This document discusses how social media can be used by small businesses in six key areas: 1) listening to online conversations, 2) responding to customer questions and complaints, 3) engaging in relevant discussions, 4) networking and making introductions, 5) enlisting advocates and customer feedback, and 6) transforming products based on user input. Effective social media use helps businesses build relationships, gain insights, and improve their offerings to meet customer needs. Case studies are provided showing how various companies have successfully implemented social media strategies in these six areas.

2. *Why social media works

3. *What is social media?
“ All of the activities, platforms and
practices that enable users to share,
co-create, recommend and filter
knowledge, opinions and content. ”

4. *Building trusting
relationships
 It influences the nature of people’s
relationships and level of trust in an
organisation

5. *It works for multiple
business teams
 It enables organisations to build
stronger relationships with
customers, employees, partners,
supporters, the media…
 It can help numerous
organisational departments and
teams meet their objectives

6. *Success requires
integration & collaboration
 It requires these teams to
work together to extract
maximum benefit from their
activity

7. *In summary, social media:
 Helps people share, co-create,
filter and recommend information
 Influences relationships and level
of trust in an organisation
 Enables organisations to build
stronger relationships with
customers, employees, partners,
supporters, the media…
 Helps multiple business teams
meet their objectives
 Requires these teams to work
together to create maximum
benefit

8. *What are small businesses
doing in social media spaces?

9. *Six areas of activity

10. *1. Listen
 Listening involves monitoring relevant conversations in social
media spaces
 Listen for comments on your organisation, products, services,
competitors or topics that might drive customer preference
 Listening gives you insight into your market-place, audience
and how they interact with your organisation
 It also helps you identify customer service issues
 Useful free tools: Google Alerts (online mentions)
BoardTracker (forum mentions) and Tweetdeck (Twitter)
 Paid-for tools: Scoutlabs, Alterian SM2 (with a freemium
service) and Sentiment Metrics and ViralHeat (which is a low
cost solution)

11. *Chief listener: Kodak
 Kodak ‘s ‘Chief Listening
Officer’ monitors and
gathers any mention of
Kodak across social
media
 Kodak uses mentions to
inform product R&D,
brand comms and
customer service

12. *2. Respond
 Respond to customers who are making comments about
your organisation, products and services in social spaces
 Responding to queries and mitigating complaints helps to
build positive sentiment towards your organisation
 As it is done in public social spaces, it can effect not only the
person who asks the initial question, but anyone searching
online who has a similar issue
 Monitor and categorise any feedback and create a suitable
response
 Be polite, respond promptly and respond authentically –
maintain a friendly, personal tone while taking customer
issues seriously

13. *Customer service: Dishoom
 Dishoom restaurant
monitors and responds to
customer comments on
Twitter
 Quick responses to
complaints made via social
media - and
encouragement to take
serious issues offline
 Over 1,000 followers on
Twitter

14. *3. Engage
 Proactively join conversations in your own and third-party
social media spaces with your customers and other
stakeholders (e.g. media)
 Engaging in relevant online discussions will help generate
awareness, interest and consideration of your organisation’s
point of view – as well as driving traffic to your own online
properties.
 Create content on your organisation’s blog, generate
discussion through comments and proactively contribute to
discussions across relevant forums, newsgroups and social
networks.
 Identify relevant niche conversation topics on social
networks and then decide how to participate

15. *Niche blogs: Xerox
 Xerox hosts a number of
blogs focused on niche
topics
 Very specific content
enables Xerox to target and
engage deeply with niche
communities
 13 niche topic blogs on the
Xerox network

16. *4. Network
 Make and receive relevant introductions to prospects,
partners and media within your own business social network
 This will increase the size of your network by exchanging
introductions
 Use your own or a third-party networking site (e.g. LinkedIn)
to join communities which provide a platform to facilitate
introductions
 LinkedIn is a free, business-oriented social networking site
and enables users to set up and manage communities
focused around specific topics
 Make sure your introductions are relevant and of a high
quality – don’t just link for the sake of it

17. *OPEN forum: AMEX
 American Express’
OPEN forum enables
small business owners
to network and discuss
ideas
 AMEX becomes
synonymous with the
concept of innovation in
small businesses

18. *5. Enlist
 Use social media to turn your best and most vocal
customers into advocates for your organisation
 Encourage users to leave feedback publicly, in
social spaces
 Create ambassador programmes for reward
customers for advocacy
 Create social objects for advocates to share easily
among their networks – e.g. video clips, comment
pieces, online vouchers…

19. *TripAdvisor reviews:
Mandarin Oriental
 Mandarin Oriental hotels
actively drive users to leave
feedback on TripAdvisor
 Generates trust and public
advocacy as customers
view feedback left on third-
party site
 The original Mandarin
Oriental in Hong Kong is
the no. 1 hotel on
TripAdvisor for Hong Kong,
with 308 reviews

20. *6. Transform
 Use your own community to discuss, debate and
feedback on ways in which your products and
services can be improved
 Collaborate with your customers and partners to
evolve and improve products & services
 Collaborate with your employees through Enterprise
2.0 tools (e.g. Yammer, BlueKiwi)
 Ensure participating stakeholders are aware that
you have implemented their feedback – publicise
any product changes and thank them for their input

21. *User-generated menus:
AJ Bombers
 Burger joint, AJ
Bombers, invites user
input for all aspects of
their products
 Products and services
constantly revolve
around what users
want
 Sales of items
promoted via social
media have risen 30%

22. *In summary:
Use social media to:
1. Listen
2. Respond
3. Engage
4. Network
5. Enlist
6. Transform

23. Iain MacMillan
RMM
+44 207 193 4556
iain@rmmlondon.com
www.rmmlondon.com
@RMM_LDN