Building a Solid Social Media Foundation

With Deltina Hay of Dalton Publishing, Social Media Power, and PLUMB Web Solutions
Author of:
A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization
The Social Media Survival Guide (new title, second edition)
Video Tutorial Series: YouTube.com/deltinahay
Professor, Drury University
Graduate level social media certificate course, online
Go to http://SocialMediaCertificate.net
Four-week and Eight-week sessions
PLUMBWebSolutions.com, Deltina.com

What we will cover...
What is social media (The Social Web)
How to use the Social Web
Creating a social media analysis, strategy, and plan
Implementing and optimizing the tools
Optimizing your Website
Integrating your Social Web presence
Measuring your success
Developing Guidelines and Policies

What is the Social Web (Social Media)?
Online tools and Websites that allow people to:
Share
Interact
Collaborate
Built using similar technologies, so are easily integrated
Most of the tools are open source and free
More than just blogging, Facebook, and Twitter...

What is the Social Web?
Blogs
Social Networking (Facebook, LinkedIn)
Micro-blogging (Twitter)
Geo-Tracking (FourSquare/Gowalla)
Media Sharing Communities (Flickr/YouTube/Slideshare/Scribd)
Social Bookmarking & Crowd-Sourcing (delicious, digg)
Social Media News Releases and Newsrooms
Social calendars and event sites (upcoming, eventbrite)
Social Pages (Netvibes, Squidoo, Hubpages)
Hybrid Sites (Tumblr, FriendFeed, Posterous)

Why the Social Web?
Internet users have new expectations
Transparency, Authenticity, and Interactivity
The tools may change, but expectations will not
Need an entire (Social) Web presence to succeed
Driving traffic through SEO is not enough, need to increase your reach...

How to use Social Media...
Listening
Lenovo has experienced a 20% reduction in activity to their call center since they launched their community website for customers
Engaging
Blendtec quintupled sales with its “Will it Blend” series on YouTube
Building Relationships
37% of Generation Y heard about the Ford Fiesta via social media before its launch in the U.S.
Being Authentic
Dell has already made over $7 million in sales via Twitter

How NOT to use Social Media...
Blasting
Spamming
Having one-sided conversations
Being Inauthentic
Misrepresenting yourself
You want to t hink beyond the present campaign – once you have the following, how will you engage them and make them long-term advocates?
It starts with a solid foundation...

Building a Solid Foundation in the Social Web The Social Media Analysis
Define your overall target audience
Define your online goals
Inventory your resources
Analyze existing Website
Analyze existing social media efforts

Building a Solid Foundation in the Social Web The Social Media Strategy
Create a strategy for existing Website
Create a strategy for improving existing tools
Create a general strategy of best-fit tools
Complete a strategy to use for metrics, analytics, and an established baseline

Building a Solid Foundation in the Social Web The Social Media Plan
Identify the tools that fit your strategy
Define target audience, objectives, and tactics for each tool
Gather and prepare existing content
Implement and Optimize the tools
Establish an integration plan
Establish a plan for evaluating what is working and measuring success

Building a Solid Foundation in the Social Web The Social Media Plan
Establish phases that include adding new tools and phasing out ones that are not yielding results
Include optimizing and integrating existing Website
Include integrating existing platforms like Amazon

A Realistic Beginning (or Phase 1) Plan
New Tools
Blog
Facebook presence (profile and page)
LinkedIn profile (if applicable)
Twitter account
Flickr account
YouTube account
SlideShare or Scribd account
Established Tools
Optimize exsisting Website
Integrate Amazon Author Central page

Preparing Your Content
Key Terms! Key Terms! Key Terms!
Use Google Keyword Tool to research good key terms (AKA keywords/tags)
Use them in:
Blogs:
In post body, within titles, as categories and tags
Social networking and other social accounts:
In profiles, postings, and status upgrades
Images, Video Clips, and Documents:
In file names, descriptions, and tags

Preparing Your Content
Prepare, Gather, and Edit (using key terms):
Short and long Bios
Short and long descriptions of company and book
Images and video clips with tags, descriptions, and file names
Book excerpts, trailers, reviews, etc.
Other existing content: static Website content, white papers, brochures, previous ads, etc.

Implementing and Optimizing Tools: Blogs
What is a Blog?
Chronological and categorized list of entries
A blog is an RSS feed
What is an RSS feed?
RSS=Really Simple Syndication
A “simple” way to subscribe to information
New entries are “fed” to subscribers automatically
Think of it as a steady stream or flow of information...

