Social media is important for small businesses to attract new customers, convince people, and maintain existing customers. It supports face-to-face activities like networking and sales. Businesses should build an online presence with profiles, demonstrations of expertise, and testimonials to treat customers well. Most effective content engages emotions through case studies and video. Tools to boost profiles include white papers, books, videos, slide sets, and social media profiles. Building online "scenery" involves keyword research and creating online materials to engage people.

1. Social Media
for small businesses
the scenery for the play
th f th l
Dr Alan Rae
Dr Alan Rae

2. Marketing Materials do 3 things
Marketing Materials do 3 things
• Attract new customers –
– PR, advertising, exhibitions, leaflet drops, social
, g, , p,
media, telephone campaigns
• Convince people you are talking to
Convince people you are talking to
– Brochures, Books, demonstrations, proposals, online
profiles and collateral, packaging, point of sale
fil d ll l k i i f l
• Maintain contact with existing customers
g
– Newsletters, email and direct mail shots, telephone
campaigns
@lisaharris #CIMbrandyou

3. Much business is still done face to face
Online is like the billboards and the scenery for the play
It tells people where to find you and what you do
It supports the face to face activity
You WILL be Googled
They must find good stuff about you
Copyright Dr Alan Rae 2011

4. So what should you do?
So what should you do?
• Get better at selling and face to face activity
• Build an online presence to support this
– Profiles Linked in
Profiles – Linked‐in
– Things that demonstrate you know your stuff
• Slide share / YouTube / White papers / Books / Blog
– Things that demonstrate you treat your customers
well
• Testimonials, accreditations Face book fan page / group
– Things that look after your existing customers
@lisaharris #CIMbrandyou

5. What you do depends on
the type of your business
• It depends on
y
whether you sell
locally vs nationally
• And whether your
business is scalable
– limited by sales
limited by sales
or by capacity
@lisaharris #CIMbrandyou

6. On Line vs Offline
• It’s a play –
– the action is
h i i
face to face
networking and
ki d
sales
– The scenery is
the online
component
• 12 hours a week
12 hours a week
– face to face
and online
and online
Copyright Dr Alan Rae 2012

7. What most companies actually do
What most companies actually do
Don’t use or occasional use User regularly or depend on it
one to one selling 25.7 74.8
social networks 29.5 71.5
Online advertising 70.4 29.9
Workshops 71.1 29.4
PR 73 27.5
e-shots 73.2 27.3
Newsletters 76.3 23.7
Blogs 80.3 19.9
Direct Mail 80.9
80 9 19.6
19 6
Print advertising 83.5 17.1
Telesales 87.3 13.5
Exhibitions 89.4
89 4 11.4
11 4
e-zines 92 7.7
leaflet drops 94 5.5
magazine inserts 95 5
@lisaharris #CIMbrandyou

8. What types of content work?
What types of content work?
It’s interesting that what’s most effective are media that engage the
emotions of the customer – Case studies are about “people like me” while
video, listening to speakers and seminars engage the whole person. The
analytic approaches are thought to be generally less persuasive.

9. Social Media Channels used by B2B
marketers – and those that get results
These are the findings from the B2B barometer in 2011

10. How you
build your scenery
• Fi
First turn your story into keywords
i k d
• Test them using Google ad‐words either by running a
campaign or by using the keyword tool
i b i h k d l
• When you’ve got them put them into
– anchor text
• Small Business Marketing course sits over
• www 1manbrand co uk
www.1manbrand.co.uk
– Headlines, page title, keywords metatags
– Tags for any online materials you create
Tags for any online materials you create
– Videos, Photos, Blogs, Articles
• Create additional places you can link from
Create additional places you can link from
– Blogs, Social network sites, other people’s sites

11. Tools you can use to
boost your profile
1.
1 White papers ‐ planning tools – PDF Downloads
White papers planning tools PDF Downloads
2. Books and e‐books – Completely Novel
3. Videos & Channels – YouTube and Viddler
4.
4 Slide sets – Slide Share
Slide sets – Slide Share
5. Profiles – Facebook, Linked‐In, Ecademy
6. Facebook Fan Pages
7. Twitter Streams
Twitter Streams – Paper.Li
8. Recommendations
9. Embedding Tools – Blidgets & Wordpress Plug‐ins
Copyright @alanrae 2012

12. Building the Scenery
Your online toolkit.
You can create structures like this
to get noticed by influencers
Copyright Dr Alan Rae
Copyright Dr Alan Rae
2006

13. Source Media
Source Media
Blogs / Ecademy / YouTube / Slideshare
• It’s where you create the materials that
are going to interest people.
• As you create them you send the details
via twitter to your profiles on Linked‐In
via twitter to your profiles on Linked In
or Facebook

14. Wordpress – The Intelligent Garden
Wordpress The Intelligent Garden
Our Business is Making Your
Copyright Dr Alan Rae
Business Grow
2010

