Constant Contact's Power of Social Media for Businesses and Email Marketing

Power of Social Media

Why and How email marketers have an advantage using
the power of social networks.

Copyright © 2008 Constant Contact, Inc.

What is Social Media?

Social media is primarily Internet and mobile- Geek to English
based tools for sharing and discussing information
among human beings. Trading information and comments via
The term most often refers to activities that the internet using a collections of tools
integrate technology, telecommunications and often described as Web 2.0
social interaction, and the construction of words,
pictures, videos and audio.
technologies.
This interaction, and the manner in which
information is presented, depends on the varied
perspectives and quot;buildingquot; of shared meaning Regardless of Social media tools used,
among communities, as people share their stories material shared and traded often falls
and experiences. Businesses also refer to social into 2 main categories:
media as user-generated content (UGC) or
consumer-generated media (CGM). ■ Business Networks
■ Social Networks
- Wikipedia, January 12, 2009

Be aware there is a growing trend
of using Social Networks for
Business reasons.


Competitive Edge for Email Marketers

Good Email Marketing is:
■ Advocacy and empowerment of your customers/members with useful
information.
■ Not about you. It is about what you know and how it helps your reader.
■ People talking to People with similar interests.
■ Understanding what your customers/members want from you.
■ Good Listening and Response Skills.
■ Permission based communications.
■ Use of evangelists to share your message. (Forward to a Friend)
■ Provide information on the reader’s schedule, not yours.

Social Networks/Media shares all these values but delivers
them with different technology.
-Not competition for email marketing but a complement.


What are people doing? What are businesses doing?

Listen Participate Integrate
■ Are your customers ■ Do you have anything of ■ Can they continue the
or those you want as value to add to the relationship/conversation
customers involved in conversation? outside of the social
Social Media? media tool?
■ Can you offer specific
■ What are they advice to peers facing the ■ Are you leveraging your
saying? same business challenges? other marketing media to
work with your presence
■ Where are they ■ Are you willing to ask
in social media?
saying it? peers for advice on
business challenges?
■ What are they talking
about or asking for? ■ Does what you are ■ Are you creating
planning to say have value content that is relevant
to anyone else but you? enough to be re-used in
your social media tools ?
■ Can you solve
problems/issues/questions
with your expertise?

Why should you care what is going on in Social Media?
People are talking about you out there. Even if you are not reading
your customers and future customers are. Ignorance is not bliss.

Tools of Social Media

Social Media Tools

Photo Sites Blogs
Email Marketing
Archive
Social Networks
Polls
Podcasting B to B Social Networks
Groups/Meet up
Video Sites
Social
Bookmarking Micro Blogging/
Texting


Tools of Social Media

Using the Hubs

Social Networks B to B Social Groups Social Networks
B to B Social Network
Networks Groups

Communications and content Communications and Content Location for individuals
tends to be a casual social tends to be of a with like minds or
nature. Personal photos, professional nature. Peers interests, can exchange
comments, shared topics of seeking Peers for advice, information and organize
interest and related information, effective time to gather on line or in
information. resources, expert human person.
capital, etc.

■ www.Facebook.com ■ www.linkedin.com ■ www.meetup.com
■ www.myspace.com ■ www.plaxo.com ■ http://groups.yahoo.com
■ www.friendster.com ■ http://www.constantcont ■ http://groups.google.com
act.com/community/index.js
■ www.ning.com
p
■ www.skyrock.com


Using the Hubs - Facebook

Built for college students to get to get to know
each other but now has become a hybrid of Social
and Professional Networking.
■ Photo hosting
■ Video hosting
■ Promote your blog
■ Only can see your profile if you are
identified as friend.
■ Join/create groups regarding topics of
shared interest
■ Aids in expanding your network by
suggesting people you might know.
■ Create a company profile page and gain
network of fans
Invite your email readers to become fans
on Facebook. Remember, they have to
get something out of it.


Using the Hubs - Facebook

So what can I do with this?
Listen Participate Integrate
Create a basic personal ■ If you connect with ■ Consider putting details
profile to see who is here some of your current of product announcements
and listening to what they customers, ask them to or events on your
are saying. Are they your write reviews/opinions on company page. Inform
target audience? Would they your organization/ your social network first
be receptive to your products/services. and use the location to
message? host details and link from
■ Consider creating a
your email newsletters.
company profile page and
use it to connect with your ■ Host archived editions of
“Use of social
online “fan” base. your best received
networks instead of email
newsletter and helpful tips
for personal ■ Enable your fans to sign
from your email
communications in the up for your email
marketing.
last year: 42% Ages 25 to newsletter to get more
34; 53% Ages 18 to 24” exciting details.
-NPD Consumer Survey, JupiterResearch
LLC 2008


Using the Hubs - Linked In

A social network to manage your
professional contacts and relationships.
■ Find individuals you know in a
professional capacity
■ Update your profile (think
online resume)
■ Join networks or groups by
industry, geography or work
history
■ Create a network or “brain
trust” of peers to provide
suggestions on business issues



Listen

■ Enter your basic professional
information and start looking around
for the people you know.
■ Join groups and look at the
questions these groups ask.
■ Spot trends that effect your
business or mentions of your
organization in the dialog


Using the Hubs-Linked In

Participate
Dave Gowel of Clearly Creative
suggests:
“Ask your network a question to see
what they think. You can tap into a
knowledge base you trust and get
exposure for your business.”

