The document discusses the importance of social media for brand building. It outlines key reasons to use social media like building relationships, identifying trends, and engaging brand ambassadors. Popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, blogs and others are examined in terms of their functionality and how they can be used for marketing. Golden rules for success with social media emphasize creating a strategy, engaging audiences authentically, and measuring results. The document encourages companies to view social media not as a fad but a fundamental shift in communication.

1. social media
and brand building
thinkcreativegroup.com
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

2. > Why social media is important
> How social media is used
> Is your target market online
> Facebook
> Twitter
> Other tools
> Monitoring the conversations
> Golden rules for success
what we’ll talk about
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

3. why social media
is important
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

4. > Build relationships
> Identify new trends
> Find + engage brand ambassadors
> Branding + top of mind awareness
> Keep an eye on competitors
> Community-based public relations
> Keep costs low with extreme word of mouth
what can you do with
social media?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

5. 2010 Study
why social media
is important
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

6. > 93% of social media users believe a company should have a presence in
social media––85% believe they should interact with customers
> 3 out of 4 Americans use social technology
> Web users devoted 25% of their time to social networking sites + blogs,
up from16% a year ago.
> Every minute, 24 hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube
> 2 billion YouTube videos are viewed everyday
> An average, there are 90 million tweets per day on Twitter
current social
media trends
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

7. 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations.
[only 14% trust ads]
“You can’t just say it. You have to get the people to say it to each other.”
-James Farley, CMO Ford
who do people trust?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

8. how social media
is used
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

9. 2009 Study
how social media
is used
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

10. 2009 Study
social media
for marketing
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

11. While Twitter and Facebook get the headlines, the dark horse social
media organizations are turning to most as they look to the future is
blogging.
Some consider blogging “old” social media, but it has proven itself an
effective communication tool. The ability to reach a mass audience
with a personal point of view and invite comments is very powerful.
old or new trend?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

12. Nearly nine out of ten journalists (89%) say they use blogs for online
research. Only corporate websites (96%) are cited by more journalists
as a source of online information.
Blogs (64%) are the most frequently used social networking tool to
publish, promote, and distribute what journalists write, followed closely
by social networking sites (60%), and microblogging sites (57%).
2009 Social Media & Online Usage Study from George Washington University and Cision
how social media
impacts pr
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

13. is your target
market online?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

14. target market
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

15. Social networking usage between April 2009 and May 2010:
> Grew 88% among users aged 55-64
> 65 and older group’s presence grew 100%
> Users aged 50 and older increased usage from 22% to 42%
> 47% of 50-64 year-old users indicate they use social media
> 26% of those over 65 indicated they use social media
(Pew Internet & American Life Project)
The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year-old females
target market
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

16. facebook
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

17. > Viral marketing on steroids
> A second “website” on a network with a great number of users
> A mass communications tool
> A way for small businesses with limited budgets to reach the masses
> Build strong brand loyalty
why use facebook
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

18. > More than 500 million active users
> 50% of active users log on to Facebook in any given day
> The fastest growing demographic = 35 years old and older
> More than 10 million users become Fans of Pages each day
> More than 700 billion minutes are spent per month on Facebook
> Average American users spend 421 minutes [7 hours]
on Facebook per month—more than Google, Yahoo, YouTube,
Bing, Wikipedia + Amazon...combined
current facebook trends
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

19. facebook users
want you online
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

20. > Personal profile
> Fan page [for business]
> Community page
> Group
> Ads
> Applications
> Polls
> Contests
> Coupons
> Cross-platform promotions—pull in other social media
about facebook
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

21. > Keep your personal profile separate from your business
> Set a strategy and stick to it
> Set up your official page for business—get a vanity url once you reach 25
followers [facebook.com/thinkcreativegroup]
> Install applications to your page that are relevant
> Get creative + make your page a resource—utilize polls, contests, coupons
> Make sure you pull in your other social media—YouTube,
blog, etc
> Post a link to find you on Facebook on all of other tools
[email signature, website, blog, Twitter, LinkedIn]
using facebook
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

22. twitter
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

23. > Position yourself as the expert
> Gain strategic partners
> Stimulate thought and conversation by posting questions
> Drive users to your blog, website, facebook page, etc.
> Tie your Twitter and Facebook accounts together
why use twitter
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

24. > Microblog
> 140 character “tweets”
> Followers + Following
> Main goal - gain followers
> Hyperlinks are the key [can condense]
> Follow the right people
> Retweets [RT]
about twitter
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

25. > Start by following
> Search on keywords and conversations
> Tweet interesting, valuable + relevant information [not self-serving info]
> Commit to tweeting frequently
> Say nice things about people’s posts and publicly thank your followers
> Hold contests
> Use as customer support
> Post a link to find you on twitter on all of your other tools
[email signature, website, blog, Facebook, LinkedIn]
using twitter
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

26. > Blogs
> LinkedIn
> YouTube
> HARO [Help A Reporter Out]
> and many, many, many more!
other tools
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

27. monitor the
conversations
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

28. > Find audiences who care about your brand and products
> Understand customer attitudes toward your brand and offerings
> Identify passionate, authentic brand Influencers + activists
> Generate awareness + build brand loyalty through customer engagement
> Assess share of voice for your products + brand
> Drive influential peer-to-peer, word-of-mouth promotion
> Measure marketing + media campaign success
> Cost-effectively resolve customer service issues
> Uncover new product and feature opportunities
why monitor the
conversations
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

29. Listen. Compare. Adapt.
> Free alert tools—Google Alerts, Google Blog Search, socialmention
> “Freemium” + “Lite” options— Alterian SM2, trackur, BrandsEye
> Paid+ advanced options—Radian6, BrandWatch, truVOICE, hootsuite
how to monitor
the conversations
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

30. golden rules for success
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

31. > Create a strategy—start with your end goal
> Be authentic and transparent
> Be true to your brand and value proposition
> Consistency from site to site
> Listen first
> Post relevant content
> Engage your audience—be interesting and creative to get users involved
golden rules for success
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

32. > Always ask “what do my customers want and how can I engage them”
> Become viewed as an expert
> Tie it into other social media + traditional marketing/advertising efforts
> Stop thinking campaigns and start thinking conversations
> Successful companies in social media act more like aggregators and
content providers than advertisers.
> Be careful what you post
> Measure progress and results
> Don’t get sucked in
golden rules for success
32
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

33. > Define your Purpose
> Answer “How does this fit into my overall marketing/branding strategy?”
> Define your goals
> Create a strategy
> Select your tools
> Determine how you will monitor + measure success
> Get started!
get started
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

34. 71% of companies say they plan to increase investments in social
media by an average of 40% because:
> low cost marketing
> getting traction
We don't have a choice on whether we do social media—the question is
how well we do it.
-Erik Qualman
we really, really mean it...
get started
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

35. REMEMBER...
Social media is not a fad. It is a fundamental shift in the way we
communicate.
The ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in five
years.
remember...
35
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

36. This presentation will be available online:
> facebook.com/thinkcreativegroup
> blog.thinkcreativegroup.com
thank you
36
Tuesday, October 5, 2010

37. questions?
Tuesday, October 5, 2010