Social Media Tools for Small Business

Social Media Tools for Small Business For yoyomama – February 12, 2009

LintBucket Media (LintBucket.com) is a boutique marketing agency headquartered in Vancouver that focuses on social media marketing and community building.
Our Services:
Social Media Marketing & Communications
Blogger Outreach Programs
Community Development
Internal Social Media Implementation
SEO-driven Copywriting
OneDegree.ca is one of Canada's leading online publications about digital marketing, online communications and social media -- penned by some of Canada's bright lights and rising stars in these areas. MyNameIsKate.ca – blogging about the intersection of marketing, technology and design, plus other juicy bits.

http://mynameiskate.ca/yoyomama.html

Social Media is all about PEOPLE http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmpalmer/99806770/ People Figures: David Armano - Logic + Emotion Blog But, first things first …

Do you own your own name? http://www.flickr.com/photos/71894657@N00/916718299/

Do you own your own name?
Does Your Email Address look like one of these?
[email_address]
[email_address]
[email_address]
[email_address]
WHY?!?

Do you own your own home? http://www.flickr.com/photos/96221617@N00/308791590/

Do you own your own home?
Do you have a website?
With a real domain?
Can you update your website when YOU want?
Are you running website analytics?
Do you review your analytics on a semi-regular basis?
Don’t get involved in social media
until these are taken care of!

And have you weather-stripped it?
Findability is Essential to Doing Business!
Optimize your site for search engines
Optimize your content for search engines
Consider testing Google AdWords programs
SEO is beyond the scope of
this talk but there are a lot
of big wins to be had via SEO!

What’s your handle? http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/38960136/

What’s your handle?
My Handle Variations
katetrgovac
ktrgovac
mynameiskate
katicus
queenkaticus
Psst … do as I SAY, not as I DO 
http://www.usernamecheck.com/
Why Important? Findability – most social media sites are being indexed – user names and user profiles are starting to show up.

Profile Conversations Personality

Your Professional Profile
Where should you have a professional profile?
LinkedIn
Facebook
[Plaxo – not as popular, but some people got into it]
Really, Facebook?
Yes – use the “group friends” and privacy settings!
http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/02/facebook-privacy/

Your Professional Conversations
Where should you be having professional conversations?
Twitter
[plurk, identi.ca – not as popular]
[yammer – “internal” twitter – good for companies]
Tip: you don’t have to “follow” back everyone who follows you
Tip 2: Don’t use the web interface – use an application like Tweetdeck, Twhirl or Twitterfox

Your Professional Personality
Where should you show off your professional personality?
A blog (your own OR a group blog)
Flickr [could also use Picasa]
Blogging scare you?
Try “mini-blogging”: tumblr or posterous
What about video blogging or podcasting?
Let’s discuss!

That’s YOU professionally. Same drill for your BUSINESS.

Your Business Profile
Where should you have a business profile?
LinkedIn – Company pages
Facebook – Fan Page
[I’m not a fan of Facebook’s “groups”]
Tip: save a file with boilerplate descriptions of you and your company: 1 line, 2 line, 1 paragraph, 100 words, etc. Will come in handy!

Your Business Conversations
Where should you be having business conversations?
Twitter
Different account for your business
Can be a group effort using tools like BrightKit
What to Tweet about?
Your business’ news | industry news | “internal” news | partner news
On Business account – follow back everyone

Your Business Personality
Where should you show off your business personality?
A blog (seriously – every company needs a blog)
What to blog about?
A little about you
A LOT about your customers
Some about your partners
Some about your industry
Good examples? http://tombihn.com/blog/ & http://laptopbaglifeline.com/
Tip: Group blogs are a good thing! Engage employees or partners!
Flickr (show off customers loving your products)

Your Connections: Prof. & Biz
Where can you connect?
There is a social network out there for every interest!
Or you can start your own with tools like Ning
Also, topical recommendation sites like Yelp or Chow

Monitoring Your Buzz
How do you find out what people are saying about you?
Review your web analytics !
Set up Google Alerts for your and your business name
Set up search feeds (RSS feeds)
Your name and business name
Links to your website
Links to other profiles
Monitor these searches using tools like an RSS reader (e.g. Google Reader or Bloglines) or a personal homepage (e.g. MyYahoo, iGoogle, or Pageflakes)

Social Media Promotions
How do you get the word out about your business?
Blogger Outreach programs
http://www.slideshare.net/mynameiskate/blogger-relations-presentation
Facebook Ads
http://www.doshdosh.com/facebook-marketing-resources/
Blog Network Ads
http://www.blogherads.com/
Social Media News Releases
Resource: http://www.lintbucket.com/smr-help.html
Email Newsletters
Example: http://www.boxcarmarketing.com/underwire/

How Much TIME?!?! http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeyc/322654818/

How Much TIME?!?! http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahbelle1/2363974644/

IMPORTANT: Social Media Principles http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbyladybug/2152179077/

IMPORTANT: Social Media Principles
Measure Everything
Be Human
Be Transparent
Make Sure Your Content is Portable
Social Media is a Long Term Prospect
Make It Easy for People to Talk About You

Questions? http://www.flickr.com/photos/calavera/65098350/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/vernhart/1574355646/

Photo Sources and Links
Any Questions: http://flickr.com/photos/calavera/65098350/
Thank you M&Ms: http://www.flickr.com/photos/vernhart/1574355646/
Suitcase Handle: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lwr/38960136/
Paper Homes: http://www.flickr.com/photos/96221617@N00/308791590/
Dollar Heart: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cmpalmer/99806770/
Birth Certificate: http://www.flickr.com/photos/71894657@N00/916718299/
Clock: http://www.flickr.com/photos/monkeyc/322654818/
Uhaul: http://www.flickr.com/photos/sarahbelle1/2363974644/
Ten Commandments: http://www.flickr.com/photos/abbyladybug/2152179077/

http://www.slideshare.net	57
http://www.mynameiskate.ca	33
http://www.ecademy.com	5
http://www.udemy.com	2
http://paper.li	1
http://www.sitezilla.biz	1

Social Media Tools for Small Business

by Kate Trgovac on Feb 13, 2009

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Social Media Tools for Small Business — Presentation Transcript