Options for starting a blog:
Host it yourself (free from WordPress.org)
Free or near-free options:
WordPress.com
Typepad.com
Blogger.com

Optimizing your blog:
Remember your key terms
In titles, in body, as tags
Use Synonyms, naturally
Add your blog to FeedBurner.com
Use a good search engine optimization plugin
Add to many blog directories like Technorati
Make it easy for others to subscribe to your feed...

Blog Subscription Options Visitors can subscribe via email (using FeedBurner), and with any number of feed readers (using addtoany.com button)

AddtoAny Service... subscription options

Subscribing to a Blog via Email (what it looks like in an email)

Subscribing to a Blog via Feed Readers

Make it easy to share every post... (via Facebook, Twitter, and many other places using a plugin like ShareThis.com)

Implementing and Optimizing Tools: Social Networking (Facebook, LinkedIn)
Represent yourself authentically
Follow submission guidelines
Fill out profiles completely
Use key terms in your profiles and posts
Know the difference between a Facebook Profile and a Facebook Page...

A Facebook Page is for Your Business or You as an Author/Writer...

A Facebook Profile is for You

Facebook Pages: Can set one up for you or for the publishing house...or both

Facebook Pages: Use key terms in name and descriptions...and check out all the options to the left...

Facebook Pages: Use long profile image to help with branding...

An Optimized Profile (LinkedIn) (take advantage of all space)

An Optimized Profile (LinkedIn) (you, as an author, should be experience)

Why it helps to keep tabs on new features...like LinkedIn's new sections...

Why it helps to keep tabs on new features... LinkedIn's new sections includes a section for publications...

Adding a Publication to LinkedIn (does not need to be a book, can be any type of doc)

Implementing and Optimizing Tools: Social Networking (Facebook, LinkedIn) Additional Tactics
Join or start groups
Facebook just revamped their groups – now more like mini-networks
LinkedIn groups are invaluable
Make your page “sticky” by offering give-aways and polls they can only access on the page
Keep conversations current
Use applications to enhance your page or profile

Facebook Applications: Use to customize your page, example: ShopTab – a way to sell products right from your Facebook page...

An Optimized Profile (LinkedIn) (applications and groups)

Implementing and Optimizing Tools: Micro-Blogging (Twitter)
As a blogging tool: used for posting short posts or updates
As a social network: used to interact in real-time
This makes it a hybrid between blogging and social networking
Organizations and individuals gain “followers”
Especially nice for promoting products, sales, services, and events

Implementing and Optimizing Tools: Micro-Blogging (Twitter)
Optimize your profile by using key terms in your description
Optimize Tweets by preceding key terms with hashtags, and using direct URLs when possible (not shortened, so your website is listed)
Retweet influential people only when relevant
Start Twitter lists that include key terms, and make them public
Add your account to Twitter Search and other Twitter directories
Create a custom background that includes branding...

Twitter Profile with branded background (Twitbacks.com)

Profile/Timeline on New Twitter Platform (not a lot of room for branding...)

Twitter: Hashtags (from Twitter's help section)

Twitter: Images and Video
Twitter is designed for text, so it does not store images or video.
So, you need to use media sharing sites in order to feature images and video.
Some Twitter-friendly choices are:
For images:
http://twitpic.com/
http://tweetphoto.com/
For Video:
http://www.youtube.com/
http://www.vimeo.com/

Posting Images to Twitter: twitpic

Posting Video to Twitter: Using YouTube (new Twitter platform allows you to view video on the spot)

Leveraging Twitter Lists
Twitter lists allow users to organize people into lists
Lists are generally collections of followees that have something in common
One might make a list of friends, colleagues, potential leads, etc.
You do not need to be following someone to add them to a list
Lists can be public or private, but the limit is 20
You can also see which lists you have been added to – it can be very useful to see how people tend to classify you
You can also use them strategically by adding influencers to your lists (give them good descriptions, though)

Using Twitter Lists

Leveraging Twitter Lists (see how others are listing you...)

Leveraging Twitter Lists (are you on lists that are consistent with your goals?)

