The document provides an overview and instructions for using social media platforms Facebook and Twitter. It discusses how to set up personal and business pages on Facebook, build a fan base, engage with followers, and advertise. It also covers Twitter symbols and terminology, how to set up an account, find and connect with followers, and get retweets. Key steps and tips are provided for using both Facebook and Twitter effectively.

1. Presented by Suzi McCoy March 25, 2010

2. What we’ll talk about Social Media Facebook Personal/Group/Fan Page Step by Step Tips & Tricks Twitter Step by Step Tips & Tricks Glossary of Terms Resources

3. Social Media = Cocktail Party Meet people and start conversations Answer questions – help others Ask questions – trust others’ advice

4. Social Circles or Word of Mouse

5. 400 Million Users 200 million log on any given day 35 million update their status each day 55 million status updates posted each day 700,000 local businesses have active Pages 5.3 billion fans pages created

6. 50 Million Tweets a Day!!!

8. Facebook Pages Personal Page – All About You Fan Page – Like a Yellow Pages with personality – all about Your Company, Products, Brand Group Page – All about the Community – work, causes, interests, school, events, clubs

9. Getting Started Set up a Personal Profile Set up a Business “Fan” Page – not a Group Find/Connect/Share with Others Advertise Fan Page

10. Shows your “real” side & let’s people get to know you. Must have a personal page to set up a business page Friends view your profile and you can view theirs. Post pictures, videos, chat Share as much or as little personal info as you like. DO NOT post anything you would not want on the front page of The New York Times! Facebook Personal Page

11. Use a name that easily identifies you. Fill in all the information Obtain a Facebook vanity URL so that people can find you easily. http://www.facebook.com/username Example: www.facebook.com/suzi.mccoy Feature links to your website, blog and other business resources. Post a professional photo Create a Personal Profile

12. Make sure to use the privacy settings Keep any personal aspects of your profile private through Settings . Go to your Account at the top of your homepage and click on Settings and then Privacy Settings Put limitations on who is, and who is not, able to view different parts of your profile. Before you post anything, ask yourself if you want it public.

13. Wall vs. Status Update Your Status Post an update & your friends can see it on their News Feed. You can share tips, promote events and even boost sales. Your updates show on your profile “Wall” Post on Others’ Wall You post messages on a friend’s “wall” and all your friends’ news feed Think of it as picking up the phone to say hello – to everyone

14. Facebook Fan Page Business or Fan Pages connect and engage with your customers Must have a Facebook personal account to open a business Fan Page. Updates from your fan page are automatically sent back to your Fans’ News Feed.

15. Create Business “Fan Page” Option #1 1 2

16. Create Business “Fan Page” Option #2 3 2 1

17. Create a Business “Fan” Page

18. Important Before you click “Create Page”, be certain your choices are what you want. Your name and business type cannot be changed . If you change your mind, you’ll have to start over with a new page and convince all of your fans to “re-fan” you at your new location.

19. Create a Business Profile Use your company name. Select the Category Use the “About Me” section to describe your business and what you do. Be sure to include your logo or business to build brand recognition. Feature links to your website, blog and other business resources. Allow several people to be “administrators”

20. Once you get 25 fans or more , set up a custom URL Personalize your Facebook URL (web address) by selecting a unique username. Select a “username” for your page by going to facebook.com/username For branding purposes, use the same name as your business or website. http://facebook.com/gardenmediagroup Add your Business URL link to emails and electronic newsletters and put on all business collateral – cards, signs, ads, brochures . . . Create a custom Business URL The username is another item that cannot be changed once it is set, so choose carefully!

21. Build Your Fan Base 1st click “Become a Fan” at the top of the page & become a fan yourself Click on the “Suggest to Friends” and Invite your FB friends & customers Click on FB Suggestions of other people you may know & invite Import your contact database (email) and send an invite Search Facebook for individual people. Quick Tip: Invite friends of friends you already know or want to know

23. Build Your Fan Base Sponsor Contests Offer coupons and discounts to “Fans Only” Sponsor a “Bring a Friend” event for Fans Only

24. Promote offline Print your Facebook address anywhere that you list your website: E-mails Electronic newsletters Business cards Signs Ads Direct Mail Brochures Promotional items. Offer something Free imprinted with FB URL to generate buzz.

