1) The document discusses how social media has shifted power to individuals and communities, and outlines various social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn that companies can use to engage customers, generate leads, and drive traffic to their website. 2) It emphasizes providing valuable, relevant content online through blogging and thought leadership to establish expertise and build trust with prospects. 3) The presentation provides tips on social media etiquette, listening to customers, accepting criticism, and using social platforms as a way to further conversations rather than just broadcast messages.

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Sales 2.0
RED SHOES PR, INC.

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Today’s agenda
 Social Media Overview
 What is thought leadership?
 Why social media?
 Social media and sales
 Social media etiquette

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Social media defined
 Internet-based tools used for sharing and
discussing information among people
 Activities that integrate technology, social
interaction and the construction of words,
pictures, videos and audio
 Information depends on the varied perspectives
and “building” of shared meaning among
communities
- Wikipedia

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Shift of power
The power to define and control a brand
is shifting from corporations and institutions
to individuals and communities

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Social media is a conversation
Social media is a conversation
online
 Look who’s talking:
 your colleagues
 your prospects
 your employees
 your critics
 your fans
 your competition....
 anyone who has Internet
access and an opinion.

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Social media is a channel
The conversation on Social
Media is not:
o controlled
o organized
o “on message”
The conversation is:
o organic
o complex
o speaks in a human voice
Social media is not a strategy
or a tactic –
it’s simply a channel

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Why you should care about
social media
o 87% trust a friend’s recommendation over a critic’s
review - Marketing Sherpa
o 3 times more likely to trust peer opinions over
advertising for purchasing decisions - Jupiter
Research
o 1 word-of-mouth conversation has impact of
200 TV ads - BuzzAgent
* Slide courtesy of Digital Influence Group

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More on why you should
care
 Even if your company is not using social media
the conversation is taking place anyway
 Your company should be a part of the on-going
dialogue
 People expect more than just a Web site … they
are seeking companies who are engaged, who
show personality

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Social media
o Social Networking
o News & Bookmarking
o Blogs
o Microblogging
o Video Sharing
o Photo Sharing
o Wikis
o Virtual Reality
o Related:
o Podcasts
o Real Simple Syndication (RSS)
o Social Media Press Release

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More than just a trend
Social media sites are the fastest-growing
category on the Web, doubling traffic over the
last year.
o 73% of active online users have read a blog
o 45% have started their own blog
o 39% subscribe to an RSS feed
o 57% have joined a social network
o 55% have uploaded photos
o 83% have watched video clips
Universal McCann’s Comparative Study on Social Media
Trends, April 2008. 17,000 respondents from 29
countries

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Getting started in social
media … with a purpose
 Create brand awareness (online) by becoming
an active contributor
 The more active you are online, the easier it is for
people to find you via Google
 You know your business, provide thought
leadership content—address pain points!
 How does your prospect find you online?
 Drive people to your website so you can engage
and generate sales

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How do people make purchasing
decisions today? Information
gathering through …

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Your website is the hub!
 The influence of professional services
websites on purchasing decisions has
increased significantly over the past four
years. According to the survey, 74% of
buyers report the provider’s website
holds at least “some influence” over their
ultimate decision to buy services from
the provider.
 Raintoday.com survey

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What is thought leadership?
 According to commentators such as Elise Bauer,
a distinguishing characteristic of a thought leader
is "the recognition from the outside world that the
company deeply understands its business, the
needs of its customers, and the broader
marketplace in which it operates
 Source: wikipedia

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Thought leadership example …
Humana
 http://www.youtube.com/
user/staysmartstayhea1thy
 A treasure trove of helpful
content that explains health
insurance
 And along the way, the
content drives brand
awareness, positioning …
online and offline

16. Think of your website as the 16
online front door of your
business
 What are you going to do to
get them there?
 Drive traffic through social
media
 Compelling content
 In-person networking
 Sales calls
 Use backside analytics

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Your prospects begin looking …
 They think of who they
remember… brand recall
 Google search
 Who shows up online?
 Review website … content
helpful?
 Does it address a prospect’s
pain points?
 Is the tone of voice
welcoming like a person or
cold like a wall?

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Social Media is a powerful sales
tool
 Most likely your company  Tip: Today’s consumers
already has content respond to timely and
relevant content
 Take that content,
personalize it  For example, how are you
explaining health care
 Get it online reform to your clients?
 Use it in a blog  Are you educating? Or, are
you staying quiet? Sending
 Give it a voice a newsletter?
 Seed it with key words

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Identifying leads online
through Linkedin
 Look and listen
 Actively participate in Linkedin through groups,
discussions, message boards, status boards (you
get what you share)
 Search employers/people, your target list
 Make connections directly or ask someone to
provide you with an opening
 Look at who’s looking at you!

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Research your prospects before,
during and after
 Before you make that sales  Tip: Use Linkedin’s search
call function to find companies
and company contacts
 Do your research
 Tip 2: Look at people in your
 Is your contact on Linkedin? network to see who they are
connected to … they can
 Is their business on Facebook make introductions for you!
 Are they on Twitter?  Tip 3: Go to the right hand
corner of your linkedin profile
 Get to know your prospect and seek who has been
checking you out.
 Monitor their conversations
(listening!)

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Facebook … a sales tool?
 Information gathering for your
sales lead funnel  In Appleton alone there are
 Become a part of their
community more than
 Look for opportunities to
engage in conversations
500 businesses with
Facebook “fan (now “like”)
pages!!!
 Listen to the conversations
 Tip: Search by key terms on
Facebook ie., by location
 Fastest growing demographic
on FB? Women and ages 35
and older

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Is Twitter really relevant to sales?
 Yes! Get smarter!  Tip: Use a third party
application for Twitter to
 Use it as another research monitor key words
tool
 Twilerts
 Listen to what people are
saying about your industry  Hootsuite
… pain points
 Pluggio
 Search key words
 Tip 2: Twitter content is now
 Ie., health insurance, your searched by Google
company name, trending
topics

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Getting started with marketing’s
help
• Take it slow: Find where your
audience is participating
and indentify the influencers
• Read industry blogs
(including comments)
• Listen before participating
• Try a variety of social media
tools
• Be yourself, make some
friends and share

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Social media etiquette
o Avoid puffery
(people will ignore it)
o Avoid evasion and lying
(people won’t ignore it)
o Always disclose who you are
and where you work
o Admit your mistakes right away

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Sharing = thought leadership
o Don’t be afraid to share:
businesses, like people, need to
share information to get the
value out of social media
o Make your content easy to
share
o Incorporate tools that promote
sharing:
o RSS is a way for content publishers
to make blog entries, news
headlines, events, podcasts and
other content available to subscribers
o an effective way to distribute your
content and lead users back to your
Web site

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Be personal
o Don't shout. Don't broadcast.
Don’t brag
o Speak like yourself – not a
corporate marketing shill or press
secretary
o Personify your personal brand –
give people something they can
relate to

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Content is king
o Think like a contributor, not a marketer
o Consider what is relevant to your audience
before contributing
o Don’t promote your product on every post
o Win friends by promoting other people’s content
if it interests you

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Accept criticism
o Don’t try to delete or
remove criticism (it will
just make it worse)
o Listen to your detractors
o Admit your
shortcomings
o Work openly towards an
explanation and
legitimate solution

29. 29
Pop quiz
 How do people gather  Who is completely
information today? overwhelmed?
 What’s one monitoring tool
you can use?
 What is thought leadership?