Social Media: Making It Work for Your BusinessShashi Bellamkonda
Social Media Swami
Online Tools Checklist for your business
•Network Solutions – University of Maryland Small Business Success index http://growsmartbusiness.com
Prominent role to Social Networking
• Social Networking has been the global consumer phenomenon of 2008.1
• Two-thirds of the world’s Internet population visit a social network or blogging site and the sector now accounts for almost 10% of all internet time.1
• Facebook added its 200 millionth user on April 8, 2009. If Facebook were a country, it would be the fifth-largest in the world after China, India, the US and Indonesia.2
• From January to March 2009, people ages 26 to 44 made up the fastest-growing segment of the US Facebook population 2
•1http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/nielsen_globalfaces_mar09.pdf
•2 http://www.emarketer.com/Article.aspx?R=1007034
Network Solutions Swami’s - 3 Word Mantra
Photo: courtesy: http://flickr.com/photos/metrojp/92038203/
LISTEN
PARTICIPATE
Photo Courtesy: http://flickr.com/photos/redcarpet/50339009/
CONTRIBUTE
Photo Courtesy: http://flickr.com/photos/presta/129832836/
Your Listening Plan
• Who is talking about your business, product or competitor? Are they Customers? Prospects ?
• Where are these conversations happening? Find a clue to what they enjoy doing? Clues to where you may find more customers
• What are they talking about? Is this feedback? More product features or a call for help? Do you need to be part of this conversation?
Listening Tools
• Google Alerts• Technorati • Search.Twitter.com• Backtype• Radian6• Buzzlogic• BuzzMonitor• Buzzlogic
Participate
• Comment On Blogs• Participate in Forums/Community Boards• Answer Linkedin Questions
Contribute
• Tell your story• Make videos of your expertise• Talk about your employees• Share exciting events/news
Road to Success
• Referrals for your business• Web Site /Blog Traffic• Comments/Conversation with Customers /prospects• Inbound Links• Your own customer community
Google Juice
• Google results are from Social Media Profiles
•From 250 to 35,000
Online Positive Reputation Grows
• Network Solutions won the Society of New Media Communications and Research Award for Corporate Online Reputation Management
Earned Media
Best Practices
• Be authentic and Show your human side• Be Familiar and get to know the turf• Be careful – What you say could stay for ever• Hold two way conversations• No Self-promotion/No message blasts• Refer to other sites • Post interesting and original content
Your Social Media Plan
• Setup Alerts • Join and setup profiles in 3 social networks• 15-20 minutes a day tracing the alerts and responding • Choose 3 blogs on your field to read and comment• Converse, don’t sell• Answer questions and become an expert in your niche on LinkedIn• 2 hours a week - Learn and write about the products you promote• Measure your efforts
How many times were you mentioned How many people read your posts Inbounds links Are your customers evangelizing
• Attend one local event a month
• Ask for help if you need it
Questions ?
• Shashi Bellamkonda [email protected]• Small Business Success Index
http://GrowSmartBusiness.com
• Network Solutions Blog : http://blog.networksolutions.com
• Web Community Network : http://www.LinkTogether.com• Small Business Network : http://www.MySolutionSpot.com• Personal Blogs:
Technology & Social Media: http://www.shashi.name Digital Thoughts: http://readythoughts.blogspot.com Restaurant Reviews: http://www.carryoncurry.com