Social Media for Small Businesses: What Blogs, Forums and Social Networks Can Do For You
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Presentation originally given at the 2008 COSE Small Business Conference in Cleveland on Oct. 22, and then to the Cleveland Digital Publishing Users Group on Oct. 30. Audio to come.
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Social Media for Small Businesses: What Blogs, Forums and Social Networks Can Do For You
- 1. Social Media for Small Businesses: What Blogs, Forums & Social Networks Can Do For You October 30, 2008 Paul Roetzer President, PR 20/20 1
- 2. “Your brand is what Google says it is, not what you say your brand is.” - Chris Anderson, Wired Magazine editor 2
- 3. What is Web 2.0 (aka the Social Web)? • Consumer-generated content • Mass collaboration • Inbound marketing [Blogs, Social Networks, Forums, Micro-Blogging, Social Media Newsrooms, Photo Sharing, Virtual Worlds, Wikis, Podcasting, Webinars, Online Videos, RSS Feeds, Social Bookmarking] 3
- 4. Inbound Marketing Snapshot • Permission-based (NOT interruption-based) • Consumers choose to learn more about you • The Four Ps: Personas, Participation, Publishing & PageRank • Strategies: Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay-Per- Click (PPC) ads, blogging, social media, content publishing (video, audio, copywriting), website development, analytics http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/4357/Are-the-Four-Ps-of-Marketing-Dead.aspx 4
- 5. Social Media Participation • Watch video from other users = 29% • Read online forums or discussion groups = 28% • Read blogs = 25% • Maintain a social networking profile = 20% • Comment on someone else’s blog = 14 % • Publish, maintain or update a blog = 11% • Use RSS = 8% US: Forrester's North American Social Technographics Online Survey, Q2 2007, 10,010 respondents. 5
- 6. Social Media by the Numbers • More than 112,000,000 blogs • 4 out of 5 bloggers post brand or product reviews[1] • 6 of the top 10 Websites in the U.S. are social media sites • Social networks unique visitors in June 2008: Facebook (29 million), MySpace (59 million) and LinkedIn (10 million)[2] [1] Technorati State of the Blogosphere; [2] Nielsen Online. June 2008 6
- 7. Goals of the Social Web for Biz • Create connections and build relationships. • Optimize Websites for improved search engine rankings, which generates Website traffic, inbound links and leads. • Establish professionals as experts, thought leaders and innovators. • Manage your brand online. • Grow smarter and faster than your competitors. 7
- 8. Marketing in the Social Web Part 1: Tools of the Trade Part 2: Building Your Social Web Strategy Part 3: Resource Center 8
- 9. Part 1: Tools of the Trade Monitor, Participate & Publish 9
- 10. Tools of the Trade (Monitor) Blog Search Discover blogs in your industry 10
- 11. Tools of the Trade (Monitor) Really Simple Syndication (RSS) Feeds Consume and share regularly updated content • Delivers updated content from blogs, news sites, forums • Feed is transmitted from the host site and received by your RSS feed reader 11
- 12. Tools of the Trade (Monitor) RSS Feed Readers Monitor all your priority RSS feeds on one page www.netvibes.com/pr2020 12
- 13. Tools of the Trade (Monitor) Google News Alerts Keep a pulse on your online brand with email alerts from Google www.Google.com/Alerts • Company name (with variations) • Key executives • Priority keywords (comment opportunities) • Competitors • Events • Products/services 13
- 14. Tools of the Trade (Participate) Social Bookmarking Find and share great content 14
- 15. Tools of the Trade (Participate) Social Networking Build connections, relationships and community 15
- 16. Tools of the Trade (Participate) Online Forums Contribute to the discussion • Wikis • Product reviews • News articles • Social networks • Blog comment sections • Video & photo sites 16
- 17. Tools of the Trade (Publish) Websites Generate traffic and convert visitors into leads • www.WebsiteGrader.com • Content Management System (CMS) • SEO tools • Analytics • Lead forms & intelligence • Technical support • Blogging platform http://www.pr2020.com/Blog/post/2008/08/5-Things-to-Ask-before-Hiring-a-Web-Development-Firm.aspx 17
- 18. Tools of the Trade (Publish) Search Engine Optimization Generate traffic, inbound links and leads • Create a keyword universe (300-500 words) • Prioritize keywords (25-50 words) • Use is titles, meta data, subheads, copy • Optimize anchor text from inbound links 18
- 19. Tools of the Trade (Publish) Search Engine Optimization 19
