Maximizing Social Media For Entrepreneurs

Maximizing Social Media
David Siteman Garland www.therisetothetop.com
Entrepreneurs Organization
December 2nd , 2009

What are you hoping we cover today?
?

Today’s Outline:
I. What are you hoping we cover?
II. Introduction: 10 Big Marketing Predictions For 2010
III. Maximizing Social Media: 7 Characteristics Of Social Media, Social Media Myths, The Big Three, Common Mistakes
IV: 12 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Maximize Social Media
VI: How To Create The Ultimate Social Media Plan For Your Business Step-By-Step
IV: What now? Q&A

Who Am I?
Entrepreneur/TV Host
Founder of The Rise To The Top/Rangency
Early Adapter
Speaker, Consultant, Writer
Live and breathe helping businesses market smarter, faster and cheaper.

My Experience With Social Media
Yes, I’m a little nerdy with Facebook
Building an audience of 1,000,000+
Yahoo Connected TV! Deal/Sponsorships
50+ Public Relations Opportunities
New friends & relationships

12 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Maximize Social Media:
Page 3 In Your Handout

10 Big Marketing Predictions For 2010

Where do the predictions come from?
The Trenches
40+ Expert Interviews
Consulting: Entrepreneurs & Big Brands
1,000’s Of Online + Offline Conversations
Original Article Is Example Of The Practices

1. Big Brands Will Learn From Entrepreneurs, Small Businesses and Niche Brands.
Smarter, Cheaper, Faster
Nimble
The Art Of The Hustle

2. Digital Schmoozing: Networking Online
Principles similar/rules different
World is getting more connected
New Etiquette

3. Death Of The One-Way Website
Corporate-speak one-way sites = Dead
Interactive, Social
Cheaper/Dynamically Designed
Solution?

4. Content Marketing: Brands As Media Sources And Publishers
Low Barrier Of Entry
Word Of Mouth Through Content
Key: Know Your Customer

5. Online Video: Forget Viral Focus On Function
Viral = not the goal
Cost of video
Ideas & Authenticity

6. Death Of The 30-Second Ad: Rise Of Creative Paid Content
Niche replacing mass
Unique sponsorship opportunities
1. Affiliates
2. Content Integration

7. Reputation Marketing: Customer Service And Caring
Little Touches Matter
The Power Of One Customer
Piccolo Sogno

8. Event Marketing
Be Different
Execution Is Everything
Much More Than An Event: Before & After

9. Social Media: No Longer A Buzzword In Marketing
Strategy
Using Technology
Resources/Shortcuts

10. Relationships, Relationships, Relationships.
Nothing online replaces building relationships the old fashioned way
Benefit of Send Out Cards

Does Social Media Work For Business?
Absolutely NOT….
….Unless you like:
-Passionate, engaged customers
-New business ideas
-To know what your customers/clients and potential clients are talking about
-A new way to market, advertise and build relationships

Traditionalmarketing is
hit or miss

The ENTIRE communications world is changing
Brands and entrepreneurs no longer control their message
Biggest Budget DOESN’T WIN
Even Playing Field
No middleman to talk to customers
Two way dialogue replacing the bullhorn
Word Of Mouth ON STEROIDS (Soccer Mom)
Human > Businesses

To Succeed As An Entrepreneur
You not only need an amazing product and/or service:
But the fastest way to guarantee success is to have an interactive website and create KILLER content

Content Creation Will Kick start Everything
Blogging
Video
Audio
Articles
Providing value and being unique
You don’t have to be Spielberg or King

7 Characteristics of Social Media
#1 Social Media is a powerful TOOL …err WEAPON
www.therisetothetop.com

#2 Social mediafocuses on COMMUNITY+ HUMANS

#3 Social media requires ACTIVE PARTICIPATION

#4 Social media is a VIRTUAL, INTERACTIVE ROLODEX

#5 Social media creates YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

#6 Investment in Social media = TIME

And #7………..
Social media is FUN (seriously)

I posed this question to my social media community

Top 7 Social Media Myths
1. You have to be a teenager to be on social media sites.

2. Social media is NOT for business.

3. It has a high learning curve and you need to use all the tools.

4. You will have no privacy if you participate in social media.

5. Social media takes too much time.

6. This is just a fad.

And #7… Social media is “FREE”.

Remember:Good business skills are good business skills online of offline. However, the online world is much less formal.

The 3 Big Social Media Forces

Where is your
audience ?

Your Personal Rolodex
-Create a profile
-Friend people you know (easy ways to search this)
-Join groups and associations
-Connect with old friends, relatives
-Personal and business connections
-More personal: Share hobbies, photos, etc.
-Create and promote a fan page for your business

3 Facebook Tips
1. 1st Person
2. Search for groups and associations related to your business field/networking
3. Ask for help: Use the import tools to import your email contacts to Facebook and then send them a friend request.

