This was a 20 minute talk at the Latino Entrepreneurship Workshop in Atlanta, GA on how to approach social media from a business standpoint. This is a general presentation to guide business leaders into thinking strategically about the shift in how consumers are communicating

1. Social Communication: General Strategy Having a presence in social media is worthless unless you do something with it.

2. Outline Platform vs. Activity What are we interested in? Need + Strategy = Success Are you ready for social media? Is there a need? Finding Your Model Centralized or Decentralized? How to manage it. Three Step Process From strategy to deployment to measurement. Building a Team What it looks like.      noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

3. Socialmedia Socialcommunications noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

4. Socialcommunications noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

5. Social Media isn’t just Marketing Lead Acquisition Online Reputation Management Collaboration P.R. Business Development Retention Customer Service Research Marketing Sales Competitor Insights Search/SEO Business Measurement Thought Leadership noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

6. Assessment Awareness Do enough people know about us? Context Do people think of us in the right way? Value Do people understand our value? Relevance Do people appreciate our value to them? Catalysts Do people have a reason to think about us? To engage with us? To buy into us? Social media is there to drive, amplify and reinforce all of these things noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

7. The Two Social Media Build Scenarios Your organization is fairly new to Social Media, and you have to start from scratch. Next on the agenda: Establishing business objectives, developing a strategy, and bringing all departments to the table to discuss synergies. 2. Your organization already has clusters of activity in the Social Media space. These are mostly decentralized, autonomous, and disconnected. Next on the agenda: Harness, incorporate, organize. “Pirate ships” – Chris Brogan noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

8. How to Clean Up the Pirate Ship Model Respect the pirates. They know how to execute. 2. Invite the pirates to the table. Recognize their wins. 3. Ask the pirates to report on what they see and hear. 4. Ask the pirates to report on their wins and losses. 5. Ask the pirates how you can help them win more. 6. Equip the pirates and send them on missions. 7. Ask the pirates to help you build up your fleet. 8. Ask the pirates to play a leadership role. 9. Ask the pirates to write the playbook for you. noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

9. Three-Step Process (1 of 3) Step 1: Strategy& Development Identifying goals Identifying key departments Developing strategies and tactics Setting targets and budgets Clarifying intent Exploring potential legal issues noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

10. Three-Step Process (2 of 3) Getting departments up to speed Training staff Enabling technology and tools Creating the internal infrastructure Working with Legal, IT, HR, etc. Creating social media handbook Developing the organization Continuous improvement Step 2: Operational Deployment noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

11. Three-Step Process (3 of 3) Step 3: Management & Execution Community management Online reputation management Monitoring Measurement Digital support Internal collaboration noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

12. Centralized Management Model Command Structure Highly organized CEO noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

13. Decentralized Management Model Division Program Strategy Autonomous structure Open-source model Campaign noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

14. Social Communication Management Team Analytical Loves numbers Excel Sensei Data visualization Strategically- Minded CEO-type Entrepreneurial Sees all the angles Operational Aptitude COO-type Very organized Works across silos Communications-minded Customer service Public Relations Task-oriented Caring and trustworthy noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

15. Potential Pitfalls Jumping in without adequate preparation Not securing key partnerships Delegating important tasks to over-worked employees Not seeing outside of marketing Not allocating appropriate resources for training, research, and execution noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

16. noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11

17. Resources Social Media ROI – Olivier Blanchard ExploringSocialMedia.com nvechols.com smiatl.com noahechols@gmail.comNoah Echols, Social Communications Strategy, 05.26.11