Caitlin McCabe, Sway, Inc., Social Media & Communication

Social Media And CommunicationMay 2009

2009 Sway, Inc | Do Not Duplicate 2

About Sway

Sway helps its clients leverage social media through targeted research, expert consulting, and its proprietary social media marketing tool, Shoutlet.

2009 Sway, Inc | Do Not Duplicate

Social Media And Architecture

Artist Andrea Zittel says it best when she says "someone told me that when you look at the buildings of Frank Gehry or Steven Hill, you can tell the version of software used to design them because there are certain things that those software programs enable, and other things they don't

allow. The software gives you a rule set that predicts what is possible" (Surface Magazine).


Social Media

Social Media Marketing helps companies capitalize on cutting-edge marketing techniques. It allows marketers to utilize and profit from the use of Web 2.0 platforms, such as blogs, podcasts, Really Simple Syndication (RSS), and other emerging marketing tools, as well as develop, execute, and measure word-of-mouth campaigns.

“As an increasing number of consumers obtain their information from non-traditional sources, Social Marketing will help marketers gain unique

insights into these burgeoning areas.” -- Jupiter Research


Opportunity For Social Media

Source: 2009 Social Media Benchmark Guide, Marketing Sherpa


Web 1.0 versus Web 2.0

Banner AdsPay-per-click

SEOEmail Marketing

Affiliate Programs

User Generated MediaBlogs

PodcastsMobile Phone

RSSOnline Video

Widgets

“Web 1.0 is about commerce, Web 2.0 is about people.” -- Ross Mayfield


Social Media is External

•Social media is the most powerful way to interact with people online.

•Your audience is already online via external websites, social networks, and blogs.

•Your audience can be reached through content that is relevant, engaging, and non-disruptive to their user experience.

Social media marketing is NOT web traffic or a way to build your email list!


What is Social Networking?

Source: Alexa

Social Networking is the interaction between a group of people who share a common interest.This can occur in numerous places online from the most casual (Facebook) to professional (LinkedIn) and include a variety of mediums.

Social Networking is a conversation. It can be a really tiny idea with a few people commenting or a save-the-world idea with millions of followers. Social media is about the ideas you are putting out on behalf of your brand.


Marketers and Social Media

Social Media Study sponsored by the Social Media Summit 2009.

Highlights:

•When asked if they used social media for marketing purposes, the overwhelming majority (88%) indicate they are employing some form of it. In addition, business owners are more likely to use social media marketing (90+%) than employees working for a company that is not their own (81%)

•Nearly two-thirds (64%) of marketers are using social media for five hours or more each week, with 39% using it 10 or more hours weekly and 9.6% spending more than 20 hours each week with social media. Social Media is time consuming!

•72% of marketers say they have either just started or have been using social media for only a few months.

•According to the survey, respondents report that the #1 benefit of social media marketing is gaining attention for the business, or what Stelzner calls “the all-important eyeball.”

•By a wide margin, Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn and Facebook are the top four social media tools. used by marketers, with Twitter in first place.


Social Media vs Search


Where Is Social Networking Happening?

Social Communities:

•Professionally - using social communities by creating a presence for your brand and engaging with the members of of a community.

•Personally - setting up a profile to network, ask and answer questions, career development.

•Blending of Professional and Personal.

•Looking For A Job While You Have A Job. Everyone else is.


Everyone is Online

Parents:

ChildAvenue.com: Approx. 1,200 members

Women:

iVillage.com: Approx. 3 million unique visitors/month

Nascar fans:

Foodies:

BakeSpace.com: Approx. 54,000 unique visitors/month

Pagans:

Triathletes:

Rowdy.com: Social Network for #1 Nascar podcast on iTunes

Covenspace.com: Approx. 8,000 members

Ontri.com: Approx. 25,000 members


Case Study: Allstate And Independant Women

“Mia shows independentwomen how to do their

own auto repairs.”

How Allstate uses social media: Widgets on their own website, distribution to video sharing sites, video players on partner blogs and media buys, podcast creation for downloads.


