social media
for small businesses
jenni lloyd

hello!
hope you enjoyed lunch…

I’m Jenni Lloyd
i’m a consultant with
social media agency
nixonmcinnes
one of the UK’s largest dedicated
teams of social media specialists

hands up who…
knows what social media is?
uses social media?
is on Facebook?
is on LinkedIn?
is on Twitter?

but these things are just tools
if they don’t last the course
will social media then be
‘finished’?

No.
the tools are a product.
of fundamental, long-
lasting change

brought about by cheap,
easy, mass access to a
global publishing platform

we’re seeing a fundamental shift

from a time when we saw our
websites as a destination
where we could present ourselves how we
wanted

to a recognition that our
customers are playing elsewhere

if we want to talk to them
we need to be where the
conversation is

we need to be useful
and we need to be wherever
they want us to be

what does this mean?

anyone can have a voice

individual experts can build up
global influence without the
mediation of publishers

ex-employees with insider knowledge can
expose uncomfortable facts
how should you respond?

cease and desist doesn’t work in this
environment

groups of people can quickly
organise themselves: for, or against

customer opinions about products &
services are freely available
Source: eBay.com; Amazon.com
average rating = 4.3
authentic ratings increase
conversion rates
returns rate goes
down

hands up…
if you’ve ever used Trip Advisor or
read a review on Amazon?

welcome to the world of
empowered consumers
how can we capture their attention?

buy it?
Rank ordering of activities engaged in by people while ‘using
media’ in order of declining popularity:
2. eating
3. doing housework
4. doing laundry
5. cooking
6. talking on the phone
Jan 2008, BIGResearch

earn it!
mobile text ads scored 18%
banner ads 26%
search 34%
TV and magazines 56%
word of mouth 78%
DoubleClick, via The Guardian, May 2008

5 tips to get you started

know your audience
who are they?
where are they online?
what are they doing?
what tools are they likely to use?

listen
find out who’s saying what about you
set up Google alerts
use addictomatic / twitter search

know your objectives
what is it you’re trying to achieve…
to listen and understand?
to engage in conversations?
to generate buzz?
to encourage participation?

follow the rules of engagement
offer value
be authentic, transparent and helpful
link to those that disagree
disclose your position/interests
match your message to the environment
-these are social spaces…

choose the right tools
a facebook fan page?
a blog?
ratings and reviews on your site?
twitter?
an island in second life?
use what’s right for your audience and objectives,
not the big new thing

a few examples of how we’ve been
applying this approach

we helped T-Mobile get the über
geeks on board for the launch of the
first Google phone
network mapping & influencer engagement

we are helping Chelsea FC find out
where their global fan-base
congregate online so they can
market to them more effectively
network mapping & community engagement

we helped Oxfam and CAFOD
centralise petition sign-ups across
their partner sites through building
widgets
strategy and widget design, build & deployment

we helped C4’s PR team more
effectively promote programmes to
niche audiences through social
media training
training & consultancy

we helped MORE TH>N compete for
niche longtail search terms by
building a blog around issues that
their customers care about
consultancy, design & build

finally...
we can all learn from this man
blog
facebook
you tube
widgets
twitter
podcasts

hands up who…
wants to be more social now?

I’ll get my coat!

any questions?
nixonmcinnes.co.uk
nixonmcinnes.co.uk/ebooks
twitter.com/nixonmcinnes
jenni@nixonmcinnes.co.uk

get in touch
nixonmcinnes.co.uk
nixonmcinnes.co.uk/ebooks
twitter.com/nixonmcinnes
jenni@nixonmcinnes.co.uk

some must reads…
The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki
Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
Anything by Seth Godin
The Cluetrain Manifesto by various
The Long Tail by Chris Anderson
The 17 Rules of Social Media Optimization
The New PR Wiki
Any online marketing blog (Seth Godin = v.good)

Image credits
hands up 1
http://flickr.com/photos/mic_n_2_sugars/564570276/sizes/o/
shift
http://flickr.com/photos/sanbeiji/220645446/sizes/l/
disneyland
http://www.flickr.com/photos/denn/160596269/sizes/l/
playing elsewhere
http://flickr.com/photos/mugley/2227098069/sizes/o/
conversation
http://flickr.com/photos/emdot/32179191/sizes/l/
tools
http://flickr.com/photos/22280677@N07/2504310138/
wonderwoman
http://flickr.com/photos/bbaltimore/10566018/sizes/o/