Small Business Social Media V3b Working

What I’m going to tell you© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 4What is social media? (People conversing online.)How does big business use it? (They talk to people.)Can small business use it the same way? (Not often.)So then what can small business do to survive in the era of Yelp and Google?Manage your identity.Manage your reputation.…then do everything else.

…so business is changing…© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 8Customers don’t listen to advertising.(how do you get them?)Customers are talking back.(how do you keep them happy?)Customers have more choices.(how do you add value?)

What’s ‘wiped-out’?© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 10The phone doesn’t ring (no customers) and you go broke. You spend time and money on ineffective marketing (and you go broke).You competitors leave you behind. (and…)

There’s a standard playbook© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 12…from “5 Things Small Business Owners Should Do Today Online” by Chris Brogan:Start a blogStart listeningTry Twitter OR FacebookGet the word outTry moving the needle (create events, do something out of the box)

How Social Media is changing marketing (and other things)

Social Media for Small Business

Wrapup and feedback4 rules of the game© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 16This is a conversation – please ask questions or raise issues when you think of them.Because this is a conversation between the folks in the room, please turn off your phones. Ring tones and texting are conversation-killers.If something isn’t clear or seems wrong – speak up. How else am I going to learn?We’ll take a 15-min break for phones etc. about 9:15

You should take away:© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 18A basic understanding of social media that will help you make your own plans. Some concrete actions you can do today to improve your business marketing using social media.

Traditional media:You pay, I talk, you listenInteractive media:You pay, I talk, and you and I talk about what I just talked aboutSocial media:Everyone start talking to each other while I get coffee, and then I’ll come back and join the conversation © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 36What is social media?

Traditional media is one-way. A few people talk and most people listen.If you weren’t broadcast, your words only mattered to a small group.Today, the average person’s ideas, knowledge and words are easily found alongside traditional media’s.What’s the impact of that?© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 37How does that work?

The impact of social media- July 2009:© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 38In 2008, musician Dave Carroll’s guitar was broken by baggage handlers on United Airlines… Dave spoke up (“United breaks guitars” video).

People get to talk backNo niche is too smallAnd, most of all, people can find other people and things they are interested inFind people with relevant experienceFind people with common interestsFind old friends or make new onesFind ‘stuff’ and the people who sell it© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 40The impact is immense.

Because everyone gets to talk.The conversations are frozen and searchable – meaning they persist and you can find them.So you can find the person who is important to you (subject expert? Experienced customer?) and what they have to say.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 41It’s all about conversations.

Two or more people.Responding to each other in near-real time.The speakers control what is said.…kind of like an actual, you know, conversation.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 42What do we mean, conversations?

By themselves, not very useful (see above)But…add Google to make them findable, and suddenly...you get an explosion.Tech blogs, war blogs, politics blogs, relationship blogs, sex blogs, car blogs, travel blogs, language blogs, pet blogs, business blogs…everyone seems to want to talk about something.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 45In the beginning were blogs

Full circle back to AOL/Geocities but with collaborative search & event-driven web.Facebook and LinkedIn are the winners in that space (so far)Facebook as a personal gathering placeLinkedIn and a professional networking tool© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 50Then came sites as “containers.”

Online yellow pages are old newsBut add user-created content and ratings, and you have new generation of user-built directoryAdd mapping and location-based search, and you have a whole new way to market . © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 52And how about yellow pages?

The impact of social media - June 2005:Blogger Jeff Jarvis (disclosure: friend of mine) buys a Dell computer, and has some problems.Dell customer service is - unhelpful.Dell stock is at 40.3; HP stock is at 22.68© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 56Jeff starts blogging about ‘Dell Hell’

November 2005:Jeff’s blog post has been cited by Business Week, NY Times, PC World, the Guardian UK, Adweek, and other mainstream media.Dell’s reaction? It shuts down its message boards and issues press releases.The market’s reaction? Dell 29.24, HP 28.79Eventually, Dell lost ~$36 Billion in market cap.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 57

Why did Dell get in trouble?Because they didn’t know what their customers thought of themThey talked ‘at’ their customers, they didn’t converse ‘with’ them.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 59Blogs didn’t cause Dell’s problems.…they just helped reveal them.

