Social media provides opportunities for organizations to build communities, energize passionate people, find good ideas, and meet needs in order to connect with audiences and provide value. Effective social media strategies are authentic and focus on listening to audiences, setting clear expectations, and engaging in two-way conversations rather than one-way broadcasts. The key is to use social media in a way that is true to an organization's core values and provides unexpected value to both the organization and its audiences.

1. presents
influence by
association:
embracing social media as a communications tool

2. social Media: Defined
What is social media anyway?
tools trend
How people use decentralized,
people-based networks to
del.icio.us get the things they need from
each other.
Bottom Line: social media isn’t just a list of destinations.
it’s a new standard of expectations.

3. it’s part of how our expectations — and our very culture — are shifting.
People are taking a new “tac”:
the vast majority of people report the opinion they trust
t trust most is one from “someone like me.” for the first time in
our history, peers have bested the wisdom of experts.
no matter how unusual or obscure the topic, we want — we
a access expect — to be able to find information on it. and not just
information, but details, perspectives, and context.
it’s all about how we enter that decision-making situation.
c confidence We are unwilling to go unarmed, to be at the mercy of
the expert on the other side of the table.

4. HoW PeoPle aRe
usinG social MeDia

5. How We use it
the ways people use
social media today fall
into three key categories:
CONTENT
Works like: blogs
Wikis Twitter
YouTube
RECOMMENDATIONS CONNECTIONS
Works like: Digg Google Works like: facebook

6. How We use it
1 create content
• Publish a blog or website
• Upload video or pictures
CONTENT
• Create music or mashups Works like: blogs
• Write articles or commentary
Wikis Twitter
YouTube
RECOMMENDATIONS CONNECTIONS
Works like: Digg Google Works like: facebook

7. How We use it
2 Make connections
• Create online profiles
• Interact with friends
CONTENT
• Seek out new connections Works like: blogs
Wikis Twitter
YouTube
RECOMMENDATIONS CONNECTIONS
Works like: Digg Google Works like: facebook

8. How We use it
3 Make Recommendations
• Post a rating or review
• Make a comment
CONTENT
• Tag or rank content Works like: blogs
• Contribute to articles or wikis
Wikis Twitter
• Vote YouTube
RECOMMENDATIONS CONNECTIONS
Works like: Digg Google Works like: facebook

9. How We use it
18% of people
create content
48%
25% review 25% join
+ are “spectators” who
read and use the ideas,
reviews, and content
and comment and participate
they find
in social
12% tag
networking
and collect

10. How We use it
Social media has reached critical mass
• 182 million Americans used the social web in 2008
• the most popular youtube videos have a wider audience than the most-watched Super Bowls
It has an impact
• 60–80% of americans look for health information online, rivaling physicians as the
leading source for health answers
• 91% of decision makers for business technology purchases refer to blogs and other
user-generated content
It’s not just for kids
• 75% of college students use the social web, but so do 60% of the wired wealthy
• facebook’s fastest-growing population is 50+, followed closely by the 41–45 age group
• the average twitter user is 31

11. HoW bRanDs
& nonPRofits
use social MeDia

12. ople l ike you
pe
HoW bRanDs
& nonPRofits
use social MeDia

13. Why do organizations invest in social media?
for many of the same reasons they invest in more traditional
marketing and advertising:
create encourage build inspire
awareness consideration Preference loyalty
• Greater market share
• Less price sensitivity
• Stronger reputation

14. How do nonprofits use social media?
Most nonprofits are experimenting with tactics and tools.
• 74% of nonprofits maintain facebook presence and average 5,454 members.
• 4 out of 5 nonprofit organizations commit a quarter of a full-time staffer’s time
to social networking. and, half intend to increase the number of staff assigned
to those projects over the next 12 months.
• a third of nonprofits have built one or more “house” networks — and 83% of
those organizations host communities of 10,000 members or fewer.

15. How should people like you use social media?
this one might take a few pages.
cnet recently reported that 75% of fortune 1000 companies
will launch a social media campaign this year.
of course, they also noted that 50% of those campaigns
will fail.
the strategies that succeed follow one of four proven models.

16. 1 Build a Community
let your supporters connect with each other.
Pros:
• Very authentic way to use the social web
• inexpensive to operate and can reduce costs
Cons:
• takes a lot of work to seed and build
• the crowd can turn on you if you’re
unresponsive
Make sure you:
• set expectations: What does success
look like?

