis, social networking sites, news forums and photo-sharing sites.”

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? ...or a set of digital marketing tools that facilitate interaction, engagement and community development - online.

IF MARKETING IS ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS... THEN SOCIAL MEDIA IS PRETTY IMPORTANT.

TIME MAGAZINE THINKS SO TOO.

SOCIAL MEDIA TAKES OVER FROM PORN AS AND SO DO #1 MOST VISITED CATEGORY ONLINE Share of site visitors. % 1,3 BILLION 14 INTERNET PORN 12 BROWSERS... 10 SOCIAL MEDIA 8 SEARCH 6 FMAMJJASONDJF 2007 2006 Source:Hitwise

WHAT IS THE STATE OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS TODAY?

POINT #1: WE’RE BOMBARDED!

“We’re subjected to over 3000 marketing messages a day. On average, we only retain 8 of them.”

POINT #2: WE’RE IN THE ‘ATTENTION ECONOMY’

“Target markets are becoming harder to retain.”

POINT #3: THERE IS A LOT OF ‘SMOKE AND MIRRORS’ IN THE MARKETING INDUSTRY RIGHT NOW.

“Everybody seems to be jumping on the digital bandwagon.”

POINT #4: WE MUST THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT THE MESSAGE AND THE TARGET MARKET.

“Everyone is fishing in the red water. We must learn to fish in the blue water.”

SO,HOW CAN YOUR BUSINESS HARNESS DIGITAL MARKETING TO STAND OUT IN A CROWDED MARKETPLACE?

STEP #1: Define the Message.

STEP #2: Select the correct digital channels to spread that message.

STEP #3: Identify Brand Ambassadors.

STEP #4: Start conversations online.

STEP #5: Keep it going.

HOW HAS SOCIAL MEDIA HELPED ORGANISATIONS IN THE PAST?

some case studies...

www.capsicumcooking.co.za

Capsicum, Africa’s biggest cooking institution recently relaunched its website Employs youth-focused social media components on its site Result: Immediate and significant increase in referrals

www.iburst.co.za

CASE STUDY In 2006, African ISP, iBurst, launched a customer service blog.

CASE STUDY In 2006, African ISP, iBurst, launched a customer service blog. After 2 posts & a few thousand negative comments...

CASE STUDY In 2006, African ISP, iBurst, launched a customer service blog. After 2 posts & a few thousand negative comments... ...the blog was canned

www.barackobama.com

130,000 Obama videos online Biggest mobile subscription drive in history 10m blog posts (70% more than McCain) 3 times McCain’s web traffic 5 times McCain’s community

OBAMA PROVIDES US WITH A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW SOCIAL MEDIA SHOULD BE USED:

OBAMA PROVIDES US WITH A GREAT EXAMPLE OF HOW SOCIAL MEDIA SHOULD BE USED: ASIMPLE, RELEVANT & TARGETED MESSAGE COMBINED WITH RELENTLESS INTERACTION.

so, what lessons can we learn from these examples?

LESSON #1: BE AUTHENTIC

LESSON #2: BE HONEST

LESSON #3 BE FOCUSED

LESSON #4: BE CREATIVE

LESSON #5: BE CURIOUS

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS PROVIDED BY SOCIAL MEDIA TO SMALL BUSINESS?

Attract community members Collective intelligence Free discussion of issues Brand building Database building Reputation management Establish a position of authority

“In conclusion: social media is not a silver bullet.

“In conclusion: social media is not a silver bullet. ...but it is a heck of an accelerator.”

THANKS FOR YOUR TIME! Contact: Fred Roed fred@worldwidecreative.co.za worldwidecreative.co.za heavychef.com

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How Can Small Business Use Social Media to Stand Out in a Crowded Marketplace

by Fred Roed on Feb 13, 2009

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How Can Small Business Use Social Media to Stand Out in a Crowded Marketplace — Presentation Transcript