Where is Social Networking Happening?

Video Sites:

•The growth of the camera phone market has increased the volume of user-generated video. Current broadband Internet connections are well suited to serving the quality of video shot on mobile phones. Most people do not own web servers, and this has created demand for user-generated video content hosting, which sites like YouTube cater to.

•Video sharing and viewing sites allow for the same types of activities as social communities, such as connecting with others and commenting on posts.


Industry Data on Online Video View Viewing

Source: “December 2008 Video Metrix” comScore, reported February 2009.

Internet users in the U.S. viewed a record-setting 14.3 billion online videos during December 2008 an increase of 13% vs. November 2008.

• YouTube accounted for 49% of the incremental gain in videos viewed.

• Google Sites rank as the top U.S. video property, with 5.9 billion videos viewed (41% of the online video market share), followed by Fox Interactive Media (3.1%), Yahoo Sites (2.3%), and Viacom Digital (2.0%).

• Nearly 150 million U.S. Internet users watched an average of 96 videos per viewer in December; 78.5% of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video.

• The average online video viewer watched 309 minutes - or more than 5 hours - of video; the duration of the average online video was 3.2 minutes.


Video: As A Strategy

With video being such a popular method of pushing content online its important to consider it for both

professional and personal branding online.

Where Do I Put My Videos?1) Free Places that you can set up a channel - YouTube / Facebook2) Free Sharing sites - Metacafe, Yahoo3) Blogs and small communities - this is where your new contacts come in.4) Paid placement - Large communities might be a good fit but won’t put your video up for free.


Opportunity: Video Channel (Where Do I Put My Videos?)

By creating a YouTube Channel populated with engaging videos where your audience spends time, it’s likely that your brand will gather fans and pass along.

Organize your channel - playlistscustomize the look of your channeltitle your videos with catchy titles


Video Syndication: Example Apartment Therapy - Paid Placement


Common Mistakes


Client Case Study

Client: International Trucks

Industry: Truck Manufacturer

Objective: Boost brand awareness among truck drivers online. Encourage meaningful engagements between the brand and the audience.

Strategies:

Winter Driving Tips RSS: Audience showed high interest in driving tips specific to inclement weather.

Truck Maintenance Tips: Easy ways for drivers to fix or update their own truck.

Lifestyle Video: Video podcast containing exercise tips, easy on-the-road recipes, etc.


Millions of Connections via Social Media


Content Is King - “Can The Interns Do This?”

Example: which video are you more likely to pass on?

Product Tour vs. Useful Information

One hundred views vs. Thousands of views.


Don’t Be Afraid Of The Technology -Social Media Marketing Platform

Shoutlet is a scalable, web-based, hosted social media communication tool that helps companies connect to their audiences where they live online.

Shoutlet facilitates collaboration in creating, distributing, and tracking online communication across engaging social media formats, which include:

• Video• RSS feeds• Podcasts• SMS mobile text messages• Widgets• Social email

www.shoutlet.com

"Shoutlet has entirely changed the way we work with social media. While saving both money and time, we now have a far better distribution and control of our web 2.0 content than ever before. " - Fredrik Kjellberg, Online Marketing Manager, Peak Performance



Blogs:

• 133 million blog records indexed by Technorati since 2002.

•Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries.

• A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic.

• The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs.

• Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photoblog), sketches (sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog), and audio (podcasting), which are part of a wider network of social media.

•Blogs are re-fostering creativity. We are now creaters not consumers.


Industry Data on Target Audience: Blogs

• Blogging has become a mainstream form of communication, with 36.2 million women participating in the blogosphere weekly. Of these, 15.1 million are publishing at least one post weekly, and 21.1 million women are reading and/or posting comments to blogs.

• 68% of the BlogHer community is concentrated in the 25 to 41 age group, compared to 42% for the general population blogging community.

• 58% of those participating in the BlogHer community have children at home, a 25% increase over the general population. 67% of the BlogHer community have completed college. 69% of women in the BlogHer community have an annual income greater than $50,000; 46% earn more than $75,000.

