Telecom Social Media Webinar

Social Media Strategies for the Telecom Industry Paul McQuade Dave Gilbert Managing Partner Founder/CEO Fireworx Digital SimpleSignal

Paul’s Background • 20-year direct marketing veteran, owner of McQuade Group • 14 years working with cable television industry as partner in 1st Team Cable Marketing • Helped launch digital tiers, high Paul McQuade speed Internet and digital Managing Partner telephony Fireworx Digital • Now helping SMB’s engage with audiences through Web 2.0 and social media strategies at Fireworx Digital

Custom Social Community

Ning Social Community

Should We Waste Our Time? • And what the heck is Whuffie? • The question is not if you will use Social Media but when you will begin • Social media is forcing change in Telecom marketing

Our Purpose in this Webinar • Few true experts...We are all learning together • Show you what we are learning • Give you a 30,000 foot view • Practical ideas that don’t overwhelm your daily workflow

Social Media Use is Exploding “Sixty percent of Americans use social media, and of those, 59 percent interact with companies on social media Web sites. One in four interacts more than once per week. These are among the ﬁndings of the 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study.”

Engaging with your prospects through social media • Get involved in the conversation • Don’t just promote your products • Establish clear-cut goals for your social media program

Engaging with your prospects through social media Some worthwhile goals

Engaging with your prospects through social media • Deliver your core messaging to target audience • Generate buzz • Increase awareness • Drive traffic • Enhance brand equity • Generate links that increase SEO results

Leveraging social media to reduce or eliminate cold calls • Outbound to inbound sales and marketing • People now want to do their own research • Don’t want to be “sold to” • Your company must be “findable” in the dialogue • You must engage in their conversation • Channel partners will be “discovered” or “found out”

8 Benefits of Social Media Selling • Establish Credibility • Sales Prospecting • Getting your foot in the door • Navigating customer organizations • Collaborating across sales teams • Providing customer references • Building ongoing rapport • Ensuring ongoing customer success with postsales support

Some Cautions of Social Media • Have a plan for managing “negative press” • Don’t get sucked into the “Twitter Hole” • Be thoughtful and deliberate with your messages • Establish company guidelines for what to say and how to say it

Social Media Platforms It’s confusing out there! Our focus today • Blogs • Twitter/FriendFeed • Facebook • Linkedin • Flickr • YouTube/Vimeo

Blogging • Powerful SEO tool! • Credibility, thought leader, Expert positioning • Relevant, recent information • Relational, 2-way medium • Transparent • Public Relations • Differentiation

Twitter - 140 characters • Contribute to the community • Don’t spam or overpromote • Research/News gathering • Build your brand • Protect your brand • Engage with customers • Networking • Promote products

Twitter Tools - TweetDeck

Twitter Tools - Tweet Later

Twitter Tools - Tweetbeep “Consumers, and even competitors, are talking about your brand even if you’re not. It’s up to you to join the conversation and work it to your advantage.” Jessica Tsai, Marketing and Social Media, CRM Magazine, June 2009

Linkedin • Business cards 2.0 • Receive introductions • Increase visibility • Get recommendations • Join & participate in groups • Research-partners, industries, prospects, presentations, etc.

Facebook • Previously seen as B2C platform • B2B possibilities increasing • Build your brand • Build fan base for your products • Relevant to younger, tech- savvy future decision makers

Flickr - Photo sharing • Transparency • Makes your people real • Promote your products • Easy central photo resource for blogging • Conferences, speaking engagements, company outings, diagrams, napkin sketches, etc.

YouTube/Vimeo • Demonstrate products • Presentations • Video speaking oppty’s • Create video blogs • Engage with customers • Let prospects get to know you • Videos of testimonials

THANK YOU! Email: dave@simplesignal.com Twitter: http://twitter.com/simplebigcheese SimpleSignal.com Dave Gilbert Founder/CEO SimpleSignal Email: paul@fireworxdigital.com Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/PaulAMcQuade Twitter: http://twitter.com/mcgmarketing Paul McQuade FireworxDigital.com Managing Partner Fireworx Digital

Telecom Social Media Webinar

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