Like trying to force a square peg into a round hole, many brands are still trying to use the same strategies and tactics that work in traditional marketing channels on social media. They’re learning the hard way that instead of being followed and liked for their conversation and candor, they’re being overlooked and ignored because of their corporate speak and sales jargon. People want to do business with people, after all. In this presentation, you’ll learn not just how important it is to show the human side of your brand on social media, but a number of proven best practices for building a loyal, engaged audience there. This presentation was given by Bob Cargill, Director of Social Media at Overdrive Interactive, and Amanda Fakhreddine, Senior Social Media Strategist at Akamai Technologies, at NEDMA's 2015 Annual Conference.

1. .
38 Everett St | Allston, Massachusetts 02134 | 617-254-5000 | www.ovrdrv.com
Humanizing Your Corporate Brand on Social Media
May 27, 2015
Bob Cargill (@cargillcreative on Twitter)
Director of Social Media
Overdrive Interactive
www.ovrdrv.com
Amanda Fakhreddine (@afakhreddine on Twitter)
Senior Social Media Specialist
Akamai Technologies
www.Akamai.com
#NEDMA15/@NEDMA

2. 2
.
Speakers
Bob Cargill
Director of Social Media
Overdrive Interactive
@cargillcreative
Amanda Fakhreddine
Senior Social Media Specialist
Akamai Technologies
@afakhreddine

3. 3
.
Humanizing Your Corporate Brand on Social Media
Agenda
 Social Media Revolution 2015 by Erik Qualman
 Most Popular Social Media Channels
 How to Plan a Social Media Strategy in 12 Steps
 How to Stand Out on Social Media
 We’re ALL Social
 What Does Your Online Brand Say about Your Company?
 What Does “Humanizing Your Brand” Mean?
 10 Ways to Humanize Your Corporate Brand on Social Media
 Selfie Time
 Questions and Answers

4. 4
.
Social Media Revolution 2015 #Socialnomics by
Erik Qualman
Source: https://youtu.be/jottDMuLesU

5. 5
.
Social Media
Social media are digital, online and Internet tools and technologies that
are used for creating, sharing and discussing news, information,
opinions and experiences with other human beings.

6. 6
.
Why social media marketing…
It only takes a few minutes to set up most accounts – and
in most cases, it’s free.
You don’t have to write the great American novel.
You can easily share pictures and videos.
Customers and prospects will follow you.
It’s built for engagement.
Stalking the competition is fun.
It’s a great way to keep up with new trends.
You can use it to drive traffic, leads and sales – both
organically and promotionally (paid).
It humanizes your brand – that is, it allows you to show
you don’t just have a pulse, but a personality, too.

7. 7
.
The last thing you want to do is overlook the
first thing you want to do…

8. 8
.
Social Media Strategic Plan
Establish a team.
Agree on your objectives.
Understand your audience.
Research the influencers.
Study the competition.
Develop your content.
Consider paid posts.
Identify your channels.
Choose your tools.
Deploy your tactics.
Monitor your activity.
Measure the results.

9. 9
.
How to Stand Out – and Be Found – on Social Media

10. 10
.
Social Media Audience Sizes are HUGE*
*Approximate numbers based on various sources.
1.4 Billion 1 Billion 347 Million 300 Million 300 Million 300 Million 200 Million 70 Million 40 Million

11. 11
.
You? Not So Much!

12. 12
.
For instance, how do you
stand out – and go from
lost to found – in a crowd
of about 300 million*
Twitter users?
*Source: http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/march-2013-by-the-numbers-a-few-amazing-twitter-stats/

13. 13
.
How do you stand out – and go from lost to
found – on Twitter?
 There are about 300 million users on the channel.
 Less than half of these users log on every day.
 Less than one third of these users check Twitter multiple times/day.
 The average user follows more than 200 people.
 The average user is only on Twitter about six minutes/day.
 About 500 million tweets are sent every day (that’s almost
6,000/second).
 The “half life” of a tweet is about 24 minutes.
Data extrapolated from these two sources:
http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/march-2013-by-the-numbers-a-few-amazing-
twitter-stats/ and http://lkrsocialmedia.com/2014/07/this-is-why-nobody-sees-your-
tweets/

