Social Media Master ClassPrepared by the Olsen Partnership

July 2012

www.olsenpartnership.com

Social Media is the biggest communication revolution ever!• Social Media describes the platforms

used by millions of individuals communicating with each other all over the world 24/7

• Every day, millions of consumers converse in online communities, discussion boards, blogs and social networks. They turn to the Internet to share opinions, advice, grievances and recommendations

What on earth is Social Media?

Social media has great commercial ROI

• Social media has revolutionised the way companies interact with customers/clients

• Online, including social media, has become the most influential source in helping consumers make purchasing decisions*

• Brands are using social media to target specific audiences and raise awareness of their products and services and engage them

• You can track conversations that are being discussed around your company, brand, or organisation and even topics that are ‘on trend’

• Learn how to leverage word-of-mouth to drive brand credibility and, ultimately, sales

“We don’t have a choice about

whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it”

Eric Qualman

*Webber Shandwick Inline Research

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Have you heard about Twitter?

• Founded in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Noah Glass, Evan Williams and Biz Stone as a “micro-blogging” platform

• Currently has 140m active users, 500m accounts in total• Twitter is used by many different industries as a way of raising awareness of their

brands and engaging in dialogue• It’s also becoming a key customer service tool, with some companies resolving

complaints via their Twitter pages• As Twitter is in real time, people feel like they will get a resolution quicker than if

they email or call the company• The way customer service is managed is changing from conventional methods.

It’s important to follow the trend and respond to customers on their terms using their preferred media, or you could miss out on potential business

Our blog post, What is Twitter, gives handy hints and tips to maximise the potential of a business Twitter account

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It’s about linking in with the right connections• First founded in 2003, the idea of Linkedin is to present your professional image to

the business community• Linkedin is also termed the “Facebook for business”• It allows you to network with other industry professionals, including colleagues and

suppliers. By building a base of connections, you can find similar clients through your existing ones – it presents an opportunity for prospecting

• To maximise the potential of Linkedin, ensure your company profile is up to date and lists all key services and equally that your personal profile displays your skills and expertise – particularly in your current role

• Leave ‘recommendations’ for your colleagues and suppliers, and encourage clients to ‘recommend’ you too. Recommendations act as digital references for potential new business clients.

Want to know more about Linkedin for business? Visit our blog post: Linkedin is a useful business tool

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Blogging is your business

• Blog posts enables you to increase your presence on the internet, as well as improve your SEO

• You can optimise blog posts for keywords - WordPress and Blogger both offer analytics, so that you can see which of your posts are popular, how people are finding the blog, and how many visits you have per day

• People can also learn more about what you do. It gives you a chance to explain in detail what goes on in the daily running of your business

• By encouraging positive brand promotion via your blog, it can act as a PR tool that will showcase your achievements for everybody to see

• It’s better to use a blog on your own domain name, but if that isn’t an option, Blogger and WordPress are good alternatives.

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Facebook is the most popular social network ever• Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg, a student at Harvard University , its

original purpose was as a means of finding other students• Public registrations were opened in 2006 and the company floated in 2012• Facebook is currently the largest global social network with 901m active

users, spending an average of 405minutes on the site per month• The site has gone through a range of transformations: the latest is Timeline,

which came under fire for being too personal, too cluttered and too complicated

• Timeline is an improvement from a design and branding perspective – cover images allow you to show more of what you sell

• Business pages include an ‘insights’ tool• Users can also post a page as a ‘business’ – which promotes the brand from

a business perspective.

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Google+ - a growing social network

• Google+ was launched in July 2011 and already has over 100m users globally.• But according to ComScore, users only spend 3 minutes on the site per month.• However, Google+ signups are becoming compulsory if you want to use Google’s

other tools, such as Analytics or Google+ Local (formerly Google Places).• Although it isn’t as popular as the other social media networks yet, it does have

potential as a business network due to its features such as ‘hangouts’, which can be useful in setting up meetings or conference calls.

• Google+ is still very much a growing social network.

If you’d like to know more, why not visit our blog - Google+: one year on?

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Pinterest – the latest social media tool

• Pinterest was launched in 2010 and has enjoyed rapid growth during 2011/2012.

• Using the concept of a ‘pin board’ users can upload and share photos with others.

• Brands are using Pinterest for marketing purposes – but not by directly advertising their products, as advertising is against Pinterest’s terms and conditions.

• Sectors that have found success with Pinterest include home furnishings, travel, food and weddings.

Take a look at Introducing Pinterest if you’d like to find out more.

Get the full presentation

For the complete 20-slide presentation, full of hints and tips to maximise your social media presence, visit:

www.olsenpartnership.com/social-media-for-business