Cracking the Social Media Code

Parents as Teachers National Conference

Nov. 8, 2009

Why should I even try?

• Social media use by moms has grown 462% over the past three years

• Moms using social networks has gone from 11% in 2006 to 63% today

• Top subjects in moms’ online communities?– Children’s health– Childhood development tips

Source: Babycenter’s “21st Century Moms Report” www.babycenter.com

eMoms Are Everywhere!

• Strong African-American blog communities & conferences– BloggingWhileBrown– Blogalicious– Black Moms Club– Mocha Moms– Mommy Too!

• 81% of Hispanic moms text message & 36% regularly watch online videos*

Source: iVillage 2009 study of Hispanic moms and social media use www.ivillage.com

Social Media Divided By Socioeconomic Lines• More affluent are 25% more likely to

be on Facebook• Less affluent are 37% more likely to

be on MySpace• 23% of Facebook users earn more

than $100K/year• 37% of MySpace users earn less

than $50K/yearSource: Nielsen Claritas 2009 social media usage study

Code Word “Opportunity”

• Build relationships• Create authentic conversations• Share vital information• Learn from and share with fellow

educators• Help parents be the best they can be

Learn The Basics

• What?• How?• Why?

• Global social networking site• Sign up with an email address, add info &

photos and jump in!• Share latest studies, tips, events and

information• Form strong bonds with parents &

educators

• Also a global social networking site• Numbers are declining as Facebook

grows• Much more focused on music & video• Great flexibility in building personal

profiles – can learn much about your MySpace “friends” & how they like to communicate

• Top “microblogging” site – 140 character maximum per “Tweet”

• Gain “followers” by “Tweeting” & “Re-Tweeting” (RT)

• Breaking news now being reported on Twitter first

• Twitter “lists” in Beta – allows you to group followers by interests

• Photo/video hosting & sharing website• Often link Flickr account to other social

media pages• “Tag” photos so they can be found in

searches• Great way to share more about yourself

& learn more about the families served by PAT

• Business-focused social networking site

• Great place to connect with fellow early childhood professionals, pediatric health specialists, etc.

• Can be helpful to spread the word about fundraising events, strategic plan initiatives, etc.

• Online platform for you to create your own social networks

• Might consider linking the families you serve in a “village”

• Especially helpful in sharing information on activities & events in your area

• One of many popular blog publishing applications

• 1/3 of all U.S. moms participate in blogging

• How many moms do you know who blog?

• Jump in & join the conversation!

• Impress your friends– RSS = Really Simple Syndication

• News & blog feed aggregator

• Organizes & gives you content you want when you want it

• Subscribe to PAT blog first!

Now if you really want to impress people with your

social media knowledge…

• Review service

• 25 million visitors/month

• Review categories include education, home services & professional services

• Great place to promote PAT – encourage parents to review!

• “Lifestream” – aggregated view of your life activities online and offline (definition by author Mark Krynsky)

• Allows you to post once & update multiple social media sites

• Can create group blogs

• Go play!• Focus on one or two social media tools• Find where your families are & go there• Build stronger bonds with your families

through online collaborations• Share vital information faster & more

efficiently• Save postage – give people option to

receive information digitally

Uh-Huh…So Now What?

Questions?

Mistie Thompson, Sweet Tea Communications

314.265.6386 Mistie@SweetTeaConnects.com

Twitter: @SweetTeaComm

www.SweetTeaConnects.com