14. 14
.
Take a Page Out of Dale Carnegie’s Book
The truth is, to be successful on social media is really as easy as being
mindful of the “Six ways to Make People Like You” featured in Dale
Carnegie’s classic book, “How to Win Friends & Influence People”…
1.Become genuinely interested in other people.
2.Smile.
3.Remember that a person’s name is to that person the
sweetest and most important sound in any language.
4.Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
5.Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.
6.Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.
Note: The source of “Six Ways to Make People Like You” is Dale Carnegie’s book, “How to Win
Friends & Influence People.”
1936

15. 15
.
8 Qualities of a Great Social Media Communicator

16. 16
.
The Three A’s of Social Media
1. Ability
2. Affability
3. Availability

17. 17
.
1. Ability

18. 18
.
2. Affability

19. 19
.
3. Availability

20. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
We’re ALL Social

21. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
What Does Your Online Brand Say About Your Company?

22. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
What Does “Humanizing Your Brand” Mean?
https://www.simple.com/video/when-did-you-know.mp4

23. 23
.
10 Ways to Humanize Your Social Media Brand
1. Don’t be a Stranger
2. Talk in the First Person
3. Avoid Corporate Speak
4. Address Others by Name
5. Share Content in Real Time
6. Show and Tell
7. Have a Sense of Humor
8. Help Others
9. Listen and Learn
10. Admit Mistakes

24. 24
.
1. Don’t be a Stranger
Don't hide behind a corporate logo and post in anonymity. Put a
collective face on your brand by making it abundantly clear to your
audience that there are real people behind the scenes. Your interests
and emotions count as much as the facts and information. Show that
you have more than just a pulse, show that you have a personality.

25. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
1. Don’t Be A Stranger

26. 26
.
2. Talk in the First Person
Your social media accounts are run by human beings, not logos. So
talk that way. Refer to your brand in the first person – the collective
“we,” or if you’re your own boss, “I,” – not the name of your company.
Be available, responsive and conversational. If you personify the
qualities you admire in a best friend, you’ll not only spark more
meaningful engagement, you’ll build a lot of trust.

27. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
2. Talk in the First Person

28. 28
.
3. Avoid Corporate Speak
Forget the buzzwords and jargon. You don’t have to impress anyone
with your vocabulary. This is your chance to come across as the
colleague next door, someone who’s as down to earth as they come.
It’s okay to talk business. You certainly want to establish yourself as a
credible authority. Just be sure to speak in layman’s terms, not yours.
Small talk can be a big deal on social media.

29. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
3. Avoid Corporate Speak

30. 30
.
4. Address Others by Name
Whether you have space limitations or not, heed what Dale Carnegie
wrote in his bestselling book, How to Win Friends and Influence People,
“Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and
most important sound in any language.” Don’t cut characters at the
expense of the sound your fans, followers and friends want to hear. Cut
somewhere else. Names are that important.

31. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
4. Address Others By Name

32. 32
.
5. Share Content in Real Time
Most of us schedule at least some of our posts in advance using
automation tools. That’s how we maintain a consistent, ongoing
presence across the social landscape. But planned content shouldn’t
make up the majority of your stream. The more extemporaneous you
can be, the more props you will earn for your timeliness and
authenticity.

33. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
5. Share Content In Real Time

34. 34
.
6. Show and Tell
As a copywriter, I hate to admit this, but even the best written content
can’t always capture the right tone of voice. Personality, mood, context
– none of that’s easy to get across in words alone. Pictures of whatever
you’re doing, wherever you are, are more realistic, intimate and
explanatory. Video is even better.

35. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
6. Show and Tell

36. 36
.
7. Have a Sense of Humor
As I wrote recently on ClickZ, no brand wants to be perceived as
uptight, old-fashioned and out of touch. Yet far too many of them
remain reluctant to share anything more than everyday news with their
followers, never mind a chuckle. Remember, laughter is the best
medicine for a lot of things, including a business that’s stuck in a rut on
social media.

37. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
7. Have a Sense of Humor

38. 38
.
8. Help Others
You may think it’s old-fashioned, but don’t forget the golden rule.
There’s a lot to be said for doing good. Give someone your attention
and you’ll get theirs in return. Provide them with your assistance and
they’ll be grateful forever. Don’t just share your own valuable content,
either. Share others’ as well. This will be taken as a sincere form of
flattery and go a long way toward showing them you’re genuinely
paying attention as opposed to simply automating your feed.

39. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
8. Help Others

40. 40
.
9. Listen and Learn
Not everyone realizes you don’t have to say a thing on social media to
reap some of the benefits of it. You can’t empathize with your
constituents if you don’t understand them. Monitor what people are
saying about you and your brand. Keep an ear to the ground and take
feedback seriously. Hang on the words of others and you’ll learn a ton.
Respond in kind to them and not only will they put you on their radar,
they’ll be thankful for the attention and likely reciprocate.

41. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
9. Listen & Learn

42. 42
.
10. Admit Mistakes
When all is said and done, don’t forget that to err is human. Not that
you want to make any mistakes. Of course not. But if they’re honest,
harmless blunders and goofs, you shouldn’t have to lose any sleep
about them. Spelling, punctuation, good grammar and accuracy are of
utmost importance. There are no excuses for inattention to detail. But if
you drop the ball rarely, not regularly, most people will be quick to
forgive you if they even notice at all.

43. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
10. Admit Mistakes

44. 44
.
The Selfie
Hey, don’t forget the type of visual made famous by Ellen DeGeneres –
at last year's Oscars ceremony – and Boston Red Sox superstar David
Ortiz at the White House. Don’t forget the selfie. Thanks to these two
celebrities, the ubiquity of the front-facing camera on smartphones, and
people's seemingly insatiable desire for attention, the selfie is an
incredibly hot trend you don't want to ignore.

45. 45
.
The Selfie

46. 46
.
The Selfie

47. 47
.
The Selfie

48. 48
.
The Selfie

49. 49
.
The Selfie
Who’s in?

50. 50
.
10 Ways to Humanize Your Social Media Brand
The presentation, “10 Ways to Humanize Your Social Media
Brand” is based on an article written by Bob Cargill for ClickZ
(www.clickz.com) on April 21, 2015 here:
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2404858/10-ways-to-
humanize-your-social-media-brand

51. ©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM
Amanda Fakhreddine
• Senior Social Media Specialist at Akamai Technologies
• 5+ Years of Experience in Digital Marketing
• Earned Akamai a spot on the Top 25 Most Socially
Engaged Companies List by LinkedIn and Altimeter in 2014
• Earned Akamai a spot on the Top 100 Companies Using
Social Media for Corporate Communications List By
Investis in 2015
• Avid Fitness & Upcycling blogger
• Follow her on Twitter: @afakhreddine

52. 52
.
Bob Cargill
• Director of Social Media at Overdrive Interactive
• 30+ Years or Experience as a Marketing Professional
• The New England Direct Marketing Association’s Direct Marketer of
the Year in 2009
• Over 40 Awards for Copywriting, Creative Direction and Social
Media
• Gold from NEDMA for Blog in 2006
• Gold from NEDMA for Best Tweets in 2010
• Frequent Speaker at Industry Events and Elsewhere
• Past President of the New England Direct Marketing Association
(‘99-’00) and Two Toastmasters Clubs
• Graduate of Leadership MetroWest’s Leadership Academy (‘92)

53. .
Thank you!
Bob Cargill
Director of Social Media
Overdrive Interactive
bcargill@overdriveinteractive.com
@cargillcreative on Twitter
Amanda Fakhreddine
Senior Social Media Specialist
Akamai Technologies
afakhred@akamai.com
@afakhreddine on Twitter