Radha Giri, CEO of Midas Touch, was invited to speak at an event organized by GLOW - Global Organization for Women. She spoke about how businesses can leverage social media to drive some tangible business benefits and also use it for budding a strong personal brand

1. Leveraging Social Media
for Growing your
Business and Building
your Personal Brand
Social Media Channels ●
The What and How ●
Personal Branding ●
Branding >>
Buzz >>
Business Outcomes

2. INTRODUCTION

3. The Speaker
Radha Giri
• Software Engineer & Lawyer by
training
• Digital Marketer by trade since
2003
• Founded Midas Touch 7 years ago
• Product Management &
Marketing Specialist
• Published Author on Social Media
• Frequent Speaker at Social Media
Conferences

4. Agenda
• Why you should look at social media
– The Guiding Principles
– The Usual Objections
– What to Expect
– What Not to Expect
• Selecting the right social channels
• How to succeed with social - Practical Tips
– Facebook, Twitter, Instagram
• The Role of Personal Branding
– Why and How
– Some Examples

5. #SOCIAL4STARTUPS

6. Why consider social media?
• Get the word out
• Connect to your target audience
• Provide “Proof of life”
• Drive Traffic for “Inbound”
• A level playing field with the established
players
• Support your offline sales and marketing
initiatives

7. I Object!
• “It’s too early in our life”
• “We can’t afford it” or “It’s a waste of money” or
“There is no ROI”
• “We don’t need marketing ‘coz our product is a
world beater” or “The network of our founders is
awesome”
• “We just don’t have the time”
• “I post on Facebook myself quite regularly”
• “We tried it for a month and didn’t get any leads”

8. PrinciplesTo Live By
• Don’t do too little AND
• Don’t spend too much
• Subsidiary Conditions
– Don’t start something you can’t keep up
– Patience is a virtue
– Be “Real”

9. WhatTo Expect?
• Sharply increased awareness of your brand /
start-up outside your direct circle of influence
• “Inbound” traffic to your web properties
– More promotion
– Better site-ranking
• More “warm” connections when you reach out
• Increased trust for your start-up in a targeted
audience

10. What NotTo Expect?
• Not a short-term initiative
• Not a part-time activity or for amateurs
• ROI is measurable as long as you don’t
expect R to be ONLY “Revenue”
• Not a substitute for Sales – there is a
handoff from Marketing to Sales

11. SELECTING THE RIGHT SOCIAL
CHANNELS

12. THE CHOICE OF CHANNEL
• Objectives - What do YOU want to achieve?
– Build thought leadership
– Showcase your products/ services
– Connect with your audience and build engagement
– Connect with partners
– Provide support
• Your target audience
– What do THEY look for, when, how, why
• Type of updates
– Long form/ Short form text
– Visual
– Audio

13. Example
HubSpot -
Building thought
leadership
400000 subscribers
and attracts over 2
million monthly views

14. Example
Building
engagement
Generates leads for
playdates and events
through Facebook

15. Example
JetBlue - Providing
Instant Support
Extremely responsive
support - happy
customers

16. GoPro - The power
of user-genearted
content
No hard selling.
Celebrating lifestyle of
adventure.
Daily contests (Photo
of the Day, Video of
the Day)
Examples

17. Example
ASOS - Sharing offers,
new collections and
lifestyle content
Also has 'ASOS as seen
on me' account for
sharing photos of
other instagramers
wearing their clothes

18. Examples
Glossier - Leverages
“regular women” to
spread brand
awareness
- Sheet of emoji-like
sticker to personalize
each purchases and
share
- Interesting
influencer marketing
program - profit
sharing, trip to NY
and lunch with the
founder

19. HOW TO SUCCEED WITH SOCIAL -
SOME TIPS

20. FACEBOOK
• Optimize About section, phone number etc.
• Post at non-peak times: Try tweaking the
schedules, see when you see the maximum reach
and engagement (Hint: Facebook Insights)
• Keep the posts very short - less than 40
characters
• Share link updates - with a compelling image
• Try offers to capture attention
• Have a solid ad strategy
• Use emojis