Implementing and Optimizing Tools: Micro-Blogging (Twitter) - Additional Tactics
Twitter prides itself on being simple, but you can enhance functionality with external tools...
Hootsuite is a tool that helps integrate your other accounts with Twitter, post-date your Tweets, and more...
Tweetmeme is a way to find interesting Tweets and retweet them on the spot
TwitterSearch can help you find people to follow based on search terms
Klout is a tool for measuring your effectiveness/influence
Twittercounter can help you see your growth over time as well as find new followers
Search for more tools on Google using “twitter tools” or “twitter resources”

Implementing and Optimizing Tools: Media Communities (Flickr and YouTube)
Share images on Flickr & Video on YouTube
Use key terms in:
File names
Descriptions
Tags
Create playlists on YouTube even if you don't have video of your own
Like all social sites, fill out your profiles completely

Flickr home page is called a photostream – notice the very long file names with many key terms above each image...photos are organized into sets seen on the right...

Uploading Flickr Images – go to help/tools in Flickr and use the Uploadr if you have many images – also note the link to Flickr badge on the right...

Using a WordPress plugin, can create image galleries from Flickr Sets – so only the Flickr set needs to be updated...

YouTube Home Page: Called a “Channel” is composed of playlists, which are collections of videos...

YouTube channels are easily customized...can control modules, colors, and more...

YouTube Playlists can be made up of your uploaded videos or videos you have favorited...

You can then use YouTube playlists to create galleries...

Embedding YouTube videos – every video on YouTube has “share” and “embed” options...to embed, copy the generated code...

Embedding YouTube videos... then paste the code where you want it on your site or blog...

Embedding YouTube videos – here is the resulting embedded video...

Implementing and Optimizing Tools: Media Communities (Scribd & Slideshare)
Sites where people can share, comment on, and review documents
You can get a lot of exposure for your books using the right strategy and key terms
The most popular include Scribd, DocStoc, and Slideshare
Let's look at Scribd...

Scribd home page – people can subscribe to your docs or interact...

Scribd... viewing options...can view as a “book” or as a slideshow, share in the Social Web, and get embed code...

Scribd...upload options...you have a lot of “rights” control...be sure to use key terms...

Using Scribd for ARC excerpts – include a cover sheet for potential reviewers...

Using Scribd for ARC excerpts – include the copyright page, a representative chapter, and the TOC...

Using Scribd for ARC excerpts – include author bio and a final page with book specs and instructions for requesting the entire ARC

Using Scribd for book excerpts/teasers – include the copyright page, an entire chapter, and the TOC

Include a “buy page” as the first and last pages - embed clickable links to buy book within the document...

Slideshare is better for presentations – fill out profile completely using key terms...

Slideshare presentations allow embedded YouTube video...consider a “Pro” account to generate leads...

Optimizing Your Existing Website
Questions to ask:
Can the site be shared easily?
Does your site have badges so visitors can find you on the Social Web?
Is the site integrated with your Social Web presence?
Embed videos and presentations
Flickr badges
Twitter Feed
Facebook page widget
Can visitors interact with the site via a blog or other source?

Use AddtoAny.com or ShareThis.com buttons to make your site easy to share...

AddtoAny Service... sharing options

Adding badges to your Website Twitter example...(go to twitter.com/goodies)

Adding badges to your Website...Twitter example...copy code and paste on your site...

Adding widgets to your Website...Twitter example – customize, copy code, and paste code on site...

Integrating Your Social Web Presence
Social Web is an integrated system
Most tools are built using similar technologies
Make your tools work together using:
RSS feeds
Widgets & Badges
Applications & Plugins
Integrate accounts using streamlining tools such as:
Ping.fm
HootSuite

Integrating Your Social Web Presence
Items most commonly integrated:
Blogs/RSS Feeds
Images/Videos
Events
Slideshows/Documents
Short status updates

Integrating With RSS Feeds: Adding a blog feed to an Amazon Author Central page

Integrating With RSS Feeds: How to find your RSS feeds (more at YouTube.com/deltinahay)

Integrating with Widgets & Badges (two YouTube galleries, a Flickr badge, upcoming events, and FriendFeed widget)

Integrating with Applications: LinkedIn Applications Page

Integrating with Applications (Importing 2 blogs and Slideshare presentations into LinkedIn using the BlogLink and SlideShare applications)

Integrating with Plugins (Flickr galleries on WordPress Website Also note the many badges to the right)

Integrating Your Social Web Presence: Social Integration tools
There are a number of tools available to help integrate and manage social accounts.
Integration tools make it easy for users to update many accounts at once.
Caveat: You want to supplement your updates to accounts like Twitter and Facebook with these tools, not replace them. You should keep these accounts dynamic with regular, unique entries.

Integration Tools: Ping.fm... A tool for making updates to many of your social accounts at once.

