Managing Your Brand via Social

@HeatherAinardi

“You can’t build a reputation on what you are going to do.”

-Henry Ford

Brand = Reputation

@HeatherAinardi

Here it is

• A bit about brand

• A bit about social

• More about how build one to help the other

@HeatherAinardi

Why is social so important? But first, a little about me.

@HeatherAinardi

Why is social so important?

@HeatherAinardi

Why is social so important?

@HeatherAinardi

Why is social so important?

Coach Don James

@HeatherAinardi

Why is social so important?

Husband:“Huskies are going to be good

this year. QB Price a senior. Sarkisian 4th year.”

Me:“Five of Pac12 are ranked top

25. Huskies have no chance.”Note: Week 1 Huskies beat #19 ranked Boise and moved to #20

Note: Tuiasosopo is also the QB coach

@HeatherAinardi

Why is social so important? Why does this matter?

@HeatherAinardi

Why is social so important?

Husband = Zero social media outlets

Me = Six social media outlets

@HeatherAinardi

Why is social so important?

Me = Voice = “Expert”

Aka – Online voice affecting the Husky Football reputation.

@HeatherAinardi

What’s in a name?

@HeatherAinardi

Brand

• A brand is a collection of thoughts and feelings about your experiences with it.

• “What you make people feel is as important as what you make.” -BMW

@HeatherAinardi

Decision Making

• Every day people make hundreds of decisions based more on how they feel than on logic.

• What is influencing how they feel?

@HeatherAinardi

Getting inside your head

Exposure

There is exposure that you control and as well as ones you don’t control.

ReviewsConversationsMarketingVideos

Experiences

Touchpoint is business jargon for any encounter when a brand comes in contact with the audience.

You have more touchpoints than you think

Information ExchangeProvide ServiceHandle Transactions

@HeatherAinardi

Social Media is…

• Marketing and networking rolled in to one.

• It’s about creating trust.

• Branding is not solely a marketing function. It is an organizational function.

@HeatherAinardi

What to do

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

-Maya Angelou

@HeatherAinardi

What are we talking about?

Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.

-Wikipedia

@HeatherAinardi

Wait, what is it?

People saying things about you.

Social media is about conversation. They’ll talk about you whether you are there or not.

Did you hear? Yes I did.

@HeatherAinardi

Rule Change

Your online reputation is defined by all (visible) content about your company, its products/services, employees, partners, affiliates, clients and suppliers.

@HeatherAinardi

If you are not part of the conversation, it is an implicit endorsement of whatever it is they are saying.

@HeatherAinardi

Social Media Brand Strategy

1. Be part of the conversation

2. Know where people are talking about you and what they are saying

3. Utilize those areas to create exposure and cultivate positive experiences

@HeatherAinardi

Remember what I said?

Exposure and Experiences

@HeatherAinardi

Where do

I start?

@HeatherAinardi

To Much

“I’m losing my mind, but as long as I keep the part that tells me when I gotta pee, I should be ok.”

-Monster (from the Muppets)

@HeatherAinardi

It’s not that bad

@HeatherAinardi

Overall Goals of Effort

What do you want to accomplish with your efforts

More information about your company/programBe part of conversation Increase salesSimply get the word out

@HeatherAinardi

Why and How

Long term vision – communicate it clearly with staff, get buy-in and support the team.

@HeatherAinardi

@HeatherAinardi

Management Expectations

• What type of ROI is expected?• What type of ROI is realistic?

If you don’t know where you are going, you may end up somewhere else.

@HeatherAinardi

Roadmap to Success

• Plan your route and the roads you will travel.

• What roads will you avoid?

• Your online reputation has to be built over a long term process, not a one-time effort.

@HeatherAinardi

Types of content to work on

54

6

2

3

1

1. Content created and controlled by brand on its website

2. UGC controlled to certain extent by brand on website

3. Content created and controlled by brand on sites other than its own

4. UGC controlled by the brand on sites other than its own

5. UGC

6. Media Content

Credibility

Accuracy

@HeatherAinardi

Now Focus

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”

-Charles Darwin

@HeatherAinardi

@HeatherAinardi

@HeatherAinardi

Guidelines

• Responsible parties

• How to monitor

• Concepts for success

@HeatherAinardi

FCVB 1st Social Media Plan (February 2009)Flagstaff CVB Social Media PlanSocial media are primarily Internet- and mobile-based tools for sharing and discussing information among human beings. The term most often refers to activities that integrate technology, telecommunications and social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio. This interaction, and the manner in which information is presented, depends on the varied perspectives and "building" of shared meaning among communities, as people share their stories and experiences.

