Social Media and Small Business

Social Media & Small Business

A quick primer

Digital Arts Expo, 5th November 2009

Alex Grech

“Social Media is a bit like teen sex. Everyone wants to do it. Nobody knows how. When it’s finally done, there is surprise that it’s not better.”Avinash Kaushlik, Analytics Evangelist, Google.

So what’s social

media?

“SOCIAL MEDIA describes a new set of internet tools that enable shared community experiences, both online and in person.”

Source: technologyintranslation.blockwork.org

“Social media is people having conversations

online.”

Key Social Media

Platforms

Blogs

Wikis

Photo Sharing

Micro-Blogs

Slide SharingRSSSocial Networks

Social Bookmarking

Podcasts

Video Sharing

Instant Messaging

Primary Social Media Tools

Who uses it?

Inactives

Spectators

Joiners

Collectors

Critics

Creators

Who uses social media?

Source: Groundswell, Forrester Research, 2008.

Publish a blogPublish your own web pagesUpload video you createdUpload audio/music you created

Post ratings/reviews of products/servicesComment on someone else’s blogContribute to online forumsContribute to/edit articles in a wiki

Use RSS feedsAdd ‘tags’ to web pages or photos‘Vote’ for websites online

Maintain profile on a social networking siteVisit social networking sites

Read blogsWatch video from other usersListen to podcastsRead online forumsRead customer ratings/reviews

None of the above

Why bother?

1. It’s HUGE

2. It’s TRUSTED

3. It IMPACTS YOUR BUSINESS

4. It’s NOT GOING AWAY

Why bother with Social Media?

2/3 OF THE GLOBAL INTERNET POPULATION VISITS SOCIAL NETWORKSNielsen, Global Faces & Networked Faces, 2009

#1

It’s HUGE

SOCIAL MEDIA MAKES UP ALMOST 10% OF ALL INTERNET TIME. THAT’S AN 83% INCREASE OVER THE PAST YEAR.Nielsen, Global Faces & Networked Faces, 2009

#1

It’s HUGE

Source: The Nielsen Company, 2nd June 2009

#1

It’s HUGE

TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL NETWORKS IS GROWING AT 3X THE OVERALL INTERNET RATE, ACCOUNTING FOR 10% OF ALL INTERNET TIMENielsen, Global Faces & Networked Faces, 2009

1.

#1

It’s HUGE

Source: Universal McCann Comparative Study on Social Media Trends, April 2008

13,000,000The number of articles available on Wikipedia

#1

It’s HUGE

83% have watched movies online

45% of teens spend time on the internet and 28% in front of TV

Source: Universal McCann Comparative Study on Social Media Trends, April 2008Nielsen, Global Faces & Networked Faces, 2009

100,000,000The number of YouTube videos viewed per day

#1

It’s HUGE

77% of active online users have read a blog

346,000,000 read blogs globally

Blogging grew by 68% last year

Source: http://technorati.com/state-of-the-blogosphere/

#1

It’s HUGE

WORDPRESS currently being downloaded 430,000 times a WEEK

http://technorati.com/state-of-the-blogosphere/


3,600,000,000The number of photos archived on Flickr at June 2009

#1

It’s HUGE

57%joined a social network


Over 110,000 in Malta network

Source: O’Reilly Media, August 2009

#1

It’s HUGE

3,000,000The average number of tweets per

day

Immediacy Brevity

‘Pull’ not ‘push’

Searchability

Mix of public & personal

Retweeting

1382%The monthly growth rate of Twitter users from January to February 2009

#1

It’s HUGE

#2

It’s TRUSTED

People trust each other, and now they have the tools to communicate with each other using social technologies and mobile with or without brands involved.

Trust has shifted to the participants. Jeremiah Owyang, www.web-strategist.com

#2

It’s TRUSTED

Companies aren’t trusted, brands aren’t trusted, and nor are your executives.

78%OF PEOPLE TRUST THE RECOMMENDATIONS OF OTHER CONSUMERS.

Source: Nielsen, Trust in Advertising Report, 2007

SOCIAL MEDIA IS DEMOCRATISING COMMUNICATIONS. BIG TIME.

