This presentation is from the St.Catharines & Thorold Chamber of Commerce Lunch and Learn Series.

2. Adding to Your Social Media Toolbox Twitter: connecting with your customers in 140 characters LinkedIn: connecting, sharing, learning and recruiting Blogs: sharing your knowledge and passion arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

3. Part of business has always been social…

4. …just the approach is new Outbound marketing is out. Inbound marketing is in Start by developing a strategy and a social media policy Your social media plan doesn’t have to be managed by one person. Different tools may be suited to different roles within your business Don’t become overwhelmed. Develop a social media schedule. How often you post, tweet or share is up to you arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

5. What’s happening? @arnoldmcp - Connecting with Customers in 140 Characters #sctchamber

7. Benefit from word-of-mouth

8. Small businesses are a natural for Twitter because they already rely on more personal relationships with customers and it’s free

9. Provide value-added servicearnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

10. Build Your Connections Your username should be easily identifiable with you. You want people to know who you are Fill out your profile and make sure you add a picture or logo Search Twitter for your existing contacts or import from Gmail, Yahoo and AOL Start building new connections by searching key words relevant to your business and follow people. Many will follow you back and you’ll have access to all their followers Direct message people to thank them for following you Set up your cell phone to tweet arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

11. Get Started Tweeting Retweet things you find interesting. It’s like forwarding a message to all your followers Use a urlshortener: www.bit.lywww.twurl.nlwww. tr.im Content should be relevant to the conversation, not just self-promoting Use #hashtags. They are key words used for searching arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

12. RT @sctchamber Chamber of Commerce Lunch & Learn Twitter LinkedIn Blogs http://bit.ly/9qgHX8 #Twitter #LinkedIn #blogs#sctchamber

14. Contact information

15. Branding

17. http://www.twittergallery.com

18. http://twitrounds.com

19. http://www.twitterbackgrounds.org

20. If you are comfortable with a graphics program use a template or work with a graphic designer to help you create onearnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

23. Managing your Account You can manage your tweets in Twitter Use a desktop program such as: www.hootsuite.com www.seesmic.com www.tweetdeck.com Set up mobile apps such as seesmic / tweetdeck / hootsuite / ubertwitter for blackberry arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

25. @cremebruleecart has a street cart and tweets its location

26. @WoodhouseSpa tweets every Tuesday with discounts and specials

27. @coffeegroundz takes orders via Twitter

28. @christopherwines found new customers by searching the town and local tourism spots. He started conversations about the area and increased sales without promoting his businessarnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

29. LinkedIn: Business Connecting, Recruiting and Learning

31. It’s like an online business card collection

32. Connect only with people you know

33. Participate in groups to share your knowledge and make new contacts and to learn what others in your industry are doing and talking about

34. Post and look for jobsarnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

36. You’re not just your job. Include personal endeavours, passions and interests

37. Make sure you include your other social profiles like Twitter, Facebook or your blog

38. Add your company profile and it will automatically post all your employees who have LinkedIn profilesarnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

40. Connecting Search using previous jobs, schools you attended or by name Recommend and ask for recommendations Get active in groups that interest you and expand your network The Answers section is a great way to get your name and expertise out there Share your knowledge. Don’t use it to “pitch” yourself arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

41. Blogs: Sharing Your Knowledge and Passions

43. Subscribe to blogs and you will get an email when there is a new post

44. Comment on other people’s blogs. Remember it’s about conversation not competition

45. Your blog doesn’t have to be about business. A personal blog is fun and you may find some surprising connectionsarnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

46. Types of Blogs Written blog: www.dressageforlife.com Video blog: http://tv.winelibrary.com Photo blog: http://mute.rigent.com/ Audio blog/podcasts: www.managingthegray.com arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

48. Photo blog: store your photos on Flickr or Picasa, for example, and link them to your blog. Posterous is a unique photo service that allows you to update it using email

49. Video blogs are hosted on a video hosting site such as YouTube, Viddler or Vimeo and then embedded into your website or blog

50. Audio blogs: record your blog, import it into itunes and embed it in your blogarnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

52. Use links to increase your visibility on search engines and get your name out there

53. Interview experts in your area or consider guest bloggers

54. Don’t be intimidated because you think you have nothing to say

55. You can automatically post to your other social media toolsarnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

56. Keys to Success Remember it takes time to build relationships so don’t expect results overnight Content, Content, Content Don’t get overwhelmed. Use your time strategically and remember to link your social media tools Have fun! arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy

57. Resources http://business.twitter.com/twitter101 www.mashable.com – excellent social media blog and resource www.hubspot.com – social media marketing blog and resources http://www.openforum.com – small business forum by American Express www.ted.com – inspiring videos Our sites: www.arnoldimcpherson.com www.dressageforlife.com www.wartimehouses.com arnoldi:mcpherson – social media strategy