The Power of Social Media

May 22, 2012> Tina Lambert, CAE

> Vice President of Member & Public Relations | Virginia Society of

CPAs

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Why should I care aboutSOCIAL MEDIA?

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ROI = Return on Investment Return on Ideas

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• Overview of social media• Importance and advantages of

social media• Tips for getting started• Resources and tools for success

Some GOALS for this session…

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What the heck isSOCIAL MEDIA?

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SOCIAL MEDIA IS AN UMBRELLA TERM…

THAT INCLUDES WEB-BASED AND MOBILE TECHNOLOGIES USED TO TURN

COMMUNICATION INTO INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONS,

COMMUNITIES AND INDIVIDUALS.

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It’s also a fancy way to

describe

PEOPLE having

CONVERSATIONS

online.

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• Blogs

• RSS

• Online Chat & Listserves

• Wikis

• Social Networks

The CONVERSATIONS are powered by…

• Podcasts & Videocasts

• Photo & Video Sharing Sites

• Virtual Worlds

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A shift in COMMUNICATION &

CONVERSATION

Traditional Model Social Media Model

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People are consuming

information differently…• 92 % use multiple platforms

each day to get news• Facebook is reaching one

BILLION users• Recent study shows

students using Twitter for educational purposes outperformed, with higher GPAs and 2x more engaged in the classroom

Source: Pew Research Center

Is SOCIAL MEDIA a fad?You decide!

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Reason #1SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES ARE THE MOST POPULAR SITES NEXT TO GOOGLE AND YAHOO — AHEAD OF PERSONAL EMAIL.

Nielsen, Global Faces & Networked Places

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Reason #2 SOCIAL MEDIA HAS BECOME A FUNDAMENTAL PART OF GLOBAL BUSINESS AND WILL CONTINUE TO ALTER THE CONSUMER EXPERIENCE.

John Burbank, CEO of Nielson Online

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Reason #3TIME SPENT ON SOCIAL NETWORKS IS EXPLODING — 3X FASTER THAN OVERALL INTERNET RATE.

Nielson, Global Faces & Network Places, 2009

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Reason #4MEET YOUR FUTURE EMPLOYEES, PARTNERS, CFOs, CEOs…

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• Cheaper

• Viral

• Interactive

• Visible

• Global

• Changes quickly

• Connects

• SEO/Mobile

Some Other ADVANTAGES…

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Let’s pretend…•You went to a really nice hotel•Have a not so nice experience•What do you do?

tweet

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How do I get on theSOCIAL MEDIA highway?

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• What is your goal?• Who will represent you/your company?• When will you find time to participate?• How will you measure success?

Before you dive in with both feet…

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A. ListenB. Participate

C. DriveD. Use

Caution

Gimme your password!

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• Prohibit social media while at work? Or on company equipment?

• Prohibit “friending” other employees?

• Prohibit posting about the company?

• Prohibit talking about coworkers?

• Prohibit use of intellectual property? (trademarks, video)

• Prohibit talking to the media?

• Prohibit talking in an indecent manner or about inflammatory topics?

NLRB Social Media Guidance

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E. Test Drive: Leading Social Media Tools

• Twitter• LinkedIn• Facebook• Private networks

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• Communicate short (140-character) bursts of information to the people that subscribe to your updates (tweets)

• Monitor trends, thought leadership, industry news, links to generate viral marketing

• Examples> @VSCPANews> @TinaLambert> @WendroffCPA

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• Professional, job lists, referrals, groups, networking, discussion boards,

• Links social networks• Elevates firm in search lists• Moderate interaction• Examples

> VSCPA > AICPA> CPA

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• More personal interactions• Groups, pages, updates

(customizable), • Links social networks• Large audience, activity• Robust privacy settings for mixing

professional• Examples

> VSCPA (and other state societies)> AICPA> Becker CPA Review

What’s your story?

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• Post things of interest

• Others can view, “pin” if they like

• Great place for engagement

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secure forum• Enhance engagement• Targeted audience• Robust settings for

communicating/sharing

• Examples> VSCPA > ASAE

Private Networks

Associations are all about Connections.

Connect by…

• Creating a personalized profile

• Connecting with colleagues

• Joining or creating special interest communities

• Sharing resources, including Word documents, PowerPoints, webinars, URLs and more

• Interacting with volunteer groups on a more personal level

• Opening select profile information, blogs and other info to the public

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What are some SOCIAL MEDIA resources?

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RESOURCES on social media

Blogswww.TypePad.com www.WordPress.com www.BlogLines.com

Microblogging/TrackingTwitter: www.Twitter.com TweetDeck: www.TweetDeck.com TwitterBerry: www.orangatame.com/products/twitterberry HootSuite: www.HootSuite.comTweetie: www.atebits.com/tweetie-iphoneHashtag: http://hashtag.orgGoogle Alerts: www.google.com/alerts

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RESOURCES on social media

Social networks

Facebook: www.Facebook.com

LinkedIn: www.LinkedIn.com

Plaxo: www.Plaxo.com

HubStreet: www.HubStreet.com (for CPAs and lawyers)

Multimedia sharing sites

YouTube: www.YouTube.com (videos)

Flickr: www.Flickr.com (photos)

Picasa: Picasa.Google.com (photos)

SlideShare: www.Slideshare.com (slidedecks)

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RESOURCES on social media

Podcasting

iTunes: www.apple.com/itunes

(for finding and listening to podcasts)

Audacity: audacity.sourceforge.net (for recording / editing podcasts)

Wikis

PB Wiki: www.PBWiki.com

WikiSpaces: www.WikiSpaces.com

Policies & Articles

Mashable: www.mashable.com

Governance: www.socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php

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RESOURCES from the AICPA

AICPA Marketing Toolkit•Marketing and communications resources•Print ads, client brochures, posters, marketing articles and guides, customer service and selling tips, client satisfaction surveys and tips for working with the media.

AICPA Social Media Toolkit•Sample strategic plans, policies and guidelines•Types of metrics•“How to” guides•Articles

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RESOURCES from the VSCPA

> RSS > Podcasts > Blog (CPACafe.com)> Microblog (Twitter.com/VSCPANews)> Photo sharing (Flickr.com)> Video, Videocasts (YouTube)> Social networking (LinkedIn, Facebook)> Private network (VSCPA Connect)> Visit www.vscpa.com/SocialMedia

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CONNECT with me

Tina Lambert, CAEVSCPA Vice President, Member & Public Relations• Phone: (804) 612-9416• E-mail: tlambert@vscpa.com• Web: www.vscpa.com• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/tinalambert

www.linkedin.com / search for “Virginia Society of CPAs”

• Facebook: www.facebook.com/TinaLambert1www.facebook.com / search for “Virginia Society of CPAs”

• Twitter: www.twitter.com/TinaLambertwww.twitter.com/VSCPANews

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THANK YOU very much!