#2

It’s TRUSTED

The old communication model was a MONOLOGUE.

ADVERTISING

14% OF PEOPLE TRUST ADVERTISING

#2

It’s TRUSTED

Source: Nielsen, Trust in Advertising Report, 2007

SOCIAL MEDIA IS LIKE WORD OF MOUTH ON STEROIDS.

#2

It’s TRUSTED

SOCIAL MEDIA IS DEMOCRATISING COMMUNICATIONS. BIG TIME.

#2

It’s TRUSTED

PEOPLE ARE TALKING ABOUT YOUR BRAND RIGHT NOW.

#3

It IMPACTS YOUR BUSINESS

The brand does not live in the voices of PR.

It lives in the VOICES of YOUR CUSTOMERS.

Source: Forrester Research, 2009.

#3


#3


31

#4

It’s NOT GOING AWAY

32

#4


#4


SEARCH ENGINES LOVE SOCIAL MEDIA

#4


CLAY HEBERTCEO TribesWin.com

Someone who ‘GETS IT’…

“IN 2009, IF YOU’RE NOT ON A SOCIAL NETWORKING SITE,

YOU’RE NOT ON THE INTERNET.”

Source: IAB Platform Status Report – User Generated Content, Social Media & Advertising

Why is this happening?

Social

• People’s desire to network

• Increasing reliance on word of mouth

• Rebel against institutional power

Technology

• More and more people online

• Faster, ubiquitous connections

• Web 2.0• Convergence finally

meets user-generated content

Economics

• Crowd sourcing• Scramble for new

business models (freemium still being deployed)

Social media is a GROUNDSWELL from a collision of three forces

BLOG

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

LINKEDIN

DELICIOUS

SLIDESHARE

ME-CONOMICS (I AM THE BRAND)

Source: Dachis Group, 2009.

YOUTUBE

IT USED TO BE ABOUT COMMAND AND CONTROL

BRAND BRAND AS BROADCASTER


FACILITATION LEADS TO ENGAGEMENT

BRAND

BRAND AS FACILITATOR

influencers

friends


“We don’t respond to Bloggers”. Michael Dell.

August2005

ENGAGEMENT LEADS TO PARTICIPATION

… and POTENTIAL ADVOCATES FOR YOUR BRAND

WEBSITE

BLOG

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

LINKEDIN

DELICIOUS

SLIDESHARE

NOW, JUST HAVING A WEBSITE IS NOT ENOUGH!!

YOUTUBE

93% OF SOCIAL MEDIA USERS BELIEVE A COMPANY SHOULD HAVE A SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE.

85% BELIEVE IT SHOULD INTERACT WITH ITS CUSTOMERS.Cone, Business in Social Media Study, 2008

And then you hit a wall

IF IT’S SO GOOD .. WHY ARE COMPANIES

SCARED?

Employees will WASTE TIME

• Sensible social media guidelines

• Mobile devices mean you cannot stop people getting access to the Internet

55We will lose

control of OUR BRAND

• You never had much control!• Better to listen and take

remedial action• Your community will come to

your defence if attack not merited

It’s NOT REALLY FREE!

• It needs the same commitment, funding and ownership as any other strategic initiative

• Get someone who has got their hands dirty with social media on board!

57

We will give away SECRETS!

Risks not mitigated by non-participation. Just train people to be sensible.

We can only doPR!

If you can only shout, don’t get into social media, because you will be found out

How business is taking to

Social Media

Social Networking Activities of US companies

CEO is on Facebook

Social networking is part of business and operations strategy

Utilise social networking as a tool to manage and build our brand

Utilise social networking as an internal communications tool

Utlise social networking for recruiting

Utilise social networking to engage employees

Company has an employee-created Facebook group

CEO has a Twitter profile

Post corporate videos on YouTube

Company has a corporate-sponsored Facebook group

0% 10% 20% 30% 40%

31%

30%

29%

23%

23%

21%

18%

14%

13%

11%

% of respondents

Source: Deloitte Ethics & Workplace survey, May 19 2009 (n=500)

Branding

Information sharing

Public relations

Understanding customers

Lead generation

Collaborative work

Internal communication

Sales support

0.0% 20.0%40.0%60.0%80.0%

71.8%

70.5%

65.8%

56.6%

54.9%

38.4%

32.1%

25.8%

Which of the following busi-ness functions do you use social media to improve?

