Social Media Marketing seminar given at the Ohio Turfgrass Association conference in Columbus, Ohio

1. Fostering Online
Communities
Carmine Media | Blogging | Social Media | Web Marketing

2. Background
• R+L Carriers
– Full time Social Media manager
• Carmine Media
– Consulting, speaking, training
– Business Insider Magazine writer
– Business2Community contributor
– Small Biz websites and web marketing

3. Today
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4. Why Social?
57%
Of people talk more online than they do in
real life.
*Alex Trimpe via Ogilvy — February 21, 2011, ThinkQuarterly, Google

5. Getting Started
• Preparation
• Significant resources
• Transformation into social business
• Training and support
• Don’t be the fail whale
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6. Facebook
• More than 800 million active users
• 12 billion likes and comments monthly
• Average user is connected to 80
community pages, groups and events
• Bigger than the entire internet in
2004.
• More comments and likes on FB than
searches on Google
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7. Twitter
• More than 200 million registered
accounts
• 300,000 signing up per day
• 55 million tweets per day
• 600 million searches per day
• Busiest from 9-5 M-F
• iOs 5 integration
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8. Blogging
• Multiple blogging platforms
• Easy and free setup
• Customizable
• Comment and spam control
• Connect to Twitter and Facebook
• Custom URL
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10. Why Create Content?
• Creators represent the elite group who’s
content is consumed and shared.
• Creators audience is growing:
– 68% in the ―Spectator‖ group – fastest
increase
– 19% in the ―Collector‖ category
– 33% commenting their way to ―Critics.‖
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11. Interactivity
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12. Define your Goals
• Ongoing dialog with stakeholders
• Listening/learning about stakeholders
• Increase conversions
• Providing customer support
• Enabling peer to peer support
– Dell customer support forum
• Collaborating (Crowdsourcing)
*Survey by Social Media Examiner revealed these top social media goals for 2011

13. Define your Audience
• Who is your audience?
• Where are they?
• What do they like?
• What adds value to their lives?
• Impulse shoppers or intent to purchase?
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14. Set up a Content Strategy
• Topics via keywords
• Photos
• Video
• Trusted feeds
– OPC
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15. Build your Foundation
• Set up Facebook page – optimize and
brand
• Set up Facebook tabs – consider a
fangate (reveal tab)
– Mini website with iFrames
• Decide on call to action for tabs
– Collect emails
– Offer discount
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16. Twitter
• Profile picture – should be simple and
easy to see
• Background – 60 pixels
• Bio – 160 characters
• Link to website
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17. Listening
―Every good conversation starts
with good listening‖
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18. Set up Listening Tools
• Twitter searches
• Google Alerts
• SocialMention.com
• RSS feeds
– NetVibes
– Google Reader
• Google analytics
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19. Twitter Searches
• Branded keywords
• Unbranded keywords
• Industry terms
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20. Comment Policies
• Include a social media page on your
website
• Add a policy to your Facebook page
• Examples:
– R+L Carriers
– U.S. Army
– Ford
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21. Who should Moderate your
Site?
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22. Engage your Tweeps
• Create content worth RTing
• Respond quickly to mentions
• Ask questions
• Link to Facebook and blog posts
• Post photos and videos – photo of the day
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23. Twitter Chats
• Hashtags
• #FBLT
• #RLBowl
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24. Engage your Facebook
Community
• Create content worth sharing
• Use photos and videos of events
• Use FB questions for polls
• Use events
• Respond to comments
• Tag other agencies or fans
• Add a like box to your website
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25. But what if I make a
mistake……???
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26. Dealing with Mistakes
Three Common Mistakes
• Wrong Pipe
• Poor Judgment
• TMI
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27. Poor Judgment
• Kenneth Cole
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28. TMI
• Tweet by Ketchum executive visiting
FedEx – a client
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29. What if a fan posts
something I don’t like….?
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30. Embrace the Chaos
• Complaints
• Praise
• Customer Service
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31. Dealing with Negative Posts
• Be aware of them!
• Is the comment true?
• Be honest!
• Thank them for commenting
• Delete only if necessary and stated in
policy
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32. Dealing with Negative Posts
• Let your community respond
• Brand ambassadors

33. Removing Posts
• Facebook
– Ask user to repost
– Committee review
– Err on the side of caution
– Hide them
• Twitter
– Remember only your own tweets can be
deleted
– Best not to address unless necessary
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34. SEO
• Google Analytics
• Unbranded Keywords
• No Follow tags
• Tagged URLs in Social Media posts
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35. Measure and Track
• Google Analytics
• Facebook insights
• PageLever (paid service)
• KIout
• Crowdbooster
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36. Social Proof
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37. How to use Social Proof
• Display number of followers only if there
are many
• Post your ―most popular‖ items or content
regularly
• Use percentages - ―over 75% prefer…‖
• 1,000,000 served- Ray Kroc used in 1955
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38. The Future
• All content socialized
• Transformation into social
• Social hooks
• Sharable content
• Provide a social outlet
– No dead ends
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39. Social Media for Marketing
• Average corporate account is less than
three years old
• Stages of social media
Source: Altimeter Group (August
2011)

40. Don’t Give Up
• Regular posts
• Relationships take time
• How long is the buying cycle?
• Measure small successes
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41. References
• Online reference of Social media policies:
http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php
• SocialMedia.org Dislosure toolkit:
http://www.socialmedia.org/disclosure/
• Brian Solis: http://www.briansolis.com/2010/11/the-three-
cs-of-social-networking-consumption-curation-creation/
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42. Questions? Connect with me!
Twitter: @suereynolds
Web: Carminemedia.com
Facebook: /carminemedia
LinkedIn: suesreynolds
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