This is a great overview and how to guide for health and organic food companies getting into social media. The lessons and examples can be carried over into any business.

1. Social Media,Naturally Organically grow your customer base

2. What is Social Media? Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Flickr Social Media is a buzz term for a web based conversation that relies on and revolves around media – written, photographed or filmed.

3. Why Should I Use Social Media? 80% of Americans use social media monthly Time spent on social networks is growing 3 times faster than time spent online You can tap into a national or even global market to increase your customer base It’s environmentally friendly – there are no fliers to print and nothing gets wasted Social Media sites are a great way to collect product reviews, because of those using social media, 75% rely on social reviews when making purchasing decisions *Forrester, The Broad Reach of Social Technologies, August 25, 2009 *BusinessWeek, Does social media sway online shopping?, August 31 2009

4. The Industry Natural and organic personal care surpasses $27 billion Natural and organic food sales are up 12% Global nutrition is now a $270 billion industry *Nutrition Business Journal, Nutrition Business Journal Reviews the $270 billion Global Nutrition Industry, January 6, 2010

5. Interact With Your Customers Companies, new and old, are taking advantage of this unique opportunity to engage with customers and provide a level of customer service unparalleled at any point in history

6. But it’s all so complicated!

7. You can do it! It’s easier than you might think. You already do! Let’s take a look…

8. Three Steps to Success 1 2 3 Outreach & Engagement Creative Customer Service Your Story

9. Your Story What is your brand’s personality? What is your brand’s mission? How do you convey this message currently?

10. Your Story Three Rules of Social Media: Be human Be interesting Be relevant

11. Your Story Blogs, Twitter, Facebook, it can be overwhelming! Assign roles and responsibilities to every member of your team. Conduct training on the company story and rules of social media use. Quality over quantity – focus on a few social networks and assign manageable daily tasks.

12. Outreach and Engagement You can reach more consumers than ever before in one convenient location. Analytics can help you research and refine your marketing strategies to give you the best bang for your buck.

13. Outreach and Engagement Facebook ads allow you to micro-target prospects based on detailed demographic information, geography and information listed in their profile FacebookFanPages are a great place to organize a pre-existing community. Fans come together and opt-in to receiving information from your brand

14. Outreach and Engagement Knowing how to market your product to your customers effectively is your most important tool Make sure that your voice is heard, and encourage your regular customers to support your brand Direct interactions with your customer base can seed evangelical supporters and help you get your products out to more people

15. Outreach and Engagement People are NOT just finding your products on the shelves. You have the option of selling your products across the country and even across the world through your website…but first you’ve got to get some attention.

16. Creative Customer Service Refining Your Social Networking Stand out from the crowd by offering a unique perspective of your company Personally engage with individual customers to reinforce the value of their support Invite comments and criticism to make your customers feel like part of the decision making process Update frequently to give the impression of a transparent brand image that customers will relate to

17. Creative Customer Service The Five Stage of Twitter Acceptance Denial“I think Twitter sounds stupid. Why would anyone care what other people are doing right now?” Presence“Ok, I don’t really get why people love it, but I guess I should at least create an account.” Dumping“I’m on Twitter and use it for posting links to my blog posts and pointing people to my press releases” Conversing“I don’t always post useful stuff, but I do use Twitter to have authentic 1x1 conversations.” Microblogging“I’m using Twitter to publish useful information that people read AND converse 1x1 authentically”

18. Creative Customer Service Twitter is a great place to generate excitement It is an amazing customer service opportunity Put a personality behind your Twitter handle

19. Creative Customer Service Social media presents a great opportunity to learn about your customers Many CRM systems now integrate with Twitter to allow for seamless monitoring and easy access to analytics There are also many applications that can help you upload content to multiple social media sites at once

20. Creative Customer Service Remember that your customers are not only active on Twitter – many have blogs and other social media accounts A quick Google search leads to tons of valuable information that will allow you to tailor your marketing to reach them

21. Case in Point In January, the New Zealand-based Natural Being Skincare launched its line in Orange County, CA. The company utilized social networking tools to jumpstart awareness in its first US market and credits their use for its 70% sales growth in less than two months. *News Guide, Natural Being Skincare Penetrates Marketplace Through Social Media Platforms, February 6, 2010

22. Building a Plan Begin by defining your brand’s goals – increasing sales, improving customer service or generating publicity Next choose the social networks you will focus on Finally compile a 6-month plan, committing you and your staff to a social media routine. Remember this is a marathon not a sprint

23. Creating a Schedule Next assign social media responsibilities throughout the organization Getting the whole team involved makes the process more manageable and endows individual team members with personal responsibility for the brand Create a schedule committing individuals to ½ to 1 hour of social media work a day

24. Finding the Tools Finally ensure the right tools are in place Use Google Alerts to receive email notices any time your products are mentioned online http://google.com/alerts

25. Finding the Tools Twitter Search is a great way to search the Twitterverse for mentions of your products on a weekly basis http://search.twitter.com/

26. Finding the Tools CoTweet is an excellent way to have more than one person manage more than one Twitter account http://cotweet.com/

27. Finding the Tools TweetFeel allows you to track the sentiment of the Tweets posted about your products in real time http://www.tweetfeel.com/

28. The Opportunity To tell your brand’s story to the world To actively engage with future and past customers on an ongoing basis and encourage repeat customers To provide unrivaled customer service by learning about customers and anticipating their needs To involve your entire team in building your brand

30. SmarterSM.com Twitter.com/SmarterSM (888) 400-5995 Jaspar Weir Jaspar@SmarterSM.com Twitter.com/JasparWeir