25. Cross Promote on Other SM Sites

26. Update Your Status Update Your Fan Page Status often Post an update & your Fans can see it on their News Feed. You can share tips, promote events and even boost sales. Your updates show on your Fan Page

27. Build Store Traffic

28. Coupon Campaign Market your products by posting discounts and package deals

29. Share/Join with Others in Groups of Similar Interest

30. Join Groups to Connect Search groups to find topics related to our industry - garden clubs, native plant lovers, community gardens, flower shows Share interesting tips Engage in the online forums Start your own group first time homeowners first time gardeners Retail garden centers ABC Customers

31. Reach out to Others in Groups of Similar Interest

32. Share/Join with others Post business updates on your wall. Focus on business activities, such as “Great New Plants for Spring.” Share articles, links, presentation and resources that interest customers and prospects on your wall. Share survey or research data to gain credibility.

33. News Feeds Top News First thing you see when you log on to Facebook. Based on the popularity of the share among your friends of most resent postings. To get on to the top news feed, your share must either get some good number of likes or comments from your friends. Most Recent Feed Latest news about you & your friends - like a tickertape of activities. Shows what you’ve been up to, or what’s coming up in your life.

34. Advertising Very Affordable Easily segmented to target audiences Easy to create Good analytics Great way to test concepts Ad displayed on the Facebook pages of target audience.

35. Advertise Step by Step

36. Target by location, Age, Likes & Interest

37. Set Your Budget Choose Pay Per Click over Pay Per View Click Through Rate on Facebook is LOW! Go PPC

38. Increase Word of Mouse

39. Tap into FB Brain Trust Page is run by Facebook employees Help marketers share with users

40. Facebook Vocabulary Applications – No, these aren’t dull forms to fill out. When you add these fun interactive details/objects to your profile, you communicate your style, personality, and interests to friends in your network. Discussion Board – This is an area where a Page’s fans can engage in topic-based dialogue. Usually the topics are questions posed by the Page admin to spark conversation and interaction. Gifts & Games – Keep these to your personal page – or not a all Inbox – Much like your email inbox, this is where you can send and receive messages that require a little more privacy than you’d get from a wall post. Inbox messages can only be seen by the sender and the recipient. Top News Feed – is the default feed that is selected in all Facebook profiles. Top news feeds are derived from the most recent feeds based on the popularity of the share among your friends. To get on to the top news feed, your share must either get some good number of likes or comments from your friends. Most Recent Feed . This feed fetches the latest feeds that come your way from your friends. Think of it as a tickertape of your activities on Facebook. When your friends visit your profile, they will be able to see what you’ve been up to, or what’s coming up in your life.

41. Facebook Vocabulary Pages – Created by companies, organizations, musicians, politicians, etc. Facebook members can become fans of a Page to communicate support for the group, company, etc, and to interact with other members who share their sentiments. Poke – NEVER do this. Profile – Your personal space on Facebook. This is where your friends can contact you, leave messages, view and interact with your applications. Status – How are you feeling? What are you doing? Let your friends in on your activities and whereabouts by updating your profile status. Tag – Whenever you or a friend posts a photo to Facebook, you have the option of “tagging” – identifying – the people you know in the photo, be it yourself, or someone in your immediate group of Facebook friends. Wall – Your wall where your friends leave you messages (your other friends can read these messages too). To send or receive a more private message, use your Inbox.

42. Twitter allows us to connect with others, learn, and improve ourselves . . . in 140 characters or less

43. Getting Started Glossary of Symbols & Terms Do’s & Don’ts Set up a Twitter Account Find/Connect/Share with Followers Getting Re-Tweeted Twitter Servers

44. Twitter Symbols @ Used when a particular post is addressed to or referred someone @suzimccoygmg RT “ReTweet” – If you read someone else's tweet and you want to share it, put this before copying and pasting the whole thing, including the original tweeter's username into your tweet. RT @ suzimccoygmg # A “hashtag” before a keyword in a tweet allows others to follow the topic or searched for posts with the #topic using http://search.twitter.com or http://www.tweetdeck.com You can also “chat” with others using TweetDeck or http://www.tweetchat.com