• 46% of Generation X Bloggers (25 to 41 years old) publish blogs about parenting or pregnancy, 52% read blogs about parenting or pregnancy.

• 29% of blog readers and 38% of blog publishers have decided to purchase a product as a result of a recommendation or customer service experience posted on a blog.

• 32% of blog publishers and 28% of blog readers have decided NOT to purchase a product as a result of a recommendation or customer service experience shared on a blog.

Source: The BlogHer/Compass Partners 2008 Social Media Survey

User ratings are very important to women; they are the online equivalent of “recommended by a friend.” (OMMA)


Blogs: As A Strategy

Post content easily for pick-up

Ex. IKEA - wanted an outlet for their cooking items. By featuring recipe bloggers on their site, they recommended cooking items and untensils to best execute those recipes.

Bloggers receive traffic and readers, IKEA adds popular bloggers’ word of mouth to their product.


Blogs: Things to remember

The first 2 months: nobody will read your blog

You’re not always going to be right. Sometimes it’s better to be wrong.

You’re going to have to seek out your audience.

You’re not going to like all of your readers.

Your topic, your voice and your audience will evolve along with your ideas.



Twitter:

•Twitter is a micro-blogging tool that allows users to put out 140 character “posts.”

•By collecting followers, brands or individuals can reach far more people with their message.

• Twitter.com continues to grow in popularity and importance in both the consumer and corporate worlds.

• In February 2009, adults ages 35-49 had the largest representation on Twitter, with nearly 3 million unique visitors from this age group. This comprises nearly 42% of the site’s audience.


Industry Data on Target Audience: Twitter Use

• When Tweeters were asked to rate the reasons why they participate [in Twitter], on a scale from 1 to 5 (with 1=strongly disagree and 5=strongly agree), the following responses were averaged on this scale:• “I find it exciting to learn new things from people.” (4.65)• “I value getting information in a timely manner.” (4.58)• “I like to be connected to lots of people.” (3.91)• “I want to generate new business.” (3.70)• “I find it gratifying to have people follow me.” (3.64)

• The findings show that the highest number of respondents are motivated by learning new things and getting information in a timely manner.

Source: MarketingProfs Survey, April 2009, (n=425)


Twitter: Case Study

Right Way Wrong Way


Case Study: Target - tying it all in

Target has tied in several social aspects to create a successful complete social

media effort.


Target: The Importance of Linking In

10,441 websites currently link into Target.com.

• Sample websites linking in include: Google, Myspace, Amazon, People, MSNBC, UAE Women Network, Modelmayhem, Yahooshopping, Engadget, Gizmodo, Evite(to announce registries), Style.com, Los Angeles Times Online, Shine (yahoo), CafeMom, Entertainment Weekly

• Themes: Fashion, entertainment, and tech sites linked in most frequently.

• Find Themes and create strategy around them.

Source: Alexa


Shoutlet Reporting


Negativity And Social Media

What If There Are Negative Reviews?

People are talking about your brand. They are standing at parks, in lines, sitting at restaurants, etc. talking about brands they have had positive and negative experiences with. Online you have the opportunity to join, change their minds, etc.

1) Find it - Yacktrack.com (Twitter, Technorati, Google Blogs) 2) Determine which negative posts are helpful to your brand as customer feedback.

3) Engage with or respond to “on the fence” influencers.


YackTrack

http://yacktrack.com/chatter


Social Media 5 Things You Can Do Today.

Comment on 3 bloggers’ posts that you enjoy in your field. Make sure to put in your e-mail address so they can write you back.

Check your brand’s Link-Ins by visiting Alexa.com. Devise a strategy to speak to the trends you find.

Monitor buzz surrounding your brand using YackTrack.com.

Open a Twitter account for your brand or yourself and “follow” your industry leaders.

Collect and examine your internal marketing resources (i.e., articles, videos, audio files, etc.) to see what you can use immediately in the social media space.

Caitlin McCabe, Sway, Inc., Social Media & Communication

Business

Transcript of Caitlin McCabe, Sway, Inc., Social Media & Communication