This document discusses using social media for building relationships between companies and stakeholders. It outlines a 3 step social media strategy of listening and learning, planning, and engaging. Examples are provided of how different companies have implemented aspects of this strategy, such as monitoring conversations, developing policies, identifying influencers to partner with, and measuring results. The importance of transparency, disclosure of relationships, and adhering to FTC guidelines when working with bloggers is also covered.

1. “It’s a different language:
Communicating with Social Media”
PRSA Southwest Missouri Chapter
October 8, 2009

2. Conversations that
build relationships
between companies
and stakeholders.
2

3. Conversations that
build relationships
between companies
and stakeholders.
3

4. Conversations that
build relationships
between companies
and stakeholders.
4

5. Conversations that
build relationships
between companies
and stakeholders.
5

6. Blogs
Message Boards Microblogs
USER-GENERATED CONTENT
Photos Mass
Videos Niche
MULTI-MEDIA SOCIAL
SHARING NETWORKS
Podcasts Corporate
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7. 3 Step
Social Media
Strategy
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8. LISTEN & LEARN
PLAN
ENGAGE
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9. Step 1: Listen & Learn
• Discover: Find conversations currently taking place
about your company and category
• Quantitative analysis
• Qualitative analysis
• Monitor: Learn the rules of engagement
• Understand what’s being said about your
company and category
• React if/when necessary
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10. VIDEO
Google video, Yahoo, Youtube,
Grouper, Break, Dailymotion,
Metacafe
BLOGS/
BOARDS
Boardreader, Google alerts,
Live, Technorati, Icerocket
TWITTER
Twemes, Tweetscan, Dittes,
Telewebber, Terraminds
DIY SERVICES

11. Step 2: Plan
• Social media policy
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12. 12

13. Step 2: Plan
• Social media policy
• Reactionary engagement plan
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14. 14

