Sandy Lender gave this presentation on using social media to expand your asphalt business at the 2013 World of Asphalt in San Antonio.

1. Efficient Online Marketing
How to use online social media to build your asphalt business
By Sandy Lender, editor of Asphalt Pro magazine
sandy@theasphaltpro.com

2. Consistency
 Consistent message across your platforms
 Consistent images
 Consistent tone
 Consistent personnel
 Let’s look at an easy way to accomplish this…

3. Organize Yourself
 Assign the person who updates/monitors your social
media presence online
 Create a folder on the desktop
 Let’s discuss what goes in the folder
 Rotate your passwords because hackers are smart

4. The Folder
 E-mail address(es); password(s)
 Signature/tagline (http://wisestamp.com)
 Bio (long and short); images (low resolution)
 Mission statement
 Site & group URLs
 All in a folder on your desktop where you can find it easily

5. Where do you need to be?
 Google+ beats Twitter by a nose
 facebook is still #1, but I’m starting you all with Google+
and LinkedIn…then facebook and Twitter
 Don’t ignore your website and blog
 Website = static; blog = dynamic (let’s discuss before we
dive into the social sites)(social media beats search in
publishing circles; ppl trust word of mouth)

6. Your blog
 Dynamic (spiders & bots troll for active discussions)
 Content content content; visit & comment elsewhere
 Moderate it; be active in controlling content of both
posts and comments
 Bit.ly; hootsuite; Klout; www.wordpress.com
 Use your blog to drive traffic to your website
 Let’s discuss “comment etiquette abroad” (chat
elsewhere; no spamming; no fighting)

7. Your website
 You can make the website dynamic by adding
comment features; posts (like a blog); live links within the
site and to other sites/blogs
 When you post an image, name it with keywords
 Use social media tags so people can easily share posts

8. How to use the social networks
 Only the Paranoid Survive (by Andrew S Grove; 1999)
 Not every transaction has to be for business; as Depeche
Mode said, “People Are People”; social media is
supposed to be social, but keep in mind…
 You have limited time to “play around” online; time is
money
 Connect your media—twitter, facebook, LinkedIn,
Pinterest, YouTube—they all offer ways to post
simultaneously or at least share what you’ve posted
among the platforms

9. Where to be seen
 http://plus.google.com
 http://www.LinkedIn.com
 Your state DOT’s blog
 Your state APA’s blog
 http://twitter.com; www.facebook.com
 Others (newspaper article comments—you don’t have to
be first, just be salient)(you’d rather be a source IN the
article) (YouTube)

10. Google+

11. Google+ (let’s get there)
 http://plus.google.com
 Assign yourself an email
 Assign yourself a username (use your email)
 Assign yourself a password you can remember
 Upload your profile picture

12. Google+ (what you want to see)

13. Google+ features
 Circles—people you want to have contact with
 Stream—think of this like the facebook feed or Twitter
feed—ignorable until you start following useful people
 Hangout—good for meetings; web conferencing
 Uses hashtags in the stream (similar to Twitter)

14. LinkedIn (for professional use)

15. LinkedIn (how to get there)
 www.linkedin.com
 Professional use—more than 70 million professionals use it
 Groups; Questions
 How to request connections professionally (follows)
 Recommendations (written); Endorsements (of skills)
 Apps add value & start conversations (SlideShare; TripIt)

16. LinkedIn groups to check out
 Linking Construction (over 34,000 members)
 Highway Design Engineers
 Highway Maintenance Professionals
 Asphalt Shingle Recyclers Association
 Road Builders Professional Group
 (tons more of these)

17. LinkedIn (the look)

18. Facebook (Part 1)
 Set a timer before you get started because facebook will
suck your life away
 Set up a group page for your business; group vs person
 What to post
 When to post (Thursday; Friday traffic)(10% see it)
 How to promote a post

19. Facebook (Part 2)
 Privacy settings are for people
 Watch your message
 Watch your message
 Watch your message

20. Twitter
 www.twitter.com
 Handle = username
 Hashtags
 140 characters or less
 Retweets make things viral easily
 Bit.ly or Tinyurl.com
 @NAPATweets; @Asphalt_Inst; @asphaltroads; @AsphaltPro

21. We’re all in this together
 Asphalt Pavement Alliance = AsphaltRoads.org
 www.AsphaltFacts.com
 www.AsphaltPavement.org
 www.TheAsphaltPro.com

22. The Point: Get Recognized
 Build your brand through viral messages
 You want DOTs, state engineers, commercial developers,
LEED project managers, or the store owner down the
street who needs to repave his parking lot to recognize
your company name & logo as a professional, friendly,
quality, competent, community asphalt pro when he has
a project ready to go.
 Social media is about viral messages.

23. Viral Messages
 Relevant messages get shared.
 Short messages get shared.
 Entertaining messages get shared.
 Educational messaged get shared.
 Make your message go viral.

24. Connect with AsphaltPro
 www.TheAsphaltPro.com
 sandy@theasphaltpro.com
 http://www.linkedin.com/in/sandylender
 http://plus.google.com Sandy Lender
 http://twitter.com/AsphaltPro
 www.TheAsphaltForum.blogspot.com (blog)

25. Now go tweet this info!