Social Media Fundamentals Open Doors to Learning – March 15, 2011 Important Links www.lintbucket.com/odl.html Agenda 9:00 – 9:30: Welcome & Intros 9:30 – 10:15: Overview of Social Media, incl. process & policy 10:15 – 11:30: Blogging and Twitter 11:40 – 12:30: Lunch 12:30 – 2:00: Monitoring Social Media 2:00 – 2:15: Break 2:15 – 3:30: Social Networking 3:30 – 4:00: Final Q&A and Wrap up Please Ask Questions!! Welcome & Introductions A little about me … A little about you … MyNameIsKate.ca – blogging about the intersec3on of LintBucket Media (LintBucket.com) is a bou3que marke3ng, technology and design, plus other juicy bits. marke3ng agency headquartered in Vancouver that focuses on social media marke3ng, digital content creaon and community building. Our Services: Social Media Marke3ng & Communicaons Blogger Outreach Programs Community Development Internal Social Media Implementaon SEO-driven Copywring Do you own your own home? http://www.flickr.com/photos/96221617@N00/308791590/ Is Your House in Order? Do you have a website? With a real domain? Can you update your website when YOU want? Are you running website analytics? Do you review your analytics on a semi-regular basis? Don’t get involved in social media until these are taken care of! Social Media ISN’T this … hMp://fas3con.com/freeware/ It’s this ... The Age of the Brand is Waning The Age of the Brandividual* People Figures: David Armano - Logic + Emotion Blog What is a brandividual? Not just any employee. A passionate employee. Passionate about: Your Organization Your Services and Causes Your Clients and Constituents! YourOrg Istockphoto.com What is Social Media? Simply, online communication. But … • Messages achieve velocity more quickly than we’re used to • It can’t be bought (social media is earned) • Everyone (individuals and corporations) has an equal opportunity for amplification • Platforms are varied and constantly evolving What is Social Media? It’s a process rather than an event. • Dialogue rather than a monologue * • Listening is an essential component • As is action – * actually doing something in a * public forum * * Why brandividuals drive social media Canadians are Active Online Canadians spend more time online than users in any other country: • 68 per cent of the Canadian population is online • 62 per cent in France and the United Kingdom, • 60 per cent in Germany, • 59 per cent in the United States, • 57 per cent in Japan, and • 36 per cent in Italy. Vision Critical – Nov 2010 Canada was the only country in which users logged an average of more than 2,500 minutes online a month (almost 42 hours) • Israel was second with an average of around 2,300 minutes • A few other countries were around the 2,000- minute mark ComScore – April 2010 - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/canadians-spend-more-time-online-than-any-other-country/article1850700/ Canadians are Active Participants in Social Media Why Do You Use Social Media? To feel more connected with other people 84% To feel in the know about what’s going on 70% To share good 3mes 62% To have something to do 43% To make life exci3ng or fun 16% To make life more memorable 15% To feel like a social buMerfly/be popular 10% Vision Critical – Nov 2010 - Base: Social Media Users (846) - There are many reasons why people use social networking sites: please choose three from following list that most apply to you. By understanding the different engagement models of online Canadians, we can design communications programs that interest them and encourage http://www.forrester.com/empowered/ tool_consumer.html participation & sharing. Canadians are Active Participants in Social Media Facebook Wikipedia Canadian users check Wikipedia more than any others. The average Canadian web surfer reads 16 Wikipedia pages a month, which is the most in the world. • 15 for German users • 14 for Polish users • 12 for Americans Canadian users generate about 217,000 edits a month, which ranks 8th among the most productive countries. ComScore – April 2010 - http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/technology/canadians-spend-more-time-online-than-any-other-country/article1850700/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregw/4013381755/ Let’s Get Started … How Do You Start? Right Principles Right Process Right People Right Principles – 4H’s Human – social media is person-to-person engagement, not corporation to human. Actual people should be identified. Humble – social media is a party to which you’ve been invited. Don’t be that guy at a party (the one who doesn’t get invited back). Often, you’re just there to listen. Honest – social media is all about transparency and honesty. It is better to say “I don’t know” or “I can’t do that” than make it up or lie. You will ALWAYS be found out. Holistic – social media shouldn’t stand alone. It is essential that your online and