Slides from the breakout session on social media marketing presented by Stephanie Powers of Hagerstown Community College at the 2012 AEE Solar Annual Convention in Orlando, FL.

1. Social Media Marketing
for Solar Professionals
PRESENTED BY
STEPHANIE POWERS
HAGERSTOWN COMMUNITY COLLEGE
HAGERSTOWN, MD
SAPOWERS@HAGERSTOWNCC.EDU
240-500-2490

2. Agenda
 21st Century Marketing
 Where does social media fit?
 Specific Opportunities for the Solar Industry
 Strategies and Best Practices
 Questions/Discussion/Idea Sharing

3. What is Marketing?
“Marketing is everything you do to promote your
business, from the moment you conceive of it to the
point at which customers buy your product or service
and begin to patronize your business on a regular basis.
The key words to remember are EVERYTHING and
REGULAR BASIS.”
-Jay Conrad Levinson
Author of the Guerrilla Marketing series

4. A New Economy
Old Economy New Economy
Organized by products Organized by customer segments
Focused on transaction value Focused on the lifetime customer value
Shareholder Stakeholder
Image credit: xedos4
Marketing by marketing dept. Marketing by EVERYONE
Customer acquisition Customer retention
Overpromise, under-deliver Under-promise, over-deliver

5. Why the Change?
 Varied media  Transparency
 Access to information  Improved consumer data
 Targeted messaging  More data
 Technology  Information sharing
 Consumer intelligence  What else?

6. Where Does Social Media Fit?
What is social media?
 Social  Community
 Interactive  User experience
 User-centered  Relationship building
 Two-way communication  Sharing
 Information sharing  Others?
 Web or mobile based
Image credit: jscreationzs

7. How Can this Work for Business?
 Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
 Customer Service
 Qualified Leads
 Public Relations
 Targeted Marketing

8. How Does this Work for Solar Business?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyDSCHct6S
I&feature=player_embedded

9. Where do I Start?
Determine a Realistic Level of Use
Consider your company’s…
 Level of expertise &
experience
 Available time &
resources Image credit: jannoon028
 Expected outcomes

10. Step 1: Listen
 Google alerts - http://www.google.com/alerts
 Twitter discussions– Custom feeds in HootSuite.com
 Your company
 Industry topics
 Hashtags #
 Facebook
 Delete & report spam!
 Respond to questions
 Claim your business on Foursquare,
Gowalla, Yelp, Google Places, etc.

11. Step 2: Join the Conversation
 Determine which networks are right for your
business – www.google.com/adplanner
 Determine your goals for each platform/campaign -
http://socialmediatoday.com/node/424216
 Customer service  Leads
 Promotion  Web traffic
 Awareness
 Set up tracking tools & evaluate success
 HootSuite analytics  TwitSprout
 Website referral numbers  Google analytics
 Klout score

12. Step 3: Become an Industry Expert
 Get involved in industry-related conversations
 Track Twitter for questions – respond with expert info, NOT
product/service promotion
 Answer LinkedIn questions and get involved in groups
 Content, Content, Content!
 Blog
 Video
 Testimonials

13. Strategies & Best Practices
 Inbound links
 Link back to your website often
 Shareable Content
 Use social plugins
 Post frequently
 Use your strategy!
 Start & participate in conversations
 Promote your partners

14. Strategies & Best Practices Cont’d
 Respond in a timely
manner -
www.facebook.com/sungevity

15. Facebook-Specific SEO Strategies
 Choose your Facebook page name carefully
 Create a custom URL
 Example: www.facebook.com/nike
 Use your keywords in “About” section
 Other “Info” items of importance
 Address – important for location-specific companies
 Company Overview, Mission, Products – Keywords!
 Photo captions – Keywords!

16. Censorship, Integrity & Crisis Management
 DO NOT delete negative comments
 DO set guidelines for deleting
spam, profanity, slander, etc.
 Example: www.facebook.com/libraryofcongress
 DO have a crisis management plan
 http://www.mackcollier.com/social-media-crisis-
management/

17. Articles of Interest
 How to Develop a Social Media Content Strategy -
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-
develop-a-social-media-content-strategy/
 The Ultimate Glossary: 120 Social Media Marketing
Terms Explained -
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/6126
/The-Ultimate-Glossary-120-Social-Media-
Marketing-Terms-Explained.aspx

18. Articles of Interest
 Top 10 Marketing Trends for 2012 -
http://www.business2community.com/marketing/t
op-ten-marketing-trends-for-2012-0112545
 Social Media and Web Innovations on the Rise for
Solar Industry -
http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/news
/print/article/2011/07/social-media-and-web-
innovations-on-the-rise-for-solar-industry

19. Resources
 Management tools  YouTube Channels
 www.hootsuite.com  SocialMedia Today
 www.tweetdeck.com  Social Media Examiner
 www.ping.fm  Industry Experts
 Blogs  Mack Collier –
 Mashable – www.mashable.com www.mackcollier.com
 HubSpot – www.hubspot.com  Chris Brogan –
 Facebook Pages Resources Tab –
www.chrisbrogan.com
www.facebook.com/facebookpages  Scott Stratten –
 LinkedIn Groups
www.unmarketing.com
 Social Media Today
 Fans of Mashable
 eMarketing Association Network