In this presentation, Trevor Jones explains why businesses should consider using Social Media as a component of their communications plan, and the process they should use to develop goals, select networks, build an audience and ultimately measure success. Trevor also shares some real-life examples of social media’s impact on web search and customer service. The presentation references several free tools that can make the process of social media marketing easier. Presented at Social Media Breakfast Maine, January 25, 2013.

1. Starting Fresh in Social Media
January 25, 2013

2. Introduction
• About Me
– Director of Marketing and Product Development for GWI
– Telecom marketer since 1997
– @trevorjones71
– linkedIn.com/in/trevordjones
– Passions: Outdoors, technology, social media, music
• About GWI
– Maine based since 1994, based in Biddeford
– Internet access, phone service, cloud computing for home and business
– Serving 60 communities statewide
– www.gwi.net
– @gwimaine
– youtube.com/gwimaine
– facebook.com/GWIInc

3. Why Use Social Media?
• It’s where your customers are
– 56% of people use social networks
• Engage with your customers
– They talk about you whether you listen or not
– Reviews and sentiment impact sales
– You can turn a bad situation around
• Be a thought leader
– Share content
– Educate, inform, influence
• Improve your site’s performance in search
– Blended search
– Social search

4. What’s
Blended
Search?
Google only allows
any given site two
listings in organic
results, but with
photos and videos
you can dominate
page 1 of Google.

5. What’s
Social Search?
• 71% of customers
report that a
recommendations from
friends exert a great
deal of influence in
purchases.
• 90% trust online
recommendations from
people they know.

6. Before you Begin
• Know your customer!
– Do some research
– Develop buyer personas
• Develop your goals
– Why are you doing this?
– Be S.M.A.R.T.
• Be committed
– Social media requires at least
an hour a day from YOU!

7. Which Networks?
• Facebook
– 800 million active users
– Drives the most purchase actions
– Facebook users spend the most time on site
• Twitter
– 200 million active users
– Tend to be more frequent posters
• LinkedIN
– 160 million active users
– Generates the best quality leads for B to B
• Google+
– 100 million active users
– Integration with Google search, Picasa, etc.
• YouTube
– 800 million monthly unique visitors
– Second most used search engine
• Pinterest
– 23 million monthly unique visitors
– Drives the second most purchase actions (21%)

8. Getting Set Up
• Secure your profile/page names
– http://namechk.com checks availability on multiple sites at
once
– Reserve your name by setting up accounts
• Set up your profiles
– Take advantage of all the space they give you
– Photos are important – choose carefully
– Consider SEO
– Link back to your website.
• Integrate with your web site
– Links to social profiles
– Social media sharing widgets on your content

9. Now What?
• Start by listening
– Engage where appropriate
– Be responsive
• Get some content
– Curate and share other’s content – Contribute value!
– Write a blog
– Photos and video
– Be consistent
• Share content
– Entertain, inform, educate
– Share 10 times between sales messages

10. The Value of Being
Responsive
1.
2.
3.

11. The Value of Being
Responsive

12. Building An
Audience
• Basics
– You’ve already taken the first step – you’re posting!
• Choose engaging content that will draw likes and comments
– Get your employees to like your company page
– Share with your Facebook friends
– Link from your website and other social profiles
– Share via your email list, voicemail system, etc.
• Next steps
– Facebook ads
– Contests/sweepstakes
• Use an App like Wildfire for “Like Gated” promotions
• Consider: Will these be engaged followers?

13. Building An
Audience
• Basics
– Follow people and businesses relevant to your customers
• Participate in conversations
• Retweet
– Start tweeting!
• Choose engaging content that will be retweeted
• Use #hashtags to join relevant conversations (Use saved searches)
– Get your employees to follow you
– Link from your website and other social profiles
– Share via your email list
• Other methods
– Promoted Tweets
– Contests/Sweepstakes
• Will these be engaged followers?

14. Two Helpful Social
Media Apps
• Both Enable:
– Organizing, monitoring, and scheduling posts on multiple networks
– Offer free and paid versions
– Apps generally harm your Facebook EdgeRank
• Hootsuite
– Largest number of networks.
• Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIN, Foursquare, MySpace, WordPress, Mixi
– Analytics (basic for free, enchanced extra)
– RSS Integration
– iPhone and iPad
– Share responsibilities with teams using paid version
• Tweet Deck
– More options for sharing images, link shortening services
– Owned by Twitter, more like the native Twitter interface
– Only one Facebook account
– No iPad app

15. Measuring Success
What to measure How to measure
• Audience size • Track in Excel
(likes/followers)
• Sentiment • Socialmention.com
• Engagement (people • Analytics tools
talking about and – Facebook insights
interacting with your – Hootsuite analytics
page/profile). – Google analytics
• Conversions (leads) • Links and tagging
• Sales ($$) • CRM and Closed-Loop
Reporting

16. Questions?
THANK YOU!