15. Build-A-Bear Workshop
“The good news is that shortly
• Monitoring caught blog story
after posting my piece I heard from Dave
on ZDNET.com (1.4M
visitors monthly) about
Finnegan, Build-A-Bear’s "Chief InBearmation Officer."
privacy practices
Kitschy executive designations aside, you’ve got to be
impressed by a company that respondsIn one day, it spread to other
• so quickly,
directly, and receptively to criticism; I am,
high traffic sites
anyway.” (BoingBoing.net; The
Consumerist)
• Sent a response directly to
Denise Howell, high profile
attorney/tech blogger
• Outreach resulted in a
positive follow-up blog post
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16. Step 2: Plan
• Social media policy
• Reactionary engagement plan
• Proactive engagement plan
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17. Step 3: Engage
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18. Lee Fit Ambassadors
• Identified 28 bloggers to approach based on 3
criteria:
• Content: Was the blogger writing about fashion
for everyday women?
• Engagement: How do her readers respond? Did
she acquire multiple comments each time she
posted?
• Influence: Did she have solid site traffic? What
was their Technorati Authority and Rank?
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19. Outreach
Transparency
Previous contact
Suggest, don’t demand
Be human
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20. Response
“What an amazing opportunity, I appreciate
1. Momma’s Review www.mommasreview.com the offer - and accept!”
2. A Mommy Story www.amommystoryreviews.blogspot.com
3. Intricate Art www.intricateart.com
4. Posh Glam www.poshglam.com
5. Cool Moms Rule www.coolmomsrule.blogspot.com
6. Your Style Star www.yourstylestar.com aren't kidding - what an awesome
“WOW! you
7. thing! I defintely want to be a part of this.”
All American Mommy www.allamericanmommy.blogspot.com
8. Domestic Chicky www.domestic-chicky.com
9. Karla’s Krazy Life www.karlaskrazylife.blogspot.com
10. Workout Mommy www.workoutmommy.com
11. Mommy Goggles www.mommygoggles.com
12. Mom’s Favorite Stuff www.momsfavoritestuff.com
13. Savvy Housewife www.savvyhousewife.com and I am interested in taking part.
“Sounds like fun,
14. Mamanista www.mamanista.com way to help other women get a firsthand point of
What a great
15. Therapeutic Reviews and Giveaways specific jeans - and finding a good pair is the bane of
view on some www.themomreviews.com
16. The Domestic Diva www.thedomesticdiva.org
every woman's existence (particularly the mommy with the
17. Blissfully Domestic www.blissfullydomestic.com with. *laugh*).”
muffin top to contend
18. Mommin’ it Up www.momminitup.com
19. Motherhood Uncensored www.motherhooduncensored.typepad.com
20. Sarcastic Mom www.sarcasticmom.com
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21. Output Reviews with product shots
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22. Output Product give aways to readers
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23. Output Above and beyond
Transparency
Link to Lee.com
Lee National Denim Day
mention
Link to LNDD site
Video forward
Technorati Authority: 124
Technorati Rank: 19,000
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24. Blue Bunny sweeps
• Objectives:
• Develop and establish relationships
with respected mommy bloggers
• Drive awareness of our brand through
Mommy Bloggers
• Strategy: Mommy Bloggers create and
execute their own program that features
Blue Bunny as the prize
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25. Blue Bunny sweeps
Colleen
Katie
Kelcey
Christine
Lucretia
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26. Classy Mommy
• Had readers enter by:
• Leaving a comment on her post
• Joining the Classy Mommy Facebook
fan page and leaving a comment on
post saying so
• RT the give away on Twitter and
include Classy Mommy
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27. Output
• 6,000+ contest entrants = quality brand
engagement
• 20 winners (bloggers) who have become
brand advocates
• Blue Bunny Twitter followers grew 30%
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28. Output
“I get contacted by a lot of PR folks and
Jordan was one of the most professional.
Got back to me right away with information
and very easy to work with.”
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29. Blogger outreach insights
• Know the bloggers you're working with and pitch to them
accordingly. This means knowing their names, their children's
names, ages and genders, and the kinds of things they like
and dislike.
• Be prepared to compensate bloggers for their time, either
with product in the case of a review, or with cash if you're
asking for consultation or involvement in a large initiative.
• Bloggers don't want to receive press releases, but they DO
want to partner with companies and provide value.
• Not all bloggers are alike. Some love doing product reviews,
others will only do them rarely or not at all.
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30. Blog with integrity
• Represents standards
that we actively
encourage our bloggers
to adhere to if they
choose to post about our
clients.
• Signatories agree to
disclose their material
relationships, policies
and business practices.
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31. New FTC guidance
• Guide: an administrative
interpretation of the law.
• “...endorsements by
consumers, experts,
organizations, and
celebrities.”
• “...the post of a blogger
who receives cash or in-
kind payment to review
a product is considered
an endorsement.”
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32. Encourage disclosure
“In accordance with FTC guidelines and in
the spirit of the Blog With Integrity pledge
[http://www.blogwithintegrity.com] we
encourage the bloggers we work with to
fully disclose that the products they are
reviewing and/or giving away were provided
to them at no charge by XXXXX.”
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33. 3-Day Ambassadors
• Objective: Engage evangelists -- walkers,
survivors and fans -- and encourage word
of mouth, RFIs, registrations
• Strategy:
• Social media extension of a media
relations idea
• Ask them to help
• Give them content to share
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34. Fundraising push
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35. Authority: 38
Rank: 88,000
“I asked 25 people to make donations of $12.20 to get me to
the $1000 mark. This is what happened on Twitter after that.”
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36. 3-Day campaign ROI
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37. March of Dimes Moms
• Objective: Engage the growing number of
moms online and position the March of
Dimes as a resource for women
• Strategy: Approach women bloggers; ask
them to donate a post per month
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38. Outreach
Transparency
Connect quickly
Other MOD Moms
Suggest, don’t demand
Be human
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39. “Last week I became a March of Dimes Mom... I
am so honored to be able to give back to the community
that did SO much for Mike and me when we were dealing
with Madeline’s gestation and hospitalization. Once a month I’ll
be blogging about the issues that Mike, Madeline, and I deal
with due to prematurity. You know…pretty much like I
already do!”
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41. 41

42. “You’re in a new
place. The bad news:
There are no maps.
The good news? You
are the mapmaker.”
Shoshana Zuboff, former Harvard B-School Prof and
author of The Support Economy
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43. Jeff Risley
jrisley@barkleyus.com
risleyranch.blogs.com
twitter.com/risleyranch
delicious.com/risleyranch