Presentation for the Charlottesville Chamber of Commerce Social Networking 201 session on 4/29/2009 with Sasha Farmer (http://www.sashafarmer.com), Jason Hull (http://www.opensourceconnections.com), and Marijean Jaggers (http://www.standingpr.com).

1. Social Networking 201:
Building Your Online Presence
For Business
1

2. Agenda
 Introductions
 Objectives
 Top Five Reasons for Using Social Networks for
Business
 Using the Tools
 Business Success Stories
 Breakout Sessions:
 Business to Business
 Business to Consumer
 Personal Branding
2

3. Who are we?
3

4. Marijean Jaggers
4

5. 5

6. 6

7. A little about YOU
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8. 8

9. 9

10. YOUR Objections
10

11. Objectives of this Workshop
 Enhanced knowledge of how to use the
tools of social networking as applied to your
business
 Learn more efficient ways to engage in
social media
 Learn where to focus your time and effort
using social networking
11

12. Top Five Reasons to Use Social Networks
 Find a (new, better) job
 Learn more about your industry (be smarter and
more valuable at work)
 Let people get to know you (your capabilities,
your business, your passion)
 Give people a way to easily find and connect with
you (for your business, for opportunities, as a
friend)
 Connect with others with similar interests
12

13. Find a New, (or Better) Job
 It is who you know.
 Make your resume easily searchable.
 Ask for introductions.
 Request endorsements and offer them to
others.
 Keep your name top-of-mind with
connectors and people who may be hiring.
13

14. Learn more about your industry
 Be the first in your industry to know about
industry news & updates
 Connect with other experts and share
relevant links and articles
 Learn more about your industry through
open dialogue with those inside your
industry but also with those who are
outside, looking in
14

15. Let people get to know you
 Build Rapport and Trust
 Remind people about what you do and who
might be a potential client
 Allow people to see the face behind the
business. People want to do business with
other PEOPLE, not with companies
 Allow people to see your personality,
beyond the workplace
15

16. Give people a way to easily find and
connect with you
 Register your name & identity before
someone else does!
 Give people several different ways to find
and connect with you, so that they can do
what is easiest and most convenient
16

17.  Many small businesses use social
media as exposure mechanism
 The predominant tools which are
used are
 LinkedIn
 Twitter
 Facebook
 Blogs
 The goal is to put a human face
on relationships with your
business and give people an
impression of what working with
you would be like
 Most social marketers view social
media as a validator of expertise
and a risk reduction mechanism
rather than a direct marketing tool
 Can also lead to being viewed as
a source of credibility by the media
Give Yourself a Platform for Others to Connect to You
Source: “Social Networking Tools Gain
Ground with Business Leaders.” Available at
http://caas.tmcnet.com/topics/web-2/articles/54720-social-network
17

18.  Find people in companies who you want to target
LinkedIn Connection Example
18

19.  Find people you know in targeted companies
LinkedIn Connection Example
19

20. Connect with others with similar
interests
 Connect to people who share your
interests, not just professional, but personal
 Give people an opportunity to see who you
are, beyond just your job
 Find many resources for your hobbies and
passions
20

21.  Find like-minded people who are experts in your
industry
 Find those who might be interested in what you
have to say
 The predominant tools which are used are
 LinkedIn
 Twitter
 With LinkedIn, combine the use of search and your
own networks to find others and connect with them
 With Twitter, search for common terms of interest
and find people who write about similar activities
Connect With Others With Similar
Interests
21

22.  Maintaining a recruiting and
contracting channel to find needed
talent (LinkedIn, Twitter)
 Finding out what your customers
think about your
product/service/you (Twitter,
Facebook fan pages)
 Collaboration among
geographically separated
employees and customers
(Yammer)
 Knowledge management (Ning,
Slinkset, del.icio.us)
 Sharing presentations
(SlideShare)
 Sharing documents (Google
Documents, Scribd)
 Quick and easy collaboration
(Dabbleboard)
What Business Problems Can
Social Media Solve?
Source: “Social Networking Tools – Why
Your Business Should be Using Them”
Available at http://outthink.co.za
22

