Presented by Katie Laird to the University of Houston's Small Business Development Center - this presentation goes through the ins and outs of social networks specifically for business.

1. http://www.flickr.com/photos/99037763@N00/3260727200/
Katie Laird // Schipul - The Web Marketing Company
Social Media When working,
playing and
for Businesses networking collide!

2. What we’ll talk about
•Intro to Biz Social Media
•Power of Story
•Online Business tools
•5 things you can do today
Find this presentation:
www.slideshare.net/happykatie
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14901386@N00/3173091705/

5. Social Media is a Conversation between actual HUMANS!

6. No really...
Why do I actually care about the Web?

7. It’s all about a balanced approach

8. Cost-effective and far-reaching tools
•Facebook = $0
•MySpace = $0
•Wordpress = $0
•Twitter = $0
•YouTube = $0
•Ning = $0

9. (Incredibly) Low barrier to entry

10. Classic Storytelling
The Power of the Narrative

11. Once upon a time...
http://flickr.com/photos/e_phots/2646616379/

12. ...we told each other our stories...

13. Modern Storytelling
Narrating through Technology

14. Once upon this time...
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jfchenier/76721307/

15. ...we still tell each other our stories...

16. 4 Elements of Storytelling
1. Message 4. Plot
So my point is...
2. Conflict 3. Characters

17. What’s old is new: The 4 Elements of a Modern Story
1. The Message
• Strategic premise
• What is your real statement?
• Stick to 1 or 2 messages
• Different audiences mean
different messages

18. 1. The Message
What are your Vision, Mission and Values?
You can’t write about what you don’t know
• Vision: Big picture
• Mission: The nuts and bolts
• Values: The behaviors that get you there

19. 1. The Message
Promote the same message EVERYWHERE
• Message #1: Just Do It
• Nike+ Run Faster Blog
• Message #2: We innovate, we help
http://nikeplus.nike.com
• Nike R&D Storytelling videos
www.twiike.com

20. 1. The Message
Keep it simple - try a 6 word story
Ernest Hemingway’s best work?
‘For sale: Baby shoes, never worn’
http://www.flickr.com/groups/sixwordstory/

21. What’s old is new: The 4 Elements of a Modern Story
2. The Conflict
• Not always negative
• What problem forces you to act?
• How do you restore harmony?
• Internal or external conflict?
http://flickr.com/photos/slipstreamblue/2617035636/

22. 2. The Conflict
Identifying your conflict
• Inner Conflict - unsure of yourself or direction
• Relational Conflict - protagonist vs. antagonist
• Social Conflict - you vs. the system
• Situational Conflict - how you grow and survive tough times
• Cosmic Conflict - you vs. an invisible force

23. Whole Foods fights bio-engineering and trade practices
http://blog.wholefoodsmarket.com

24. Starbucks lets patrons discover and solve conflict
www.mystarbucksidea.com

25. What’s old is new: The 4 Elements of a Modern Story
3. The Characters
• Who are the main players?
• Multi-purpose Characters
• Your readers are Characters too
** PERSONA Development **

26. 3. The Characters
Mac vs. PC - Recognizable Characters
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EbCyibkNB0

27. 3. The Characters
The Apple story’s Characters
(everlasting love)
(out-of-the-box geeks)
Benefactor Goal Beneficiary
(in-the-box products)
Support Hero Adversary

28. Persona Development:
Who the heck is my audience?

29. Persona Development
1. Identify 3-7 ‘actual’ people (invisible friends)
• Name them and find a photo
• Give them a backstory and bio
• Talk about them in your meetings
• Use them to guide your efforts

30. Persona Development
Your Brand’s Persona #1
Ashley
Age: 21
Education: College Senior
Work: PT barista
Income: $9/hour
Family: Dating / No kids
Hobbies: Blogger / Soccer
Platform: PC laptop
Magazines: Vanity Fair