What did Dell do?Dell got smartReopened message boards.Started a corporate blog.Decided to start listening to its customers, and launched ‘Ideastorm’ – a Digg-like rating tool that let customers suggest ideas and vote on them.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 60

Jarvis’ reaction?“Dell’s executives say their new problem is managing and spreading all this knowledge from customers. Its chief marketer said his new opportunity is to rely on customer-advocates to sell computers. And Michael Dell predicted a future of “co-creation of products and services” with customers.There it is: …Dell and its customers are collaborating on the creation of content, media and marketing - without content, media or marketing companies.”© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 61

Communicating with customers and potential customers

Engaging customers as marketers (viral)

SME’s, executive, paid staff

Puts a human face on the company

Allows direct connection to markets

Participate in – or sponsor or create – relevant communitiesIt works for them.McKinsey says: “Their responses suggest why Web 2.0 remains of high interest: 69 percent of respondents report that their companies have gained measurable business benefits, including more innovative products and services, more effective marketing, better access to knowledge, lower cost of doing business, and higher revenues.”McKinsey & Co June 2009 survey© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 65

Is he offering the same rose to everyone in the room?Romantic?Is he offering it to the true love of his life?Marketing depends on relationship.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 69If you ask every stranger for the sale – you’re a player.(You’re also practicing traditional advertising.)If you already have a relationship with someone when you ask – you’re not.Which sales model is right for you?Which one works and why?

The collapse of advertising.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 70For years, we've all heard the doomsday predictions about the declining effectiveness of mass media advertising. What's changed is that this apocalyptic scenario has now made the fateful transition from ‘forecast’ to ‘fact.’- John Hilbrich, in “Promo”

The rise of relationships.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 73In a relationship-based situation, a critical factor is trust. This takes time to build, for particularly for the buyer to accept that the seller will always keep their best interests at heart. - David Straker, “Changing Minds”

Big business and relationships.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 74Big business =! personal relationships with customers.The customer relationship was with the abstract “brand.”Today, the brands are becoming re-personalized.Social media is their solution.

So they prioritize conversations:© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 75…WITH customers and prospects;…WITH employees;…WITH vendors and stakeholders.(Because they can spend enough $ to brandbuild and shape perception – or think they can.)

Talking ABOUT and talking WITH.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 76Conversations happen in two flavors:ABOUT you and WITH you.Social media is both.(But when you “do” social media it’s important to think about which one.)

Talking ABOUT.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 77Conversations that happen ABOUT you are obviously important … “United Breaks Guitars” and “Dell Hell” are ABOUT United and Dell.For big business, though, it’s improving conversations WITH that are the priority.(If only they’d had conversations WITH Carroll and Jarvis…)

Big business v. small business© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 78Big business wants to reconnect to customers.Is that small business’ issue?The answer to that question tells us what small businesses should do.(hint: I think it has to with conversations ABOUT.)

Small business and social media © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 80Most consultants teach small business a scaled-down version of what big business does.How’s that working? Citibank just surveyed 500 small business owners…

Small business is different© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 82Famous (and very good) social media thinker Chris Brogan…Iisted “5 Things Small Business Owners Should Do Today Online:Start a blogStart listeningTry Twitter OR FacebookGet the word outTry moving the needle (create events, do something out of the box)

Pause for a bunch of caveats.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 84I believe that these are some basic “truths” that apply to everyone.But I get it that some businesses need to go further.Just make sure you cover the basics 1st.

How long to write 3 – 5 meaningful tweets/day? Or to post multiple updates to FB? How many followers/fans are you likely to get?What’s the ROE (Return on Effort?)

Scaling.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 86Major corporate sites get hundreds of thousands (or millions) of visits a day.Small business sites may get dozens of visits a day.A corporate blogger for Microsoft may get ten thousand visitors a day, and have thousands of followers on Twitter because of the power of the parent brand. Lots of conversations are inevitible.A small business blogger faces this problem…

Numbers Matter.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 88You need critical mass to make conversations start.Think about parties you give. What’s it like when the first two people come in?What’s it like for the ninth and tenth?