Source: Social Media Today, June 2009: members survey based on sample of 632 respondents, collected between March 13th and April 4, 2009

6.3%7.9%

11.2%

13.3%

16.8%

17.3%

25.4%

1.8%

Which one business function are you most considering using social media

for?

Sales support

Collaboration

Information sharing

Understanding cus-tomers

Public relations

Branding

Lead generation

Internal communication


Blogs

Twitter

Online communities

Facebook

LinkedIn

YouTube

Wikis

Forums

Ratings/Reviews

Groups

Ning

Xing

MySpace

18.1%

17.5%

14.7%

13.8%

11.8%

9.7%

5.4%

4.1%

3.8%

2.6%

2.1%

0.7%

0.5%

Which one social media network or tool is your organisation most considering using

in the future?

Source: Social Media Today, June 2009: members survey based on sample of 632 respondents. March 13th and April 4, 2009

Sharing breaking news

Extending a personal face to customers

Keeping in immediate touch with customers

Getting feedback from customers

Offering products for sale

Organise meetings

Keeping management in touch with key communities

71.9%

68.7%

55.1%

48.6%

20.0%

15.3%

5.8%

Twitter functionality used by business


6.9%10.0%

15.5%

18.1%

20.8%

27.3%

25.4%

What function is your organisation planning to use Twitter most in the

future? Organising meetings

Offering products for sale

Getting feedback from customers

Sharing breaking news

Extending a personal face to customers

Keeping in immediate touch with customers

Keeping top man-agement in touch with financial com-munity


What are the best tactics to

use?

How do I measure

ROI?Where do

I start?

TOP QUESTIONS BUSINESS PEOPLE WANT ANSWERED

Making it happen

PeopleObjectiv

esStrategie

sTechnolo

gyMetrics

1 2 3 4 5

Five-Step Planning Process

Marketing

PR

ICT

LegalConsultants

Customer Care

Influencers

People1

SET UP THE TEAM

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE?

Objectives2

Always ALIGN your SOCIAL MEDIA objectives with your BUSINESS objectives

INCREASE SALES

CONTROL COSTS

MAKE CUSTOMERS

HAPPY

ENHANCE THE BRAND

Objectives2

Some of these objectives SHOULD be QUANTIFIABLE

Strategies3

You’re going to reap just what you sow

Lou Reed, Perfect day.

Target HOW you reach them Strategies3

Inactives

Spectators

Joiners

Collectors

Critics

Creators

Develop sustainable messages to the right audience

Determine WHOM you want to reach

And then HOW you want to reach them

Source: Groundswell, Forrester Research, 2008.

Strategies3

Increase Website Visitors

Increase Inbound Links

Examine Search Volume

Trends

Increase Followers,

Fans, Friends

Increase number of

SocialMentions

Develop Blog and

Microblogging touch points

OBJECTIVE: Increase

awareness

Objective: RAISE

AWARENESS

Strategies3

Increase Time spent on site

Develop Customer

service metrics

Encourage Repeat visits

Increase number of

reviews

Offer more to Followers,

Fans, Friends

Improve service quality

using social media

OBJECTIVE: Increase

awareness

Objective: INCREASE

LOYALTY

Strategies3

Increase Click-

throughs Increase Time spent

on Site

Reduce Bounce

Rate

Incentivise Repeat

Visits

Offers to Followers,

Fans, Friends

Set up Affiliate

deals with 3rd Parties

Improve E-commerce

landing pages

Objective: INCREASE

SALES

Strategies3

How deep are you wading in?

Strategies3

HOW TO LISTEN (using NetVibes)

Strategies3

HOW TO LISTEN AND TALK (using Hootsuite)

Strategies3

HOW TO RESEARCH (using Seesmic Deskstop)

Strategies3

Decision-makers cannot make informed choices about the use of social media until they have personally had experience with this technology

Technologies

4

Key Social Media

Platforms

Blogs

Wikis

Photo Sharing

Micro-Blogs

Slide SharingRSSSocial Networks

Social Bookmarking

Podcasts

Video Sharing

Instant Messaging

Which tools will support YOUR strategies best?