17. 1 Build a Community: Best Buy’s Blue Shirt Nation
• connects tens of thousands of employees
• in a forum to talk to and support one another
• Where they can solve problems, share ideas, archive solutions,
build a whole new kind of interconnected culture
• and just be people — who make jokes, have
complaints, dig new things
Who else is doing it:
• TiVo customers solve each other’s technical problems
• Victoria Secret PINK fans on Facebook vote and
chat together
• March of Dimes connects families through its share your story
community
• Many local associations use linkedin groups to power ad hoc
problem-solving networks

18. 1 Build a Community: AARP
aaRP’s online community gives members
access to deep content on issues they care
about most and enables them to form their
own groups and micro-communities.
• Makes it easy to get started
• Powers multiple ways to find what
people like you are thinking and
talking about
• Groups run the gamut from caregivers
to kittens
• in first year, 350,000 members
registered (who use 1,700 groups)

19. 2 Energize Passionate People
it’s about inspiring individuals to carry your message
into the places they talk, connect, and create.
Pros:
• builds relationships with influencers
• Gets real people talking one to one
Cons:
• scale is limited to personal networks
• More difficult to listen to the conversation about
your brand because it is widely dispersed
Make sure you:
• encourage fans to be transparent about any
direct contact they have with you, samples
they receive, and so on

20. 2 Energize Passionate People
it takes a new way
of thinking.
What’s wrong with
this picture?

21. 2 Energize Passionate People
it wasn’t built to be
easy to pass on.
• bold
• succinct
• action oriented

22. 2 Energize Passionate People: Zappos Customer Service
• built its social media strategy on a core tenet of the
brand: We’re a customer service organization that
happens to sell shoes
• Hundreds of associates and executives use social
media to connect one on one with customers
• they answer questions, give advice, solve
problems, build relationships
• creates brand ambassadors who cannot stop
telling “i ♥ Zappos” stories
Who else is doing it:
• ford fiesta is offering a six-month test drive
• Dell won big with free laptops
• ibM supports its bloggers and alumni
• aurora Health and others are “tweeting” cutting-edge surgeries

23. 2 Energize Passionate People: Capital University
• Rallied a passionate community around a new,
inspirational story
• asked students to share their aspirations and
feedback in various mediums
• aggregated the collective experience
• inspired a larger strategy that
enabled potential students
to connect with admissions
counselors on the social web

24. 2 Energize Passionate People: Red Cross
the Red cross starts with providing the
content people want to attract active,
engaged audiences in social media.
• thousands of socially active constituents join
their facebook and twitter networks and
subscribe to their blog and content feeds
• When an important issue arises or an event
needs to be publicized, they leverage these
networks to quickly get a message out and
have people pass it on
• across its social networks, the Red cross has
an audience of over 100,000 people

25. 2 Energize Passionate People: Huntington Bank
• Huntington’s “scout cards” are a
very cost effective and decidedly
low-tech way to engage with
potential associates Are you
• Drives people to a recruiting website
HUNTINGTON?
• empowers ambassadors to recruit
on their behalf
• creates a sense of exclusivity If you’ve received this card,
it’s because we saw something in
you that reminded us of—well, us.
Maybe you showed us you’re passionate about something.
Maybe you shared something you know. Or maybe you simply
greeted us with a smile that said you could be Huntington.
Are you Huntington? Visit huntington.com to learn about career opportunites
with Huntington.
® ®
and Huntington are federally registered service marks of Huntington Bancshares Incorporated. ©2007 Huntingon Bancshares Incorporated.

26. 3 Find a Good Idea
imagine if you could get the very best development
or marketing ideas you’d never thought of from
people who actually use your product or service.
Pros:
• connects you to the best ideas inside your own
organization and in your larger community
• often very cost effective, leveraging resources
you already have
Cons:
• can generate overwhelming content
• can take your brand in inauthentic directions
Make sure you:
• Have a very savvy filter for the input

27. 3 Find a Good Idea: Exxon
• leveraged an idea-crowdsourcing engine called
innocentive that connects problems to solvers
• took on a sticky problem: how to separate frozen oil
from water
• connected with an unlikely “expert”: an illinois
chemist from the concrete industry
• Got an almost immediate solution to a 20-year-old
problem
Who else is doing it:
• bell canada’s employees share ideas and vote the best
ones to the top for executive review
• Mini, Memorial Sloan Kettering, and Del Monte listen to what their
customers are saying online to target their marketing
• Procter & Gamble gets fresh ideas from pet owners who log in
to share insights