The answer?© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 91Find and use the conversations ABOUT your business to do two things:Make it easier for people who are interested in what you have to sell to find you.Make sure they don’t have a negative impression of you.

Who says?You need to understand how both are changing… (and that’s what this is about)

Is This All There Is?Again, no.Advertising, marketing, building awareness – all of those obviously matter. And there are social media hooks for doing each of these.But there’s a hierarchy:Get foundDon’t get trashedBe likedBe knownDo more with whatever time and money you have left after doing the first two.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 97

Where is your identity today?Shifting from:Print DirectoriesPrint AdsYour Web SiteToOnline local directories (Google, Yahoo, Citysearch, Yelp…)Search engine records in Google / YahooYou don’t own or control all of these. But you still have to actively manage all of them…(that’s the core takeaway of this presentation)© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 99

Today, identity is search.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 102Most people try and manage their sites and their ads. But you are often found and presented in the context of systems other people own.Maybe – just maybe - you should be focused on managing your identity instead…

Do you even need your own web site?Could you get found perfectly well on Google, Yahoo, Yelp, Citysearch…?Lots of reasons to have a site (just like the reasons to have an attractive storefront). But is it for everybody?Is it the be-all-end-all of your marketing? No. The strongest identity you can afford is the be-all-end-all of your marketing efforts.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 104

Reputation matters more.It used to only matter f2f (that’s Face To Face)…which meant building or changing it was slow.…and because it was verbal, it did not persist.…and relatively few people knew about it.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 107

For better …“…Yes, indeed, Frank, my new favorite locksmith, was here yesterday afternoon, just when the movers left. He worked on all the locks and got me new keys and reprogrammed the garage door opener. And told me where the best Mexican food is to be found locally (future review) and chatted with me about local events & all kinds of stuff. So happy to be your new neighbor, Frank! You did a magnificent job on my locks & general safety issues for an extremely reasonable price & I highly recommend you to anyone and everyone!” - Hermosa Lock & Safe, reviewed on Yelp.com© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 109

…and worse.“Flam's is terrible! Five hundred dollars later, the door still doesn't lock and they won't come back to fix it without charging a minimum of another $160 and who knows how much more after that. (Who's ever heard of a lock that needs twice a year housecalls when the weather changes... does the weather even change in LA?)They have bad customer service too, although honestly I don't care how unprofessional they are- all I wanted was a lock that works more than a few months.Hire someone else! “-Flam’s Key Service, reviewed on Yelp© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 110

Reinforce the PositiveFind the people who say positive things, and reach out to them. Offer an appreciative comment, send a personal email, send them a coupon for $5 off the next time they come.It’s not the economic value that matters; it’s the fact that you’re paying attention.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 113

Embrace the NegativeFind the people who say negative things, and reach out to them too. Why they are unhappy? If you can – make it right. If you can’t, explain what you learned and what you will do differently. Send a personal email, send them a coupon for $5 off the next time they come.Just like the positive comment - it’s not the economic value that matters; it’s the fact that you’re paying attention.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 114

Embrace the Negative.Here’s a real-life story.Amy Korin orders a pizza from her local Chicago Domino’s. They deliver the wrong pizza an hour later.She tweets about it.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 115

Ask So They’ll TellApproach all your customers and let them know that you want to know what they think; that you’re checking online.Encourage them to tell others what they think of you. Hand out a card that tells them how to do it and where.Just like the positive or negative comment - it’s the fact that you’re paying attention that matters.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 117

Next, some actions and tools.Here are three concrete tasks that will help you manage your identity and reputation online.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 120Every 6 months, make a plan.Every day, check the Web.As needed, engage.

Plan.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 121Review the performance of what you have today – how much traffic, how many conversions.Decide if you want your own website or if you will maintain identity with your entries on local search.Hone the description of your identity on local search sites; optimize your own site if you have one. Do this every three or six months!

First, Claim Your IdentityThe major directory sites – GoogleYahooCitysearchYelpYellowpages.comAll allow you to ‘claim’ your business entry.You can add content, correct data, and describe your business. Do this now.© 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 122

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