23.  People make purchasing decisions based on
knowledge of a brand
 Social networking is not your silver bullet to
drive business development
 Beginners tend to use social media 2
hours/week; experts tend to use it 20
hours/week
 Social media can drive targeted brand
exposure for significantly lower cost
Social Media
“Social media, is by its nature, bottom-up. For an organization to try and force a
dialogue online via social media top-down is like trying to be cool. Nine times
out of ten - you’re going to look like a [expletive].”
- Aaron Cruikshank
23

24. Social Networking: Objections
 I don’t have time.
 I don’t know where to draw the line between
personal and business connections.
 There are people out there with whom I do not
want to reconnect.
 I’m concerned about privacy.
 I want to be sure there’s a return on investment.
24

25. Facebook -- Overview
 Facebook has several different useful
options; personal profiles, fan pages, group
pages, target marketing, fliers, event
pages, and more
 Facebook is one of the best ways to
connect your personality and individuality
with your company and industry- bring a
face to your professional presence
 Great information resource and a useful
way to generate dialogue
25

26. Facebook’s demographics
 200 million active users in April, 2009
 Over 70% of current users return daily
 Facebook projects that by 2010, 75% of
worldwide users will be outside of college
 In March 2009, there were over 91 million
unique visitors
 Mark Zuckerberg says they have over 25
million people accessing the site via their
mobile devices on a monthly basis
Source: Facebook
26

27. A drill down of Facebook’s US
demographics
 56.3% female
 69.4% have some college education
 24% are non-white
 44% work as professionals, executives,
sales, education, or technical
 12% are full time students
 32% have children under 16
Source: Nielsen//NetRatings
27

28. Facebook: Personal Profile
 You may set your privacy settings so that
you have different groups of friends, each
of which who see your profile differently-
you may limit what a specific group sees, if
you are uncomfortable with them seeing
your full profile (Photos, Wall, Contact
Information, Etc)
 Settings > Privacy > Profile
28

29. Facebook: Personal Profile
 You may then test your groups to make
sure people are only seeing what you
intended
 Settings > Privacy > Profile > “See How
Your Friends See Your Profile”
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30. Facebook Advertising
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31. Facebook standard ad sales
31

32. Targeting beyond demographics
32

33. Facebook’s NewsFeed Ads insert
targeted messages
4-26% return for
sponsored News Feed
stories
33

34. Facebook Flyers give self-service
control
34

35. 35

36. Recommendations
 Facebook marketing is about
communicating, not advertising – so act
appropriately
 Be a part of the Facebook experience
 More like content than advertising
 Tap into the reasons why friends share
 Listen, learn, and be ready to make
mistakes
36

37. LinkedIn
 A business-oriented social networking site
 An interconnected network of professionals
in more than 170 industries and 200
countries
 The average age of the LinkedIn user is 41
 Average salary is $110,000
 Men and the 24-35 year-old demographic
are more likely to use LinkedIn
37

38. Ning
 Ning is an online platform
for users to create their
own social websites and
social networks
www.ning.com
 Virtual Chamber of
Commerce
http://fcaacc.ning.com/
 UVA Social Network
http://hoohasit.ning.com/
38

39. Setting Up Your Website
Make a decision on domain
name: will you have your own
(e.g.
http://www.stlworkingmom.com)
or will it be a subdomain of
another’s (e.g.
http://extempore.livejounal.com)
• Subdomains are usually free
• Independent domains require
more work but are usually
easier to track and manage
If going with a subdomain,
follow instructions on the
website
If going with independent
hosting, most providers will
register name for you, if it’s
available
39

40. Setting Up Your Website
Add good content!
• No point in publicizing an empty website
Register yourself as the webmaster with Google Webmaster
tools (http://google.com/webmasters)
• Applicable if your own domain
40

41. Setting Up Your Website
Register your domain with
search engines
• Google
(http://www.google.com/addu
rl/?continue=/addurl)
• Yahoo
(http://siteexplorer.search.ya
hoo.com/submit)
• MSN
(http://search.msn.com/docs/
submit.aspx)
Submit blog feed to
Feedburner
(http://feedburner.google.com
)
When you update your blog,
if it is not done automatically
(some blog services such as
Feedburner do this), use
PingoMatic
(http://pingomatic.com/)
41

