The document discusses how social networking tools like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter can be leveraged by businesses to engage customers, enhance brands, and improve products and services. It provides an overview of various social media platforms and how companies can create a presence, interact with customers, and measure the results of their social networking activities. The presentation encourages businesses to embrace social media as part of their marketing strategy in order to stay relevant in today's digital landscape.

1. SOCIAL NETWORKING
OVERVIEW
South Shore Women’s Business Network
Presented by:
Angela Rutzick, Principal
May 6, 2010

2. Social Networking Tools
 Social Networking
 Blogs
 Communities
 Forums / Discussion Board
 Content Aggregators

3. Social Networking
 Social network users represent 67%
of all internet users
 Offers the most personal, trusted and
direct points of access to consumers
 Provides consumers with options in
searching for value, products and
services and finding exactly what they
need and want with minimum effort.
 Social Networking is here to stay

4. Some Facts …
 Eight in ten Americans are now online
 Yet, only 5-10% of marketing budgets are
allocated to digital media
 The fastest growing digitally mature
industries include:
 Technology, financial services, travel
subscription media & retail

5. Consumers — the New Marketers
 Web 2.0 tools have
upgraded their voice
power
 Consumers are now
Prosumers
(producer + consumer)

6. The New Marketer —Technopologist?
 Technologist,
sociologist and
psychologist
 Usage behavior -
watch and
observe

7. MySpace
 Who is your audience
 Generally younger audience without
deep pockets
 Environment is one where you
primarily visit page of others as
opposed to having info brought to you

8. You Tube
 Upload and share video clips and
across the Internet through websites,
mobile devices, blogs, and email

9. Facebook
 Geared to using your profile page as a
home page for information being brought
to you
 Facebook is usually an older audience
with more income

10. PROFILE CENTRIC
PERSONAL PAGE

11. Boost Your Brand
 Create a group that provides value
 Avoid commercialness or you may be shut down
 Don’t spam even if your message is real or relevant
 Event Marketing
Creates a special page on which you can put
the details and even collects RSVPs

12. Tweet Tweet Twitter
 Limit to 140 characters
 Similar to text messaging
 Fastest growing, least retention

13. Widgets and Applications
 Most underused feature
 Sony Snow Globe
 Office Max Elf Me

14. Blogs
 Provide commentary or news on a
particular subject or function as more
personal online diaries
 9000 million blogs
 40,000 new ones pop up each day

15. USE A BLOG TO GENERATE BUZZ

17. COMMUNITIES
Industry Wiki
Forum
E-Learning
Surveys/Studies
Bookstore
Video
RSS Feed

19. Brand Awareness to
Advocacy
Collaborate with customers on product
development, service enhancement and
promotion
Learn more about customer
lifestyles.

20. Mommy Blogs

21. Forums Enhance Product Development

22. Customer Interaction
 Better understanding of price points
 Insight for future products
 Customers trust each other’s opinions

23. Expand visibility
 Free publicity
 Free samples encourage feedback
 Free testimonials and reviews

25. The Good with the Bad
 Be prepared to handle responses
 Never ignore an unfavorable comment

26. From Push Marketing to
Conversational Marketing
 Persuade don’t sell
 Be part of the conversation
 Facilitate
 Listen and respond to customers

27. Why should they come?
 Provide incentives - both tangible and
intangible
 Tangible - play on consumers’ emotions
 Intangible - money, free samples, coupons
 Create community
 Peer recognition

28. How do I keep them there?
 Hire a Community Manager
 Provide ongoing interaction & content
 Create a wiki to increase traffic to your site
 Appoint a Facilitator
 Keeps conversations going
 Highlights important information
 Maintains order
 Ensures customer is heard and responded to

29. Recruit employees
 Carefully select employees to write blogs
 Social networking skills
 Shares company vision
 Knowledgeable about services and products

30. Engage Employees
 Define the customer experience
 Share culture and feel of organization
 Case Study: Dove - Consumer Nation

31. What will it do for my business?
 Engage customers
 Expand visibility and enhance a brand
 Improve customer understanding of products &
services
 Facilitate sharing of knowledge
 Increase customer satisfaction
 Bring referrals and recommendations
 Attract new employees
 Strengthen and enlarge your network of vendors
and partners
 Create evangelists

32. What are the requirements?
 Meet a business objective
 Support a product or service
 Provide cross-referrals
 Give and receive recommendations
 Offer value with content
 Integrate with other marketing activities
 Social bookmarking

33. Today’s New Creative
 It’s about the message - not the
product
 Simple, punchy and in a story form
 Resonates with the consumer and
provides instant gratification
 Timing / call for action
 forward the message to others

34. Be Digital Savvy
 Align yourself with
 technology
 the right talent
 a company’s whose culture is
progressive
 Create parterships with
Agencies, media companies and
marketers

35. What is measurable?
 Number of referrals
 Site traffic / visitors
 Audience participating
 Blog comments
 Content sharing (ie., email forwards)
 Follows, friends & fans
 Profile views
 Wall posts

36. What are the Advantages?
 Builds better customer/company relationships
 Builds sense of community
 Increases opportunities
 Lowers recruiting costs
 Attracts conversations / exchange ideas / find
answers
 Lets others know what you are working on and
the successes you are having
 Links to articles and recent posts
 Links (in moderation) to your own blogs and
articles
 Help others get business referrals (collaborate
just don’t collect)

37. Tips
 Take into
consideration overall
marketing plan
 Select target and
develop relevant
messaging & content
 Utilize social networks
 Have patience
 Plan before jumping in