28. 3 Find a Good Idea: SXSW
over the years, many of the most compelling panels
and presentations for the sXsW interactive festival
have come directly from the online community.
the festival’s social strategy harnesses the power
of those crowdsourced ideas both to bring the best
content to the conference and to build reputation
and attendance.
• sXsW built an application that accepts and
categorizes panel ideas from the industry
• in 2009, 100 of the 150 sessions were created and
selected by the community
• tens of thousands of attendees and supporters vote
• Hundreds of thousands read about the panels on
blogs and in other social media

29. 3 Find a Good Idea
it takes a new
way of thinking.
What could
go wrong with
this video?

30. 3 Find a Good Idea
talking to your
audience makes
all the difference.
• Resonance
• authenticity
• accuracy

31. 4 Meet a Need to Make a Connection
the toughest way to use social media
is also one of the best: give people
something they need.
Pros:
• creates significant conversation
• builds brand perceptions and attachments
Cons:
• Hard to do
• tends to be a long-term commitment
Make sure you:
• test the concept with users of social media
before you go live

32. 4 Meet a Need to Make a Connection: FedEx
• needed a relevant way to participate in social media
• scanned the various tools and networks people use,
looking for a gap
• found a limitation on facebook: Members can send
email-like messages, but can’t add attachments
• built a branded app that filled the gap — winning
100,000 installs in the first 48 hours, becoming the
#1 most active page, and gaining lots of repeat users
Who else is doing it:
• american express is offering tools for small business
• brooklyn Museum gave new photographers an
exhibit curated by a social community

33. 4 Meet a Need to Make a Connection: Goodwill
Goodwill of Greater Washington, Dc, uses a personal
voice and a very unexpected strategy to meet the
needs of price-conscious fashionistas in the region.
• Goodwill transformed its live fashion show into a
virtual fashion show
• it supports the event year round with a blog
featuring quality clothes on the cheap
• the social media strategy is supported by an
online store
• nearly 4,000 people visit the blog every week
• one out of every 14 readers buys something
at the online store

34. DefininG
youR stRateGy

35. How Should You Use Social Media?
back to the big question.
there’s really just one essential thing to
Value to Value to keep in mind: It should provide value
your your to the audience and to the brand.
organization audience
looking at it another way, the circles
could read:
• true to the core of your brand
eFFeCTIVe SoCIaL MeDIa STraTeGy • new or unexpected

36. Start with an Honest Appraisal
Very Willing to Embrace
Risk-Averse New Opportunities
More conservative and More powerful and
less powerful tactics less conservative tactics
• listening tools • targeted applications • social networks
• private communities • moderated contests • sponsored communities
• blogs • licensed tools • idea generation

37. Set a Strategy
start with who Get to know what your
audience does on the
you want to talk PeoPle social web
to, not what
technology Define what you want to
oBJeCTIVeS accomplish
you want to use.
tools Decide which social
technologies to use
Your Social Media Strategy

38. Above All Else: Be Authentic
technology changes our expectations for behavior, our standards for etiquette. social media is no
exception. a few live-by rules:
1. Listen, then talk. Know your community. Be relevant. Hear other opinions.
2. Set expectations and deliver on them. try to be consistent. focus on a topic. let people know
when things change.
3. Be real. be honest about your identity. speak with your true voice. share your personality.
4. Be personal, don’t broadcast. Don’t be one-sided. Don’t be overly promotional. Don’t repeat,
repeat, repeat.
5. Be responsive. engage in conversation. Reply quickly. answer questions.
6. Edit. Don’t overwhelm with frequency. be brief. be compelling.
7. Be a good host. Make people feel comfortable. thank your community. translate new terms
and insider references.