- 20. Tools of the Trade (Publish) Blogging Platforms Select a powerful publishing tool for your blog • Simple RSS and email subscription • Social media integration • Technical & community support • Categories • Tags • Pinging services • Multiple authors • Custom URL with your own domain Blog Software Comparison Chart: http://www.ojr.org/ojr/images/blog_software_comparison.cfm 20
- 21. Tools of the Trade (Publish) Multi-Media Sites Publish photos, podcasts and videos 21
- 22. Part 2: Building Your Social Web Strategy 22
- 23. Building Your Social Web Strategy 1) Who will you reach? 2) What will you publish? 3) How will you measure success? 4) How do you get started? 23
- 24. Who Will You Reach? Audience Segments • Customers • Employees • Prospects • Community • Mainstream media members (print, broadcast) • Suppliers/vendors/ • Social media affiliates (bloggers, forum participants, social networkers) 24
- 25. Who Will You Reach? Buyer Personas • What are their goals and aspirations? • What are their problems? • What media do they rely on for answers? • How can you reach them? • What's important to them? • What words and phrases do they use? • What sort of images and multimedia appeal to them? 25
- 26. Who Will You Reach? Social Technographics 26
- 27. Who Will You Reach? Demographics Generation Y (The “Millenials”) • Baby Boomers: Born 1946-1964 (ages 44-62) • Generation X: Born 1965-1980 (ages 28-43) • Generation Y: Born 1981-1990 (ages 18-27) • Generation Z: Born 1991-Present (ages 17 & under) http://www.forrester.com/Groundswell/profile_tool.html Data from Forrester Research Technographics® surveys, 2007. For further details on the Social Technographics profile, see groundswell.forrester.com 27
- 28. What Will You Publish? Content Marketing • Blogs • White papers • Optimized press releases • By-lined articles • Case studies • Photos • eBooks • Podcasts • Online magazines • Videos 28
- 29. What Will You Publish? Ideal Blog Topics Sample Blog Editorial Calendar • Commentary on MSM articles, other blogs, news, events, trends • Relevant links • Tools, resources, tips, ideas, lists • White papers, case studies • Company news • Photos, video, podcasts 29
- 30. What Will You Publish? Blogging Tips — Domain Name ✓ www.Blog.com ✓ www.Blog.YourCompany.com ✓ www.YourCompany.com/Blog X www.Blog.Wordpress.com X www.Blog.Blogger.com X www.Blog.Typepad.com 30
- 31. What Will You Publish? Blogging Tips — Engage Your Readers • Write with passion in an authentic, human voice. • Make every post relevant to the wants, needs and interests of your readers. • Publish content on regular basis. Target once per week at minimum. • Encourage comments and stimulate discussion. 31
- 32. What Will You Publish? Blogging Tips — Makes Post Easy to Read • Limit to 400 words or less whenever possible. • Use lists, bullet points, bold facing and headlines. • Write in short paragraphs. Never more than 6 lines of text. 32
- 33. How Will You Measure Success? Search Engine Rankings • Brand • Products/Services • Industry/Divisions • Geographic Searches Difficulty Cost Per Click Rank Visits Leads Company Name 75 66 <$0.50 1 65 10 Service #1 500 70 $1.85 8(+10) 50 5 Service #2 800 72 $2.05 45(-12) 4 0 33
- 34. How Will You Measure Success? Inbound Links 34
- 35. How Will You Measure Success? Site Analytics • Visitors • Pageviews • Bounce rate • Keyword performance • Time on site • Referrers 35
- 36. How Will You Measure Success? Connections • Leads • Subscribers • Comments • Followers 36
- 37. 4 Steps to Get Started . . . 1) Conduct social media searches of blogs, forums and social networks relevant to your company and expertise. 2) Monitor news, trends, blogs and forums through RSS feeds & Google Alerts. 3) Become a part of the community. • Read and comment on blogs and forums. • Join a variety of social networks. • Use social bookmarking sites such as Digg, Delicious & StumbleUpon 4) Create a content marketing strategy and start publishing great multi-media content that’s highly relevant to your audiences. 37
- 38. Part 3: Resource Center 38
- 39. Resource Center Books • The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott • Groundswell by Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff • The Corporate Blogging Book by Debbie Weil • Wikinomics by Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams • Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin 39
- 40. Resource Center Blog Posts PR 20/20 — All posts tagged “sbc08” http://www.pr2020.com/Blog/?tag=/sbc08 • The New Four Ps of Marketing • Six Tips for Getting Started on Twitter • 8 Blogging for Business Tools • 5 Things to Ask When Hiring a Web Firm • Managing Your Online Reputation • Selling to the Future: Learn Your XYZs 40
- 41. Thank You Paul Roetzer, President | PR 20/20 email: paul@pr2020.com twitter: @paulroetzer blog: www.PR2020.com/blog (800) 920-1623 www.PR2020.com 41