Integration Tools: Ping.fm... Using Ping.fm built-in features, you can post to any combination of your accounts...even create custom groups...

Integration Tools: HootSuite... HootSuite is another tool that can assist in making updates to multiple accounts. HootSuite also let's you import RSS feeds, manage Twitter lists, and more

Integration Tools: HootSuite... HootSuite is also a good tool to use for collaborative efforts, and has nice stat tools, too

Creating a Social Media Integration Plan
The first step to integration is having a plan.
If you just start feeding sites into each other without a plan, you can end up with duplicated content or run into dead ends.
We will look at a simple plan...

Creating a Social Media Integration Plan
Given any typical Social Web strategy, there are some general areas that can be integrated or streamlined.
We will use these general areas to break our plan into tasks:
Distributing blogs or RSS feeds
Updating social networking status updates and Twitter posts
Distributing Images and Video

Creating an Integration Plan For this scenario, imagine we have the following tools in place:
Blog
Facebook profile
Facebook page
LinkedIn profile
Twitter account
Flickr account
YouTube account

Creating an Integration Plan Want to create a plan that will streamline the following tasks: 1. Distributing our RSS feed 2. Updating our short status updates (including Twitter) 3. Distributing our images 4. Distributing our video clips The goal is to try and enter content only one time and in one place, So we create a map for each task (or element) that can be streamlined - rather than for each tool...

Integration Map Distributing Blog/RSS feed:

Integration Map Updating status updates and Twitter posts (this should be done IN ADDITION TO regular entries to each site):

Integration Map Distributing Images:

Integration Map Distributing Video:

Creating an Integration Plan
Testing your integration plan:
Warn your readers and followers that you are testing a new plan
Apologize ahead of time for duplicate entries
Test all aspects of your plan by posting test entries, a few times over a period of a couple days (some aspects can take a while to propagate)

Periodically Evaluate What is Working
Phase out tools that are not working
Integrate & optimize new tools carefully
Keep abreast of new features in existing tools
Only you know what is working best for your organization...
Base success on original goals and baselines

Measuring Success
Know your goals
Have a baseline
Establish a plan for measuring success
Don't get overwhelmed by all the “advice” out there – find a couple reliable sources and stick with them...
Mashable
ReadWriteWeb
Slow and methodical is your best approach
That, and optimizing as you go...

Measuring Success
Know WHAT to measure...
Here is a great article listing 100 ways you can measure social media:
http://www.marketersstudio.com/2009/11/100-ways-to-measure-social-media-.html
Not all things on the list will apply to your plan, just pick the ones that do...

Measuring Success: Internal Tools
You can start measuring from within many of the tools you already have in place:
Facebook Insights
WordPress Stats
FeedBurner
HootSuite

Measuring Success: Internal Tools Facebook Insights

Measuring Success: Internal Tools Blog stats using WordPress and FeedBurner

Measuring Success: Internal Tools Twitter stats using HootSuite

Measuring Success: External Tools
Free Tools:
Klout
ShareThis LiveStream (Beta)
Google (still one of the best ways to measure any type of analytics)

Measuring Success: External Tools
There are a lot of social metrics and analytics services now, here are a few that have good reps so far from marketing and PR professionals:
PostRank
Radian 6
JittterJam

Social Media Policies and Guidelines
Part of your overall strategy should be company-wide or client-by-client social media guidelines and policies.
In addition to the usual “dos and don'ts,” include guidelines for interacting properly on the Web, and proper “Netiquette”
Offer lessons in digital ethics, social media engagement, and reflective listening
Clearly define delegations and responsibilities
Include any regulatory guidelines relevant to your company or client's use of social media or advertising in general
Include privacy and security guidelines – don't share anything you would not want published in a newspaper...

While building your own foundation, don't lose track of the foundation the Social Web was built upon...
Sharing
Interacting
Collaborating
(in a Transparent and Authentic way)

By Deltina Hay of Dalton Publishing, Social Media Power, and PLUMB Web Solutions
Author of:
A Survival Guide to Social Media and Web 2.0 Optimization
The Social Media Survival Guide (new title, second edition)
Video Tutorial Series: YouTube.com/deltinahay
Professor, Drury University
Graduate level social media certificate course, online
Go to http://SocialMediaCertificate.net
Four-week and Eight-week sessions...
PLUMBWebSolutions.com, Deltina.com

Building a Solid Social Media Foundation

by Deltina Hay on Nov 17, 2010

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