Facebook Ideas
-Create A Fan Page: Give People Reason To Join
-Make your fan page conversational
-When connecting with new people make it personal
-Happy birthday!
-Crowd source
-Mix in the fun and business may come out of it….Ludo

Business Rolodex
-Huge tool for making connections and gaining authority and influence
-Join associations, recommend others, request connections
-Can see who your connections know
-Can place in your profile what you are looking for/What business does
-Now integrates well with Twitter

3 LinkedInTips
Recommend others to get recommended.
Join organizations related to your field. Similar to Facebook, there is a wide variety of groups to join that will keep you informed of networking events and other opportunities.
3. Introduce and get introduced. LinkedIn is great for asking your contacts to introduce you to others. You can see who they know and learn that the 6-degrees of separation rule (especially in St. Louis) is in actuality far, far less.

A 15 million person cocktail party
-Twitter Evolution: What am I doing, Sharing Information, Spreading Ideas
-Portal of connections
-Twitter search could be the most powerful search on Internet:
-Take it into the real world: Turn conversations into emails, visit interesting sites
-Engage, interact, give first

David’s 12 Steps To Rocking Twitter’s World
#1: Goal Setting
Why are you coming onto Twitter?
What are your goals?
How are they measured?

#2: Fill Out Your Profile All The Way
Short, engaging, human (remember people like to do business with people, not businesses)
Make sure your name is easily searchable

#3 Listen
Everyone wants to know "what do I say?". The answer is NOTHING.
Grow big ears. Search for key terms and guess what prospects might type in.
Follow those people in your industry/interests

#4 Find Thought Leaders In Your Niche
Not just number of followers but who is most engaging.
See what they are saying, follow some of their followers

#5 Your First Tweets
Ask for help (people are helpful..give them a chance)
Respond to questions you found in searches related to your niche
Retweet valuable information/articles from thought leaders

#6 Make Sure To Interact
Reach out and respond to those talking about you or to you
Jump in on conversations
Try a hashtag (#)
Promote others/introduce others (be a connector)

#7 Create Your Own Content/Lists
Articles, quotes, blog posts, make sure to integrate it into Twitter
Don't make Twitter a megaphone. Make sure to interact.
Twitter Lists extremely powerful

#8 Try Crowd Sourcing
Question on a product, service or something you might do in your business? ASK! You may get connected to the CEO of the company
My #1 Lead Generator. Period.

#9 Vary Up Your Tweets
Try different lengths and style of Tweeting
Remember keep it shorter for a better chance of being Retweete
Have some personality (you don't JUST talk about business at a networking event do you? Work the room!)

#10 Measure, Revamp, Expriment
-Are followers going up?
Have some fun and try different things!
Try Direct Messaging and introduce yourself just like you would at a networking event
You don’t ask for a sale after an introduction do you?

#11 Bring It Off Twitter
Making a great connection?
Tell them to give you a ring or email you-Take the conversation beyond 140 characters

#12 Rinse, Wash, Repeat.
Start again and keep going!

Bad photos
Boring Requests
Talking in 3rd person
Bullhorn
Not A Human
Not responding to
your audience

Don’t overly
self-promote…
Promote others first
Don’t confuse the
term monetization

Not listening
No plan/Bad Advice
Afraid to experiment
Applying “old” rules of advertising
Lack of patience (Social media is a LONG TERM strategy: Marathon vs. Sprint)

Monetize Your Online Efforts

How to generate quality leads
Offering value and forming relationships
Opt Ins
Asking Questions
Answering Questions
Contests
Group Marketing
Be like Mother Theresa

Build a following of raving fans
…by providing content for your audience

12 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Maximize Social Media:B2C and B2B - Bottom line is your customers online want to do business with people and not faceless businesses.

#1 Customer Service/Caring

#2 PR
MediaOnTwitter.com
Benefits Of Bloggers
HARO: HelpAReporter.com

#3 Marketing (not direct sales but can lead to direct sales)
Contests, Special Offers, YES THEY WORK
Dell Says It Has Earned $3 Million From Twitter

#4 Business Partnerships
Shoeboxed, Poken, Objective Marketer, Kodak

#5 Research/Crowd Sourcing/Developing New Products (This or This)

#6 Humanizing A Business

#7 Reputation Management

#8 Recruiting

#9 Reaching A New Demographic

#10 Building A Database
E-Blasts
RSS
Opt Ins
Followers/Fans

#11 Relationship Building/Networking
Reaching Out
Giving First
Accessibility High

#12 Spying On Competitors

With
social media you hit 100%
of the time

Q&A
+
Creating A Social Media Strategy

Maximizing Social Media For Entrepreneurs

by David Garland

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