45. Twitter Vocabulary Following . These are the people whose tweets you've selected to read; their tweets appear in your "feed" or "stream." Follower This is someone who is reading your tweets. Reply : If you put the twitter name in front of your message, the person you address will see your tweet whether they follow you or not. So will everyone else following your stream. (Via): Instead of using retweet, you can use "via @username" to attribute something that you saw with another user. This is good when you are not directly quoting word for word, but paraphrasing or passing a link along. DM or Direct messaging . This is a way of sending a message to someone so that only they can see it- like sending a txt message. The person has to be following you in order to receive messages from you, though! The Find people tab : The Find People tab on twitter allows you to search for people you know, and to import your email contacts from many web based services and see who you know and then follow them. Search The Search tab enables you to search keywords to find subject matters that interest you. This can cater to your business interests, as well as your personal interests. This will help you find people that share

46. Twitter Do’s Be authentic Be interesting Be funny Reply to tweets that mention you Say Thank you when someone RTs your post. Only tweet about your business 10% of the time Try to have 25% more followers than you are following

47. Twitter Don’ts Don’t talk about your self all the time Don’t be a lurker Don’t automate blog posts into Twitter posts. Don’t auto DM anything. It feels like spam. Your business’s primary Twitter feed ought to be hand-fed. Don’t try to sell Don’t tell everything! If you publish a flood of impersonal links, your Twitter account will just seem like a faceless promotion machine.

48. Set up a Twitter Account Use a name that syncs with your brand Keep name short. Don’t want to waste characters Use a real photo or logo If more than one person in your company is tweeting, be consistent in the username @suzimccoygmg @staceygmg @karengmg

49. Add Twitter Followers Offer something exclusive to your followers – a voucher offer or a free something. Add a “ReTweet This” button on every blog post. Put a link to your Twitter account in your e-mail signature

50. Follow the Leaders Your staff Colleagues in related companies & in your industry. Relevant brands and journalists and pundits in your market, even competitors. People & Business you can learn from, imitate and RT Follow people in social media to stay abreast of trends    

51. When to Tweet Tweet several times every day, but no more than 10. Develop a schedule Tweet during peak hours: early morning, just before and after lunch and around 5 pm

52. What to Tweet What’s new “ How to” articles Topical Articles Informative blog posts Popular Trends Interesting press releases “ Top 10” Articles Opinions

53. Retweet Followers ‘ Retweet’, the word to describe when one of your followers re-post one of your tweets Reaching more people than you might otherwise be capable of reaching on your own. Retweeted posts are indicated by adding ‘RT @username’ in front of the original tweet. Thank people for supporting you ‘ RT’

54. How to get ReTweeted – The Formula Say something interesting – People actively pass it on because they’ve found it funny, informative or useful. Allow space for an ‘@’ symbol, your username, the letters ‘RT’, and 2 spaces -one after RT and one after your username. Example RT @suzimccoygmg = 16 characters My post should be no more than 120 characters RT 140 characters – (username + 5) x interestingness = probability of RT Louise Doherty ( @louisedoherty )

55. The #1 Secret to Follow Friday Success Follow Friday let’s you give people a shout out Take 5 minutes to write 120 or so characters sharing something specific about the people whose tweets you value the most. Include #ff Include the actual Website Give a specific reason for people to follow them #FF

56. Be Interesting Post interesting content regularly – either your own or RT someone else who is interesting Post updates on products, services, customer stories, photos, and videos. Link to the very best stuff on your blog Link to relevant stories you see elsewhere on the web Post items that don’t contain links at all.

57. TweetDeck The leading browser for the real-time and social web

58. Social Media's Top 10 "How To..." Blogs Socialmouths MakeUseOf TopRankBlog twitip Mari Smith Jay Baer's Convince and Convert Social Media Explorer Daily Blog Tips HubSpot Social Media Examiner thecommscorner.blogspot.com

59. To download, visit www.slideshare.net/SuziMcCoy Please use any or all of this presentation. Just remember to give GMG credit. [email_address] 610-444-3040 © 2010 Garden Media Group