31. Persona Development
Your Brand’s Persona #2
Marshall
Age: 30
Education: Student of Life
Work: Print designer
Income: $53,000/year
Family: Engaged, no kids
Hobbies: Flag football
Platform: Macbook Pro
Magazines: Wired

32. Persona Development
Your Brand’s Persona #3
Laura
Age: 42
Education: MBA
Work: Retail boutique owner
Income: $75,000 / year
Family: Married, 2 kids
Hobbies: Yoga / Photography
Platform: Macbook
Magazines: Real Simple

33. Persona Development
2. How / when will you speak to these Personas?

34. Persona Development
3. Weave your audience into your Story
www.polleverywhere.com
www.intensedebate.com
www.chipin.com
www.polldaddy.com

35. Persona Development
4. Master the art of Listening and Responding
www.google.com/analytics
www.feedburner.com
www.icerocket.com

36. Such a Character
Oh, the people you’ll meet...

37. What kind of hero are you?
The Brave Hero The Everyday Hero The Wise Hero
The Creator The Joker The Adventurer

38. What kind of hero are you?
The Ruler The Caregiver The Lover
The Innocent The Magician The Rebel

39. What’s old is new: The 4 Elements of a Modern Story
4. The Plot
The difference between:
‘The King died and then the
Queen died’
and
‘The King died by the sword and
the Queen died of grief’
http://flickr.com/photos/alimander/2832880196/

40. 4. The Plot
Plot your Plot
Deal with it
Almost there...
Interact / Connect / Play
Establish
Onward and upward

41. 4. The Plot
Perception is reality - so, what Story is out there?
www.lovemarks.com
www.brandtags.net

42. 4. The Plot
Due diligence on your Story
www,technorati.com/watchlist
Powerful Social Media search engine
watches for your terms and updates you
www.google.com/alerts
Email updates for your company
name and keywords
http://alerts.yahoo.com
Yahoo! alerts you of any
occurrences of defined terms and
names

43. Addictive and essential Google Reader: www.google.com/reader

44. Let’s take a break!

45. So let’s talk online networks
(this is the part where I try to turn you into geeks)

46. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jfchenier/76721307/
(remember, it’s all about the Story - not the technology)

47. 1. Blog Your Heart Out
Use this as your Home Base

48. 1. Blogs: Community Building through Social tools
Jumping into the Blogosphere
• Your online home base
•Position your brand
• Share brain candy
• Promote others

49. Schipul has fun, geeks out and grows Brand
http://blog.schipul.com

50. 1. Blogs: Community Building through Social tools
Blogging Do’s and Don’ts
•Promote other people •Focus only on yourself
•Be funny and interesting •Take undue credit
•Pro-actively respond •Blog every 3 months
•Tag your content •Post press releases
•Make it easy to share •Blog in Corporate-speak
•Link to other companies •Post duplicate content

51. 1. Blogs: Community Building through Social tools
Blogging Buzzwords
•Comment - Respond to a Blog post
•Link love - Linking to other Blogs / sites (online currency)
•Tagging - Adding words to describe Blog content
•Troll - Meanie commenter (IGNORE!)
•Blogroll - Links to fave Blogs
•Embed - Copy/paste media

52. 1. Blogs: Community Building through Social tools
Blog bling: Tie it all together on your Blog
(Make your brand portable)

53. 1. Blogs: Community Building through Social tools
Keep your Blog design branding consistent

54. 1. Blogs: Community Building through Social tools
No Blog? Make a SMM page on your site
http://www.pr-squared.com/2007/02/the_social_media_newsroom_temp.html

55. 2. Micro-Blogging with Twitter

56. 2. Micro-Blogs: Community Building through Social tools
Twitter explained
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o

57. 2. Micro-Blogs: Community Building through Social tools
Twitter includes others in ongoing dialogue
Coffee Groundz on Twitter: www.twitter.com/coffeegroundz