offline channels integrate and, at the very least, be aware of each other. Your customers operate this way, and expect you to as well. Tip: Focus on Creating Value For Your Customers Right Process Choose where you want to get involved – you don’t have to do everything. And in fact, you probably shouldn’t. Start small. Do it well. Monitoring tools are essential – if you don’t know what people are saying, you don’t know where to start to engage. Listen before you speak. Coordinate social media efforts – even if one group doesn’t run all the social media, share your initiatives with a social media workgroup. You can leverage lessons learned as well as each other’s earned social capital. Review content for socialization potential – while you can create new content for social media, you often don’t have to. Some of your current content will have socialization potential. Make time for social media – the downfall of most organizations is that they underestimate the time it take. Both from a content creation point of view but also a monitoring and response perspective. Staff priorities may have to shift to accommodate new social media activities. Tip: Ensure everyone understands your process & priorities Right People People who have a unique voice with something to offer a community of passion – your customers are interested in the inside scoop or a privileged “behind the scenes” look. They want something beyond the marketing message of the day. People who are excited about listening to and talking with (not at) your customers – some of the conversations will be great and some will be not-so-great. You want someone who views your customers as humans, not targets, to be participating in social media. People who you trust – social media is a “just in time” activity. If every tweet, every response has to be vetted, you will fail. Good guidelines and coaching, prior to engagement, are essential for everyone’s success. Tip: Social Media is best done as a team sport! Questions You Should Be Asking Who Who are our audiences? Where are they online? (i.e. What communities have Where they created?) Why are we engaging? Why (e.g. marketing, collaborating, recruiting, fundraising) What is our message (big picture) that we want to share What with our audiences? What tools will we use to support our objectives? How What are our success metrics? Getting Social Media Buy-in Getting Social Media Buy-In 1. Understand & Communicate Urgency (monitor) 2. Build a Solid Cross-Functional Team (process) 3. Define Vision, including Picture of Success (metrics) 4. Communicate Up the Chain 5. Empower Employees (policy) 6. Set Yourself Up for Success 7. Keep At It (feedback cycle) 8. Communicate Your Wins Adapted from http://www.radian6.com/resources/library/socializing-the-enterprise/ Social Media Policy & Governance Social Media Policy Read more at http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php Blogging & Microblogging Blogging 1. What is a blog 2. Advantages of a blog 3. Issues to consider when starting a blog 4. Types of blogs 5. Anatomy of a blog post 6. Types of blog posts 7. Measuring a blog’s success 8. Choosing a blogging platform Advantages to Blogging 1. You Own the URL 2. Quick to Update 3. Conversational Tone 4. Serves as a Social Media Hub Issues to Consider 1. Editorial schedule 2. Commenting/Moderation Policy Types of Blogs 1. The Operations Blog 2. The Veteran / Inspirational Blog 3. The Prediction / Cool Hunter Blog 4. The Research Blog 5. The Community / Advocate Blog Adapted from http://www.readwriteweb.com/start/2010/02/corporate-blogging.php Elements of a Blog Post 1. Date 2. Good title (blog titles are important for SEO) 3. Body of the post – includes links and pictures 4. Categories, Tags and Keywords – tells search engines AND humans what your post is about 5. Social Sharing – give people an easy way to share your content Types of Blog Posts • Instructional • Contrasting two options • Reviews • Passion Posts • Lists or Series • Critique Posts • Interviews or • Reader Involvement Profiles (Memes and Polls) • Case Studies • Prediction and "In Review" Posts • Link Posts • Research Adapted from http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/11/29/20-types-of-blog-posts-battling-bloggers-block/ Measuring Success 1. Pageviews/RSS Views 2. Comments/Comment Ratio 3. Backlinks/Mentions/Bookmarks 4. Quoted Blog Posts Tools: • Google Analytics • Feedburner • PostRank Analytics Choosing a Blogging Platform • Cost (both initial and "add-ons") • Allows a unique domain name • Theme library and/or a template designer • Easy to Use for Non-technical users • Allows you to export your content • Analytics options Blog Comparison Chart - http://goo.gl/EXSY6 MicroBlogging (aka Twitter) 1. What is microblogging 2. Anatomy of a tweet 3. Using a Twitter Client 4. Measuring Success Potential Elements in a Tweet 1.