I was lucky enough to be invited to speak at swn festival about building communities and harnessing social media. These are the slides from the presentation.

1. harnessing the power
of social media
mel kirk
social media consultant

2. “Social 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”
source: Wikipedia

3. personal homepage
personal content creation
ability to add friends
ability to share and interact
FEATURES:

4. + =

5. 4mations.tv

6. the reason i earn a wage...

7. http://flickr.com/photos/redvers/532076662/
Things are changing
Traditional media now has to keep up
The relationship between the producer and the consumer is changing
People want things on demand in a format they request

8. you can’t put your media out there

9. and expect people to...

10. http://www.flickr.com/photos/21684319@N04/
flock

11. When communication is one way

12. your users do this

13. you need to...

14. http://flickr.com/photos/betta_design/2200198472/
RESEARCH - know your market
know where they hang out / how they communicate
know your product inside out

15. find your advocates

16. Not only will your users have an existing relationship of trust with them
They’ll have a further reach and influence

17. (tools!)
Give them the tools to let them do word of mouth for you
This might be assets, support, briefs, insider information, stuff for competitions

18. own blog
PREPARE TO GIVE UP POWER TO THE MASSES
DECISIONS WILL BE JOINTLY MADE
BE PREPARED FOR NEGATIVE COMMENTS - ADDRESS OPENLY

19. Don’t go creating new community hubs if they already exist
Contribute to the existing ones instead BECOME PART OF THE CONVERSATION
EMBRACE EXISTING COMMUNITIES

20. don’t add features that aren’t wanted or needed

21. tumbleweed
A FORUM WITH NO ACTIVITY IS WORSE THAN NO FORUM AT ALL

22. http://www.flickr.com/photos/seeks2dream/2520279807/
Follow trails
What you go out there thinking your users want can often be different than how the site ends
up - be prepared to make changes and to suit needs
e.g. multi-threading

23. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cleversimon/
Listen to user feedback
Incorporate in future releases
ACTUALLY LISTEN

24. personality and character are key

25. Twitter’s FailWhale is a prime example
Copy is just as important as design

30. Ownership is key
Let users distribute content in the way they see fit
YouTube - viral distribution - just be smart - video player watermarked etc
Copy on the site - give them a sense of belonging

31. Flickr do this beautifully - their copy is engaging and gives a real sense of belonging

32. blog.4mations.tv
Twitter.com/4mations
Flickr.com/4mations
Facebook - Official 4mations Group
Youtube/user/4mationsTV
Animation forums

33. so in summary...

34. don’t

36. be sure to...

37. research
RESEARCH

38. http://www.flickr.com/photos/cleversimon/

39. adapt
ADAPT

40. embrace advocates
Embrace advocates

41. and in return, you’ll get community...

42. http://www.flickr.com/photos/ninakupenda81/

44. mel kirk
slides will be available on: slideshare
randommel.com