58. 2. Micro-Blogs: Community Building through Social tools
Twitter Do’s and Don’ts
•Gab about you constantly
•‘Re-Tweet’ content:
-- RT @happykatie....
•TYPE IN ALL CAPS
•Talk directly to people:
-- @magsmac - hey!!... •Re-post w/out attribution
•Link to outside content: •Follow nobody
-- www.tinyurl.com
•Decline to respond to @’s
•Profile love (pic and links) and DM’s
•Live Tweet from events •Abuse your Tweet power

59. 2. Micro-Blogs: Community Building through Social tools
Twitter Buzzwords
•Follow - To friend someone (or follow their updates)
•Direct Message (DM) - Pseudo-email to someone that follows you
•‘At’ reply - Speak directly to someone (@magsmac)
•Re-tweet (RT) - Re-post content with credit
•Block - Restrict access to updates
•# - a kind of ‘tag’ or desc. phrase

60. 3. Facebook
www.facebook.com

61. 3. Facebook - Professional and Personal Networking to the MAX!
Facebook - Not just for college kids
•Be a leader and connector
•Create buzz for events /
campaigns
•Brand exposure with
Facebook ads
•Add photos and videos
Main: www.facebook.com
Houston Zoo on FB: www.facebook.com/pages/Houston-Zoo-Inc

62. 3. Facebook - Professional and Personal Networking to the MAX!
Your Facebook profile at a glance
• Flesh out your profile
• Be picky on who you
connect with
• Re-purpose other content
• Add ALL of your
Social Media links
• Be fun and interesting

63. 3. Facebook - Professional and Personal Networking to the MAX!
Why you should care about Facebook
230 ‘yes’
348 ‘maybe’
Bill Erickson :)
www.billerickson.net
670 members

64. 3. Facebook - Professional and Personal Networking to the MAX!
Are you a ‘Group’ie?

65. 3. Facebook - Professional and Personal Networking to the MAX!
Page Power in Facebook

66. 3. Facebook - Professional and Personal Networking to the MAX!
To Page or to Group - that is the question
• Groups = Not indexed in Google
• Pages = Visible to Google
• Groups = Messages go to inbox
• Pages = Messages go to ‘updates’
• Use both!
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/facebook-group-vs-
facebook-fan-page-whats-better/7761/

67. 3. Facebook: Community Building through Social tools
Facebook Do’s and Don’ts
•Be stiff and boring
•Grow your profile
•Create a ‘company’
•Upload pics and videos to
profile (deleted!!)
tag and send
•Keep all personal and pro
•Create and join biz and fun
life facets separate
Groups / Pages
•Post press releases
•Be picky on your friends
•Spam your contacts
•Cross promote your
(connect but be polite)
Social Media links

68. 3. Facebook: Community Building through Social tools
Facebook Buzzwords
•Friend - Connect with someone on Facebook
•Wall message - Write, draw or post something on someone’s wall
•Tag - Add names to photos or videos
•Status update - What are you doing?
•Public timeline - List of recent activity

69. 4. MySpace
www.myspace.com

70. Social Networks: Community Building through Social tools
MySpace = social networking for musicians
Main: www.myspace.com
Houston musician Andrew Karnavas: www.myspace.com/andrewkarnavas

71. Social Networks: Community Building through Social tools
MySpace = another spot to tie it TOGETHER!
IRC MySpace: www.myspace.com/theirc

72. 4. MySpace: (further) Community Building through Social tools
MySpace Do’s and Don’ts
•Blinky crazy stuff
•Keep your branding
consistent (everywhere)
•Spam all of MySpace (go
after the relevant leaders)
•Make it easy to get to your
‘real stuff’ online
•Ignore Friend Requests
•Incorporate photos, videos
and Blog posts •Static MySpace profile
(auto update with fresh
content)
•Interact with MICRO
targeted audience
•Depend only MySpace :(

73. 4. MySpace: (further) Community Building through Social tools
MySpace Buzzwords
•Friend - Connect with another User
•Bulletins - Message to groups (w/out individual messaging)
•Bots - Fake spammy MySpace users (adult/poker/etc.)
•Moods - How user is currently feeling :) :x :p
•Blurbs - Details on your profile
•HTML/CSS - how to edit your look