Technologies

4

Technologies

4

Objectives

Strategies

Technologies

LOCK Programmes

Choose the RIGHT tools to support a set of PROGRAMMES

85Metrics5

Everything can be measured.. But measure the right stuff!

Quantitative Metrics

•Polls•Satisfaction Indexes•New Followers•New Subscribers•And more…

Qualitative Metrics

•Satisfaction•Loyalty•Authority•Interaction•Influence•Signal•Generosity•Velocity•Clout

Metrics5

General Metrics

- Google Analytics

- Pea Shoot

Facebook Metrics

- Facebook

Insights

Twitter Metrics

- Twitalyzer

Metric Tools

5. MetricsMetrics

5

How to measure success

Some Local Applications

I have 3,500 MEMBERS…

Now WHAT DO I DO WITH THEM?

LOCAL BLOGGER GETS HOTEL TO START BLOGGING

NATIONAL TOURISM ORGANISATION TRIES TO SEE THINGS THE WAY THE CASUAL VISITOR DOES

PERSONAL INSIGHTS ON LIVING AND WORKING IN MALTA. CONTENT MARKETING PLATFORM.

EARLY ADOPTION OF GOOGLE WAVE.

End thoughts

Social Media is still evolving 98

Era of social relationships

Era of social functionality

Era of social colonisation

Era of social context

Era of social commerce

Start maturity

1995;2003 to 2007

2007;2010 to 2012

2009;2011

20102012

2011;2013

Descriptions

Individuals assemble and connect with each other in online groups

Social networks become operating systems

Every website is now social, even if it doesn’t choose to be

Websites deliver personalised content to visitors

Online groups supplant brands

Consumers Use simple profile and discussion features to share with each other

Embed Web applications & widgets on their profiles to make experience more fun & useful

Lean on their peers’ opinions to make decisions about products

Opt in to share their identity in return for a more relevant Web experience

Work with peers to define the next generation of products; also purchase in groups

Brands Join online groups using conversational marketing or sponsorship, or create their own community

Advertise, then sponsor, then create applications to provide utility to consumers

Focus on influencers and include social recommendations

Provide specialised content for visitors; get rid of registration pages

Lean on groups to define products

Social Networks

Struggle with monetisation

Share as developers to monetise applications

Aggregate all implicit and explicit data, creating a new type of social inbox

Become the identity system of the Web

Offer features to help with product design and vendor management

Other Media

The world is more connected

Office apps become social; even solitaire games have social leader boards

Mobile devices trigger in-store displays to show custom content

TV offers personalised interactive channels for viewers

A new PR agency emerges that represents online groups – not brands

Source: Forrester Research, 2009

99

Think STRATEGY before you get hooked on

the TOOLS

Go fishing. Create social media outposts to interact with customers, prospects, prospective employees and create new business opportunities

Refresh your content regularly.

“I believe that people would rather have a conversation with a person, than a brand.”

Scott Monty, Ford

Listen (DON’T Preach)

Engage (DON’T Bully)

Be Personal (DON’T get Officious)

Find the right TONE

BLOG

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

LINKEDIN

DELICIOUS

SLIDESHARE

Source: Dachis Group, 2009.This guy really matters now

YOUTUBE

WEBSITE

BLOG

TWITTER

FACEBOOK

LINKEDIN

DELICIOUS

SLIDESHARE

Drive the business HOME from all outposts

AFFILIATES SKYPE

MSN

EMAIL

PR

YOUTUBE

ADVERTISING

Nurture your community. Fans on Facebook need either education or entertainment. Or both.

Be prepared to do ROI

This is the new way of the world

Welcome to the age of human sharing

Alex Grech

[email protected]://twitter.com/alexgrech

Acknowledgements

Images from Flickr under Creative Commons licences

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60577574@N00/2281428223http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinksherbet/233228813

@jasonbaer@armano@mzkagan

http://www.flickr.com/photos/larslars/718618057

http://www.flickr.com/photos/luc/1824234195

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewmorrell/55032223

Social Media and Small Business

Business

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