42. Setting Up Your Website
Track your results with Google Analytics
(http://google.com/analytics)
42

43. Blogging
 Today there are 112 million blogs worldwide.
 60-75% of all Web users read blogs (whether they
are aware of it or not).
 A blog is a Web site with updated content,
delivered to subscribers via an RSS feed. The
sequence of blog content appears with the most
recent content at the top of the page.
 There are an estimated 400 active blogs that
originate in Charlottesville.
 Blogs are used widely by businesses and
nonprofits.
43

44. How to Set Up a Blog
 Before You Blog – some considerations
 Select blogging software: WordPress,
Blogger, TypePad, Moveable Type
 Create a look and feel consistent with your
organization’s branding
 Develop categories for content
44

45. How to Read Blog Content
 Use RSS feeds
 Read feeds in
Bloglines or Google
Reader
 Feeds allow you to
know when there’s
new content, instead
of going to sites one
by one or receiving
new posts via e-mail.
45

46. Twitter in Plain English
 http://www.commoncraft.com/twitter
46

47.  Microblogging service where users submit
text-based posts (“tweets”) of up to 140
characters in length sent via
 The website
(http://www.twitter.com)
 Short Message Service (SMS, or
“texting”)
 External applications
 Senders can restrict delivery of tweets to
selected users or can allow anybody to
access them
 Users can choose to follow others, which
are then delivered as tweets occur
 It is the fastest-growing social networking
site in the world
 In February the largest age group on Twitter
was 35-49; with nearly 3 million unique
visitors, comprising almost 42 percent of the
site’s audience.
 It’s common to follow strangers in Twitter, in
comparison to Facebook, where it is not.
What is Twitter?
47

48.  Find people who tweet about your interests and follow them
 Respond to their tweets to build up a relationship
Twitter Connection Example
48

49.  Tweetdeck: Desktop application that allows
sorting of Twitter feeds
(http://www.tweetdeck.com)
 Several in my network prefer Nambu
(http://www.nambu.com)
 FriendFeed: Pulls in friends’ posts from
multiple social networks into one website
(http://www.friendfeed.com)
 TwitterFeed: Automatically posts your blog
entries to Twitter
(http://www.twitterfeed.com)
 Twitpic: Shares pictures via Twitter
(http://www.twitpic.com)
 Digsby: Desktop application which provides
ongoing feed of e-mail, social networks, and
instant messaging (http://www.digsby.com)
 Twitterberry: Update Twitter from your
Blackberry
(http://www.orangatame.com/products/twitterberry)
 Twimailer: Find out more about new
followers (http://www.twimailer.com)
Useful Twitter Applications
49

50.  Listen for your name, your competitors’ names, words that relate to
your space (to include hashtags: #)
 Point out interesting things in your space, not just about you
 Share links to neat things in your community (see @wholefoods for a
good example)
 Answer the question “What has your attention?”
 Don’t just dump links; provide context around them (and use link
shortening services like tinyurl.com)
 Find out who your followers follow and follow them
 Make discussions about your things interesting, useful, and value-
added
 Promote others as well as yourself (#followfriday is a good example of
this)
 Ask opinions and questions
 Look at what your critics are saying about you as well as what your
fans are saying
 Read the other 40 suggestions at http://www.chrisbrogan.com/50-ideas-on-
using-twitter-for-business/
Using Twitter for Your Business
50

51.  Don’t be afraid to use the search box; Twitter is great
for finding out real-time information
 Don’t be afraid to follow people you don’t know.
Following is common on Twitter, and usually an ego
boost for the person whom you’re following
 Give your Twitter followers something which they
can’t get elsewhere (sale, specials, extra
information)
 Make sure that you capture the social media names
you want to represent you (this is similar to the URL
land grab of the late ’90s).
 Retailers can use Twitter as a customer service
channel (@comcastcares is a good example of this)
More on Using Twitter for Business
51