74. 5. Virb
www.virb.com

75. 5. Virb - Developing a walled garden (sometimes good, sometimes bad)
Want to create your OWN social network?
Schipul Ning: http://schipul.ning.com
Company on Ning: http://bsetc.ca/

76. 5. Virb - Developing a walled garden (sometimes good, sometimes bad)
Ning - Create your own Social Network
http://babble.ning.com/
http://aspcacommunity.ning.com/

77. 5. Virb - Developing a walled garden (sometimes good, sometimes bad)
3 steps and you’re done!
1. Name and describe
2. Add your widgets
3. Change the look
4. DONE!
Add logo

78. 5. Virb - Developing a walled garden (sometimes good, sometimes bad)
Invite and promote (+ get help with that content)

79. 6. YouTube
(www.youtube.com

80. 6. YouTube: Harnessing the power of Video
YouTube - Harness the power of P2P discussion
http://www.youtube.com/user/PlanYourMeetings

81. 6. YouTube: Harnessing the power of Video
Engage your Audience through video
www.arttheheartofhouston.com
www.haablog.com

82. 6. YouTube: Harnessing the power of Video
Buy a Flip camera (seriously)
http://www.theflip.com/

83. 6. YouTube: Harnessing the power of Video
YouTube Do’s and Don’ts
•Forget to TAG and
•Connect with other
describe your videos
YouTube geeks
•Ignore quality (although
•Include transcripts
‘so-so, not great’ is ok)
•Embed video on Blog /
•Respond harshly to
Site / Facebook
negative comments
•Comment + respond to
•Keep your guard down
other video submissions
(check on that feedback)
•Engage / have fun!

84. 6. YouTube: Harnessing the power of Video
YouTube Buzzwords
•Video Response - Reply to a video with another video
•Flag - Mark content you think is inappropriate
•Rate - Add stars for how awesome content is
•Embed - Code to place video on your site
•Share - Links to add to other sites
•Playlist - Customized video lists

85. 6. YouTube: Harnessing the power of Video
YouTube - Advertising and Learning
http://www.youtube.com/user/GoogleBusiness
https://ads.youtube.com/index

86. 7. Flickr
(www.flickr.com)

87. 7. Flickr - Growing your business visually
Doing business through photos

88. 7. Flickr - Growing your business visually
Networking via Flickr
http://flickr.com/groups/oih/

89. 7. Flickr - Growing your business visually
Spread the Flickr love and look cool doing it
http://bighugelabs.com/flickr/

90. 7. Flickr - Growing your business visually
Flickr Do’s and Don’ts
•Don’t HAVE to friend
•Search thru site for photos
back for them to be
and groups of interest
connected to you
•Friend as many as you like
•Not necessary for all
to see their most recent
photos to be public
photos
•Don’t have to have
•Comment and tag often
Photoshop to edit photos
(built in editor)
•Join/create groups
•Can’t use other pics w/
•Organize your pics well out correct license

91. 7. Flickr - Growing your business visually
Flickr Buzzwords
•Pool / Set - Themed community / personal sharing photo group
•Contact - How you connect (Contact / Friend / Family)
•Favorite - Marking your faves for later
•Tag - Descriptive terms / phrases
•Comment - Adding your 2 cents
•Creative Commons - photo license

92. 8. LinkedIn
www.linked.com

93. 8. LinkedIn - Honest to goodness networking online
Virtual rolodex?