21. TWITTER
• Post multiple updates - Rule of 3:1:1
• Use right keywords and hashtags in your tweets
• Tag relevant profiles in images
• Create a calendar for potential real-time opportunities
• Connect with right people & tweet with them -
cultivate relationships
• Be transparent - Be honest, be real. Resolve issues
• Tweet links to your blog (more often)
• Host contests

22. INSTAGRAM
• Be consistent
• Pick the right content - your product, tips and
tricks, behind the scenes, etc.
• Use at least 4-5 hashtags in every update
• Engage with your followers
• Offer exclusive deals and offers

23. ROLE OF PERSONAL BRANDING

24. #PersonalBranding – Why?
• Start-up Founders and Entrepreneurs
– You are your start-up’s biggest asset
• People know you more than they know your start-up –
customers will buy from you not from your start-up
– Large A/Cs & Important Relationships – Door Opener
• Use your brand to help establish the start-up’s brand
– Balance (personal v/s start-up) has to evolve

25. SoWhat Exactly Is #PersonalBranding ?

26. • The right professional and emotional response
when people:
– Hear your name
– See you online OR
– Meet you in person
What are you aiming for?

27. Your perception in the
target audience
Your Skills
Your History /
References
Your Message
Personal
Brand
#PersonalBranding –The Focus

28. #PersonalBranding – What?
• Define
– Personality
– Goals and Objectives that you want to achieve
– What do you want to talk about?
– The Tone

29. #PersonalBranding – How?
Image Courtesy: Hiking Artist

30. ContentThatTalks
• Content to Reflect Credibility and Expertise
– Educational and useful content – Don’t sell, create
value
– Different types of content – text, graphics,
infographics, audio & video – pick what is most
appropriate and easy to produce
– Publish on your blog/website as well as promote –
social media and campaigns
– Explore third party or special interest publications

31. #PersonalBranding – Blog
Showcase your
beliefs and what
you stand for in a
tone that talks
directly to your
target audience
• Personal Blog
• LinkedIn
Publisher
• Articles on
External
Publications

32. #PersonalBranding – LinkedIn
LinkedIn Profile
– Complete & updated
• Headline
• Summary, Expertise,
Interests (if relevant)
• Selective about references
– Professional Picture
– Links to relevant content
LinkedIn Groups
– Ask & Answer Qs –
project expertise
– Share own content with
care

33. #PersonalBranding –Twitter
Profile
– Real Name
– Well-Written bio
– Define & maintain
purpose and tone
– Keep it ACTIVE
• Content sharing,
opinion sharing, views
on industry events
• Interact and engage
• Network with
influencers

34. #PersonalBranding – Some Examples
• Shares images of
herself both with and
without makeup
• “You Look
Disgusting” video got
22 million views
• Her blog, My Pale
Skin, covers beauty,
lifestyle and self
confidence. Em Ford

35. #PersonalBranding – Some Examples
• YouTube's first India
specific fitness and
food channel
• His video on “Aamir
Khan's DIRTY
SECRET” received
millions of views
BeerBiceps by
Ranveer Allahbadia

36. #PersonalBranding – Some Examples
Parenting YouTube
channel with 1.1 million
subscribers and more
than 35 million monthly
views
What’s Up Moms by
Elle Walker & Meg
Resnikoff

37. #PersonalBranding – Some Examples
Amanda Steele with over
2.7 million followers on
Instagram was flown to
Cannes to walk the red
carpet, and to take
photos.
Amada Steele

38. #PersonalBranding –Taking Care
Image from personalbrandingblog.com

39. Everything In It’s OwnTime
Image Courtesy MBA Life Cycle

40. QUESTIONS?

41. THANK YOU
Radha Giri
Twitter - @radhagiri
@MidasSocial