52. Social Networking Platforms;
Who is it acceptable to connect with?
 Facebook: It is common practice to ONLY connect
with people who you personally know, who you’ve
met in person, and who would know your name if
asked.
 LinkedIn: Connect with those who you know or have
met, and then utilize their connections to meet
people who are just 1 “degree” away.
 Twitter: Anyone and Everyone! Many people like to
connect with others who are in their area or their
industry. You do not need to know people personally
to “follow” them, and people who you do not
necessarily know may follow you!
 Note: Your kids may choose not to connect with you!
And that’s okay! 52

53. Case Study: Marijean Jaggers
53

54. A Case Study: Marijean Jaggers
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55. A Case Study: Marijean Jaggers
55

56. A Case Study: Marijean Jaggers
PR consultant with StandingPR, blogger of
STLWorkingMom, and TV star on CBS 19 Blog of
the Week
Got her current job based on her blogging activities
for the St. Louis Post
Uses blogs to tell stories
• About herself
• About case studies
• About interesting things she finds on the web
Believes that her online activity has driven business
because it’s easy for people to find her (75% of her
business is driven through social media vs. 25% for
“traditional” marketing)
“The more [writing] you do, the better you get. Your
high school writing teacher probably told you that
too. He was right.”
56

57. A Case Study: Marijean Jaggers
Thinks it’s necessary to have 5-6 good posts of
content before advertising a blog
Believe frequency of posting to social media is a
function of both goals and niche
• Mainstream topic + want to drive traffic: 5x/week on a blog,
5x/day on Twitter/Facebook
• Niche content + great writer: could be 1x/month – “it’s like
the followers of an author who wait years for the next book
to come out”
“Twitter, microblogging, is the ultimate way to try,
because anyone can write SOMETHING within 140
characters.”
“Observing first is a good way to get a sense of what
others are doing, what your profession is doing, and
to see good and bad examples of how it’s done.”
57

58. A Case Study: Marijean Jaggers: 5
Things to Generate Readership
Comment on similar blogs, and include a
link to your blog in the comment or the
signature line
Tell people via Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn
about your efforts
Make sure that you are registering your blog
with search engines, blogging aggregators,
and groups (CvilleBlogs, Technorati,
BlogHer)
Go to real life events too and tell your story
—show the person behind the writing
Add your blog to your business cards and
signature line
58

59. Case Study:
Thomas Jefferson United Way
59

60. 60

61. 61

62. 62

63. United Way Success;
Blog Visits Increase 100+% in one
month
63

64. Case Study:
Gibson Design Management
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65. 65

66. 66

67. 67

68. 68

69. Gibson Design Success:
 Alexandra Gibson was interviewed by John
Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing, for
his next book- Due to Twitter
 Picked up a new $30,000 client from a
connection on Facebook
 Alexandra is now writing occasional pieces
for Interior Design Magazine, a major
industry-leading publication
69

70. Gibson Design Success:
 Gibson Design has also rolled out a social
media starter package, where she now sets
other interior designers up on social media
platforms for business, and has gained 5
new clients this way since the program
inception in February 2009
70

71. Beer Run: 455 Fans
71

72. @thecommute: Charlottesville Traffic
72

73. Barbara Hutchinson; CHO
Barbara Hutchinson,
executive director of
Charlottesville Albemarle
Airport
 JetBlast Blog
 Twitter @BHutchinson
 Referrals to
www.gocho.com from
Twitter and Facebook are
equal to that of referrals
from airport resource sites.
73

74. Spring Creek Living
 Spring Creek Living
 www.springcreekliving.com
 Blogs integrated into site
designed in WordPress
 Facebook group and page
 LinkedIn presence
 Referrals from social
networks = 15% of total
referrals
74

75. Case Study:
Dana Adams
 Frugal in Virginia
 Consumer to
Consumer
 Building a brand
http://www.frugalinvirginia.com/
Twitter
http://twitter.com/frugalinva
Networking with other frugal
bloggers
75

76. Personal
Successes
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77. Personal
Successes
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78. Questions?
78