94. 8. LinkedIn - Honest to goodness networking online
Have questions? Get answers (and give them)

95. 8. LinkedIn - Honest to goodness networking online
LinkedIn Do’s and Don’ts
•Be needy
•Connect with colleagues,
friends and co-workers
•Make false connections
•Play with widgets
•Spam a group
•Ask/answer questions
•Be REALLY needy
•Recommend people
•Embellish on your past
•Post/refer jobs

96. 8. LinkedIn - Honest to goodness networking online
Linkedin Buzzwords
•Connections - Your Linkedin contacts (must approve)
•Applications - Fun widgets / tools to interact and promote brand
•Answers - Space to ask / answer questions and polls
•Groups - Opt in Communities
•Contact Settings - Set your terms

97. 8. Other great networks to know

98. Social Networks: Community Building through Social tools
Free social event promotion sites
http://upcoming.yahoo.com/ www.eventful.com
www.eventbrite.com www.facebook.com

99. Social Networks: Community Building through Social tools
Behold, Slideshare!!!
www.slideshare.net/happykatie

100. How to get started

101. Step 1:
Start Listening

102. Step 1: Start listening!
What are people saying to/about you?
www.technorati.com/watchlist
Powerful Social Media search engine
watches for your terms and updates
you
www.google.com/alerts
Email updates for your company
name and keywords
http://search.twitter.com
Search for what you care about
on Twitter

103. Addictive and essential Google Reader: www.google.com/reader

104. Step 1: Start listening!
Further online Reputation Management
Google Trends search:
www.google.com/trends
Technorati search:
www.technorati.com

105. Step 1: Start listening!
How do you compare to your competition?
www.blogpulse.com
Great visuals to track you and
your competition’s online activity
and Buzz

106. Step 2:
Set up your
response + promotion vehicles

107. Step 2: Set up your response + promotion vehicles
Go where your audience is
???????????? ????????????
????????????

108. Step 2: Set up your response + promotion vehicles
Beef up your Personal Brand
• Keep it consistent
EVERYWHERE
• Create an Avatar
• Cross promote in
email footers
• Promote your employee
Personal Brands
Happykatie!

109. Step 2: Set up your response + promotion vehicles
Poll your company or hire a savvy intern
You are a Digital Immigrant.
You could use a Digital Native.

110. Step 3:
Start spreading the news...

111. Step 3: Start spreading the news
Keep it Consistent and Connected
• Tie it all in together
• Put your SM links in your email footer
• Re-purpose your content
• BADGES!!!
www.flickr.com/photos/53203629@N00/3173463874/

112. Step 3: Start spreading the news
Stay pro-active and responsive
Power to the People
• Keep an eye on your Alerts
and respond!
• Promote other events and people
• Keep it light and interesting

113. Step 3: Start spreading the news
Play with your Community
http://flickr.com/groups/sxsw08/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jfn9pzgtkc0

114. Step 5:
Follow up fun time
(interaction, interaction, interaction)

115. Step 5: Follow up fun time! (interaction, interaction, interaction)
Tie it all together and keep the Buzz going
• Be fast and be timely
• Newsletter, Blog posts, Facebook
group and event postings
• Say thank you (individually - one little
comment goes a looong way)
• Watch the Buzz for opps to connect
• Be creative!! Start the drumbeat for
the Next Big Thing
http://www.flickr.com/photos/
53611153@N00/2602728681/

116. Your Homework

117. 5 things you can do TODAY!
1. Start listening (Google Reader + Alerts)
2. Develop your Personal Brand
3. Join Facebook (www.facebook.com)
4. Find your rich media niche + work it!
5. Recruit an internal guru (or an intern)

118. Let’s Review...
•Use those Story elements
•Know thy Audience
•Track the Buzz
•What’s your Motivation?
Find this presentation:
www.slideshare.net/happykatie
http://www.flickr.com/photos/64251830@N00/351876663/

119. Thanks for participating - see you online :)
Katie Laird // Strategic Advisor
Schipul - The Web Marketing Company
www.schipul.com
Email: klaird@schipul.com
Personal blog: www.happkatie.com
Flickr: www.flickr.com/happykatie
Twitter: www.twitter.com/happykatie
Find my presentation today!
www.slideshare.net/happykatie
http://www.flickr.com/photos/66125582@N00/457743309/