15. Slideshare – Punch Above Your
Weight
Our Business is Making Your
Copyright Dr Alan Rae
Business Grow
2010

16. YouTube – DrAlanRae Channel
YouTube DrAlanRae Channel
Our Business is Making Your
Copyright Dr Alan Rae
Business Grow
2010

17. Videos - simple but effective
Copyright @alanrae 2012

18. Carrier Media
Twitter
• T itt i
Twitter is pure permission marketing.
i i k ti
• People follow if they like what you say.
• You’ve 140 characters to make your point.
– link to Blogs events offers
link to Blogs, events, offers
• Converse ‐ don’t broadcast
– Ch
Chat with colleagues, re‐tweet good stuff.
i h ll d ff
– inform and entertain ‐ 15% promotion max
• Route blogs via twitter to Facebook and Linked‐
in.

19. Twitter for
Research
• You can follow ideas using hashtags
You can follow ideas using hashtags
– #nfu11 #organic, #marketresearch
• You can identify who has things worth saying
and you can check their reach using
www.Klout.com
• This will help you decide who is influential in
This will help you decide who is influential in
your field.
Our Business is Making Your
Copyright Dr Alan Rae
Business Grow
2010

20. DestinationMedia
Facebook
FaceBook
• Allows 3rd party applications and is good at
easily importing pictures and videos
• It blurs boundaries between professional
It blurs boundaries between ‘professional’
and ‘social’ worlds. Fine if you live
blamelessly.
• Special interest groups can be created such
Special interest groups can be created such
as “How to do Business” which has acquired
950 members. This group feature works well
for managed discussions
• Apps such as scoop.it can post curated
content to your page or group
• Facebook has been organised around the
selective advertising.
l ti d ti i

22. Linked –in
Finding your Influencers
• Linked‐in is well used by corporates
• Who knows whom
Wh k h
• Who you know that knows them
y
• Who discusses what in industry groups
• Demonstrate your expertise in discussions
D i i di i
• Your friends can endorse and recommend you y
• Blog entries and slideshare on your profile
– You can demonstrate thought leadership
d
Our Business is Making Your
h h l d h
Copyright Dr Alan Rae
Business Grow
2010

23. Linked‐in Profile
Linked in Profile
Our Business is Making Your
Copyright Dr Alan Rae
Business Grow
2010

24. Blog in linked‐in
Blog in linked in
Our Business is Making Your
Copyright Dr Alan Rae
Business Grow
2010

25. Embedding tools
Embedding tools

26. Copyright Dr Alan Rae
2011

27. Copyright Dr Alan Rae
2011

28. @lisaharris #CIMbrandyou

32. What customers want
What customers want
• To be informed
• To buy based on other peoples recommendations
• To deal with real humans who take their
responsibilities as providers seriously.
responsibilities as providers seriously.
• To be dealt with transparently
• To see an eas to se acc rate site for transactions
To see an easy to use, accurate site for transactions
• To be engaged and listened to
• Not to have flashy distractions
• Not to be sold or broadcast to
@Dr Alan Rae 2011

33. Simplify your design for phone
users – or create an app
Copyright Dr Alan Rae
2011

34. Much
Much
And no Typos!
@lisaharris #CIMbrandyou
@Dr Alan Rae 2011

35. Marketing to do list
Marketing to do list
• List 50 people you need to meet and how
List 50 people you need to meet and how
– They can find you
– You can get introduced to them
– You can collide with them
• Use social media to create the scenery
– this book tells you how
– join linkedIn ‐ Build profile ‐ join groups ‐ contribute
– Use PR
– Build Collateral library ‐ 7 things you should know – white papers etc
u d Co ate a b a y t gs you s ou d o te pape s etc
– Create a form for people to sign up for these so you can email them
– Build Social media profiles
– Connect it all together – so when people check you out they find your stuff.
C t it ll t th h l h k t th fi d t ff
Our Business is Making Your
Copyright Dr Alan Rae
Business Grow
2009

36. Contact Details for
Dr Alan Rae
1. Phone number 0845 094 0407
2. Mobile 07958 200112
3. Email alan.rae@aiconsultants.co.uk
4.
4 Twitter @alanrae, @intelligarden, @brandnetwork
Twitter @alanrae @intelligarden @brandnetwork
5. Amazon Author Page – for Books is
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/ref sr_tc_2_0?rh i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3AAlan Rae&keywords Alan Rae&ie UTF
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/search/ref=sr tc 2 0?rh=i%3Astripbooks%2Ck%3AAlan+Rae&keywords=Alan+Rae&ie=UTF
8&qid=1317971948&sr=1‐2‐ent&field‐contributor_id=B0046OVJL0
6. blog page http://alanrae.co.uk
7. Blog.howtodobusiness.com
8. www.small‐business‐research.co.uk
9. www.theintelligentgarden.com
@ Dr Alan Rae 2011