Tourism organizations are increasingly adopting these social media tools as an inexpensive and pervasive means of communicating with potential travelers. As the Flagstaff CVB tries to drive more traffic to www.flagstaffarizona.org, engaging in social media marketing becomes extremely important in raising our search engine optimization and generating a “buzz.” For the most part, social media tools are not cost-intensive, but can be labor-intensive, so it is important to plan accordingly to find a balanced mix between traditional marketing and PR and social media opportunities. The Flagstaff CVB will add a section on the home page of www.flagstaffarizona.org to let visitors know where they can connect with us in the social media world.

TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com)What it is: TripAdvisor is the world's largest travel community where you can get real information, advice, and opinions from millions of travelers to plan and take your perfect trip. TripAdvisor is a place you can go for insights and tips, a place that is literally alive with experiences and opinions. It's a place that feels like a local neighborhood coffee shop, a café, a pub. A friendly and relaxed community filled with unscripted and honest conversations between travelers like you.Lead CVB Staff: Jacki MielerSecondary CVB Staff: Jessica Stephens, Visitor Center staffCVB Application: The Flagstaff CVB’s identity on TripAdvisor is FlagstaffTourism and we have the ability to control the copy that is in the “Before You Go” section when you search for Flagstaff and click on “Tourist Board Info.” This copy now reflects Flagstaff CVB messaging and includes a link to www.flagstaffarizona.org. We will also post our Flagstaff video and select photographs. These applications will allow visitors looking for overall information on Flagstaff to see the CVB’s message and have the opportunity to visit our site. An expanded use of TripAdvisor would involve the Visitor Center staff as an extension of the travel counseling work they do in person and on the phone. TripAdvisor features “forums” where travelers post questions about a destination, hotel, restaurant, etc. and other travelers with expertise in that area give advice and feedback. The CVB could assign specific Visitor Center staff to monitor forums that mention Flagstaff and offer practical responses to questions when appropriate, creating a sort of “virtual” visitor center.

You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/user/FlagstaffTourism)What it is: YouTube is the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.YouTube.com and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and email. Everyone can watch videos on YouTube. People can see first-hand accounts of current events, find videos about their hobbies and interests, and discover the quirky and unusual. As more people capture special moments on video, YouTube is empowering them to become the broadcasters of tomorrow.Lead CVB Staff: Jacki Mieler, Mike RussellSecondary CVB Staff: Jessica StephensCVB Application: The Flagstaff CVB has a channel on You Tube entitled “Flagstaff Tourism.” This channel allows the CVB to design the background to be consistent with our branding efforts, post our videos, search for other appropriate Flagstaff videos already on You Tube and post them, and gather subscribers to our specific channel. The Marketing/Publications team will work on the design of the FlagstaffTourism channel and seek out additional videos that highlight Flagstaff’s tourism attributes.

FCVB 1st Social Media Plan (February 2009)Facebook (www.facebook.com)What it is: Facebook is a social networking site and millions of people use it everyday to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet. The updates an individual makes on Facebook can only be viewed by people that individual has approved as “friends.” In addition to the individual uses, Facebook also offers organizations and companies the ability to set up a page for “fans” of their particular organization, which is the application the Flagstaff CVB is using.Lead CVB Staff: Jessica StephensSecondary CVB Staff: Jacki MielerCVB Application: The Flagstaff has established a fan page on Facebook entitled “Flagstaff, Arizona.” This page allows us to post photos, videos, news clips, notes on upcoming special events and discussion board topics to engage fans to talk about their passion for Flagstaff. Facebook gives the CVB the opportunity to publicize up-to-the-minute news, such as the first snowfall or fall colors. With nearly 2,000 fans thus far (as of Nov. 13, 2008), Facebook can be a powerful tool for converting fans into actual travelers. A future use of Facebook could be to create seasonal splash pages on www.flagstaffarizona.org that feature specials from our stakeholders available only to our Facebook fans.