39. PuttinG it to use

40. 1 Facebook — Why Facebook?
Relevancy and interaction Dayton ♥’S FaCeBooK
• Have content when and where people
are searching 59,468,200 users
• Get access to a more focused audience
• listen and react to what people are 105,200 Dayton users
talking about
• share frequent updates with supporters 26,240 Women 18–30 years
and advocates

41. 1 Facebook — Key Elements
PROFILE
about you or your
organization

42. 1 Facebook — Key Elements
CONNECTIONS
your friends or fans

43. 1 Facebook — Key Elements
WALL POSTS
bulletin board-style
posts

44. 1 Facebook — Key Elements
NEWS FEEDS
the dashboard

45. 1 Facebook — How to Use It
Join seed update interact
• Personal • let people • set status • Plan events
profile know you’re • Write notes • create causes
• fan page on facebook
• Post pictures, • Write on walls
• Groups • ask them to links, and video
pass it on

46. 1 Facebook — Page or Group?
PAGES GROUPS
best for: community and brand connections small-scale interactions
status updates populate fan Discussion boards enable
unique interactivity:
news feeds conversation threads
Privacy: open to all can set: open, approve, or invite-only
Direct Messages/Walls: updates tab (unlimited) inbox (limit 5,000)
Design flexibility: little, but supports applications little
connected to individuals: no yes
indexed by search engines: yes no

47. 2 Twitter — Why Twitter?
Relevancy and interaction
• follow the conversations that
interest you the average age
of today’s twitter
• Participate in the conversation
to make real connections user is
• build credibility by sharing
relevant information
31

48. 2 Twitter — Key Elements
@REPLIES
comment aimed at
one user but visible
to the public.
DM
Message sent in private
to another user.

49. 2 Twitter — Key Elements
RETWEETING
sharing someone
else’s tweet.
abbreviated “Rt.”
ORIGINAL
CONTENT
sharing your own
thoughts or links with
your network.

50. 2 Twitter — How to Use It
be
Join talk follow
strategic
• create • talk about • talk to the • time your
a name what’s people you posts for
meaningful follow when your
• fill in bio to you target
• follow people audience is
• upload • share links your friends
your pic most active
follow

51. 2 Twitter — Tracking vs. Hash Tags
TRACKING HASH TAGS
Retrieving: involuntary Voluntary
content: Results are broader and less contextual Results are specific with greater context
best for: customer care, marketing networking, research
archiving: More recent anytime

52. 3 Blogs — Why Start a Blog?
Relevancy and interaction
• Position yourself as an expert
• Develop a niche following 24%
• boost search engine
of all adults
optimization online read
blogs regularly

53. 3 Blogs — Key Elements
POSTS &
COMMENTS
contributions to your
blog and other
blogger’s posts.

54. 3 Blogs — Key Elements
WIDGETS
act like mini websites
embedded into your
blog, allowing users
to interact with them.

55. 3 Blogs — Key Elements
REPORTING
Data that tracks how,
when, and how often
visitors are interacting
with your blog.

56. 3 Blogs — Key Elements
RSS
(Really simple syndication)
aggregates all your
interests onto one page.

57. 3 Blogs — How to Use Them
sign up Post comment track
• choose your • Post content • track comments • Watch incoming
platform regularly to your blog and and referring
respond to traffic
• sign up • use keywords in questions
posts • Make posts
• leave comments during time of
• opt for your blog on other blogs day and week
posts to feed covering topics with most activity
facebook and you are familiar
other social tools with • track comments

58. 3 Blogs — Commenting Etiquette
The form: fill out the form with a legitimate name, email, and uRl.
(email addresses will remain private).
Stay on topic: Make sure your comment adds value to the conversation.
Read the rules: Respect the policies put in place by other bloggers.
Edit the content: Make sure what you write is readable and not too long.
cite your sources: link to your sources, but be careful about how often you link
to your own site — this can been seen as spam.
The reply: bloggers may reply to your comment within the comment
thread. Do not expect a direct message.

59. Other Sites and Terms You Should Know
WHAT IS IT? WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW
a way to classify, store, and share your favorite tag specific words in each article to make
Del.icio.us links and search links from others. future searches easier.
tagging can be done by the owner of the
tagging assigning a keyword to a piece of information
content or by the community.
because the information is community-edited,
Wikis community-edited information be careful about using this as a resource. the
information may not always be accurate.
social networking site dedicated to helping an extension of linkedin — linkedin for Good —
linkedin professionals connect lets you rally for a cause.
susan boyle from Britain’s Got Talent attracted
youtube a video sharing and rating tool well over 100 million views and more than 250,000
comments following her first performance.

60. Questions?
leigh Householder ologie.com
lhouseholder@ologie.com advergirl.com