A presentation I did at Hive @ 55 in NYC on October 7, 2010.

1. Social Media Basics and
Using Social Media to Monitor
the Competition or Competitive
Intelligence
Some basics
Hive at 55 presentation
October 7, 2010
by Regina Walton

2. Why are we here? Why do we care?
By now everyone has heard about social media and what it can do to
promote your business, build your brand or establish you as an expert
in your field.

3. Definition
What is Social Media?
Social media essentially is a category of online media where people
are talking, participating, sharing, networking, and bookmarking
online. Most social media services encourage discussion, feedback,
voting, comments, and sharing of information from all interested
parties.
It's more of a two-way conversation, rather than a one-way broadcast
like traditional media. Another unique aspect of social media is the
idea of staying connected or linked to other sites, resources, and
people
from Social Media Marketing 101, Part 1

4. Why?
Social media helps:
manage your company's or brand's reputation.
build brand awareness and helps improve how people view your
brand.
get you closer to your customers. Learn about their needs then
respond. Discuss converse, debate.
gives you creative and effective ways to learn insights not
previously available.
you find new and inexpensive ways to support your clients.
Also,
it's typically cheaper than traditional marketing.

5. Okay, great, but how?
Listening Social Bookmarking
Follow key people and Stumble
brands Del.icio.us
What are the topics? Digg
How do people feel? Reddit
What's the tone?
Get in the conversation
Points of view?
RSS feeds Blogging
Subscribe to relevant Twitter
blogs Facebook
Google alerts Forums
Your business and
competitors
Technorati
On-topic forums

7. How?
This is where listening comes in. You should have a good idea about
where your customers or the customers you want to reach are online.
Facebook - probably
LinkedIn
MySpace (...really?)
Blogging
white papers, ebooks
Podcasts
Good source of different ways of reaching out: Content Playbook
No matter where they are, you have to be there and provide some sort
of value. Get into the conversation. Start a debate or discussion.
Express your point of view and expertise.

8. Content Strategy
Social Media Examiner: How Content and Social Media Equal
Marketing Success
Good video here but it's 12 minutes long, so watch it on your own.

9. Measure, Adjust, Repeat
Measuring is key
Traffic
Who is reading your content and where are they coming from?
Where, when and what?
Friends or followers
Comments
Subscribers
Mentions

10. Competitive Intelligence
The Dark Side...
Not Really (but it's fun to say.)

11. Definition
"...the purposeful and coordinated monitoring of your
competitor(s), wherever and whoever they may be, within a
specific marketplace..."
from What is Competitive Intelligence?
Online Handbook (goes over the basics): The Competitive
Intelligence Handbook

12. Some tips
1. Monitor popular keywords within your industry. For home renovators, it
could be “renovations”, “home improvements”, “DIY repairs” or “home
projects”
2. Keep a steady eye on competitors to see what’s being said about them. In
particular, focus on people who are complaining about bad products, service
or customer service. Then, step in by offering advice or help, while shying
away from trying to sell them something.
3. Look for conversations about trends within your industry. For home
renovators, it could be chatter about new kitchens, bathrooms or energy-
efficient appliances. Then, you can participate in the conversations by
providing advice, insight and recommendations.
from Using Social Media for Competitive Intelligence

13. How?
(A lot of this is the same stuff)
Private Twitter lists
How to Market Your Business With Twitter Lists
Yahoo Pipes (or maybe it's just Pipes now)
Pipes is a powerful composition tool to aggregate, manipulate,
and mashup content from around the web.
Marketing Lists (this also fits in basic social media because you
can use an example like this to set up your own strategy)
A Wiki of Social Marketing Examples
Track influencers
Track traffic: Compete.com
Etc., etc., etc.

14. C'est Moi
Regina Walton
reginawalton@gmail.com
Twitter: @ReginaWalton
LinkedIn: Regina Walton