MySpace (www.myspace.com/visitflagstaff)What it is: MySpace is an online community that lets you meet your friends' friends. By creating a community on MySpace, you can share photos, journals and interests with your growing network of mutual friends. Similar to Facebook, MySpace is a social networking site, but individuals and companies have the same type of pages.Lead CVB Staff: Jessica StephensSecondary CVB Staff: Jacki MielerCVB Application: For the purposes of promoting a tourism destination, Facebook has more practical value than MySpace, but the latter is still the more dominant social networking site. It is therefore important that the Flagstaff CVB maintain a presence on MySpace, but balance the time commitment appropriately with Facebook.

Twitter (www.twitter.com)What it is: Twitter is a real-time short messaging service that works over multiple networks and devices and answers the question “What are you doing right now.” In countries all around the world, people follow the sources most relevant to them and access information via Twitter as it happens—from breaking world news to updates from friends. Often described as a micro-blog, Twitter gives people 140 characters to describe what they are doing at the moment, guide followers to another Web site, update on important information, etc.Lead CVB Staff: Jacki Mieler Secondary CVB Staff: Jessica Stephens, Visitor Center, other interested CVB StaffCVB Application: The Flagstaff CVB’s Twitter persona is VisitFlagstaff and to date (as of Nov. 13, 2008) we have 65 people following our updates. This number continues to grow as we provide relevant information that people are seeking in our updates. The key to success on Twitter is coming across as a “real person” as opposed to a marketing vehicle by posting information that is relevant for business purposes, but is also personal enough to keep people interested. In the CVB’s case the main goal of Twitter will be to provide timely information and drive traffic to www.flagstaffarizona.org and increase subscriptions to My Flagstaff. If we have enough interested staff members, the goal would be to rotate days of the week in which certain staff members are responsible for monitoring Twitter and posting updates, also known as Tweets. By using search.twitter.com and entering “Flagstaff” we can also see other members of the Twitter community who are posting comments, questions, thoughts about Flagstaff and can respond to those when appropriate.

FCVB 1st Social Media Plan (February 2009)Blogging (TBD)What it is: A blog (a contraction of the term "Web log") is a Web site, usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online diaries. A typical blog combines text, images, and links to other blogs, Web pages, and other media related to its topic. The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs. Blogs, either used internally to enhance the communication and culture in a corporation or externally for marketing, branding or public relations purposes are called corporate blogs.Lead CVB Staff: Jacki MielerSecondary CVB Staff: Jessica StephensCVB Application: There are several Web sites that allow you to set up a blog free of charge, which is the application the Flagstaff CVB would use. In order to be effective, a blog needs to be regularly updated and provide fresh information for subscribers to read. A Flagstaff CVB blog could be promoted on all of the other social media sites. The main question regarding this blog would be content generation. One school of thought would have staff generating all of the content. The other school of thought (adopted by communities such as Philadelphia) would have select community members generating content.

Secure Resources

Now you may be ready to get the support you need on the front end, but it’s not too late.

@HeatherAinardi

Invest

• Wait, is it right?

• Do you have the resources to properly use it?

• Now go forth and conquer.

@HeatherAinardi

Invest where?

90% of digital budgets are still allocated to websites.

(when only 1 out of 10 consumers visit company websites to get information)Source: CDJ Mc Kinsey Study concerning electronic goods

@HeatherAinardi

Types of content to work on

54

6

2

3

1

1. Content created and controlled by brand on its website

2. UGC controlled to certain extent by brand on website

3. Content created and controlled by brand on sites other than its own

4. UGC controlled by the brand on sites other than its own

5. UGC

6. Media Content

Credibility

Accuracy

@HeatherAinardi

KISS“Simplicity is not a simple

thing.”-Charles Chaplin

@HeatherAinardi

Consistency

• Consistently deliver on the brand promise made

@HeatherAinardi

@HeatherAinardi

@HeatherAinardi

@HeatherAinardi

@HeatherAinardi

@HeatherAinardi

Responsiveness

• Respond to comments both good and bad

Is social the correct place to respond?Personal response may be the bestBe level headedTake comments as constructive criticismRealize that there are crazies out there

@HeatherAinardi

Brand Support

“Words spoken in anger are still words spoken. They still result in hurt. If you don’t mean it, don’t say it.”

-My Friend Jean

@HeatherAinardi

Your online brand takes time to grow. Make sure you water it and pay attention.

@HeatherAinardi