Not sure what to ask? How about
using an opinion poll to see what
your peers are thinking?

http://www.clearlycreative.net/


Integrate

Showcase your archived educational emails.
■When answering questions
■Featured on your Linked In profile page
to sample your value.
Give people a chance to join your email list
from your profile page.
–They like what they see in the social
network, will be willing to share
information to get more quality content. Enable people who
know you in the
network to sign up
for more in-depth info
via email.

Archive
showcases
the value
provided in
your emails.


Using the Hubs - CTCT Connect Up Community

Are you Nervous to dive into these public Social
Networks? Get your feet wet with Constant
Contact Connect Up Community.

Designed as a location for Small Business and Non Profits to
find each other and exchange ideas, information and find
resources.

Listen
Find other businesses/organizations like yourself
Read questions of the group for their experience and
guidance.
Participate
Answer questions and share your experience.
Rate the value of the resources shared
Blog about your expertise
Bookmark useful things to share
Integrate
List your business so it can be found by people looking
for resources you provide
Turn on your Join My List box so when people want
more info from you they can get it.



Discussions are a great place to start:
Listen
Start reading about what other
business like you are asking about and
taking action on.
Participate
Answer or comment on the information
shared. Rate the value of the material.
Integrate
Post some answers or start a
discussion that can promote your
expertise.



Use the Business Directory to grow
and network.
Listen
Look at what kinds of businesses are listing
themselves and what are they doing to self
promote.
Participate
Create your business profile and make sure to add
value to the community by creating discussions,
answering questions and writing blogs.
Integrate
Turn on your “Join my Email List” function.
Use the share tools to populate your quality
content to other networks.
Link to your external resources that highlight the
scope of your work and skills.


Tools that Feed the Hubs

Blogs
■ WordPress
■ Movable Type Do you need to use all of the tools?
■ Blogger
No. Use what works best for your
Microblogging
target audience, message, mission,
■ Twitter
and content you want to share.
■ Pownce
Photos, Video, Podcasts
■ Flickr
■ YouTube
■ SlideShare
Social Bookmarking
■ Del.icio.us
■ Digg
■ Technorati


Blogs

Blogs are journals of experts, small
businesses or just passionate
individuals that can be read by the
outside world.
Listen
■ Every topic imagined is covered, Google search.
Look for and follow:
■ Blogs that cover topics that interest you and
relate to your business
■ Blogs that cover topics that would interest
your customers/members and are already
reading.
■ Note what has actual interesting and helpful
information.
■ If you find helpful information or there are
comments from readers on how helpful the
content is? Keep Reading!
Be Aware: “Only 16% of people surveyed say they
■ Sign up for RSS feeds on the ones you pick as a
trust corporate blogs”- Consumers Don’t Trust Corporate
regular read to keep in touch with what is going
Blogs, Forrester Research, 2008
on.
Why?
Too much self-promotion, product/service pushing,
and little two way communications.

Blogs

Participate
Like what you are seeing or have a tidbit to add?
Considering posting comments.
Just as there is manners and protocol in business relationships,
the same exists in the blogosphere. (Tech term about the blogs
published and the people writing them.)

Bare Feet Studios blog post of “How and When to
Leave a Blog Comment”
http://www.barefeetstudios.com/2007/12/19/how-and-when-to-leave-
blog-comments/

Good information and specifics
■ When to comment
■ What to comment
■ Why to comment
■ How to comment


Blogs

Integrate
Have your own message or information to share? Details to Consider
Start writing your own blog. ■ Blogging is a commitment. If you do not
Rules your blog should live by: update on a regular, predictable basis, you will
lose readership.
■ A blog is not a website, it is a social tool to
■ Consider writing topics that complement your
extend your relationships.
SEO strategy.
■ People like people; people buy from people; ■ Create links back to complementary information
keep it real and be their friend. on your website from relevant key words in a
■ People (Readers) gravitate to what they like post.
and the people who are like them. ■ Don’t over do it, only when there is a good
match.
■ Nothing makes an impact more than
passionate people doing the things they ■ Cross promote your email newsletters in your
love. Blog and your Blog in your newsletters.

■ Let the content of your Blog feed and
support the content of your email
newsletters.
■ Do not compete but complement!


Micro blogging/Twitter

Listen
Check out search.twitter.com for topics or
companies you are interested in.

Participate
Did someone say something of interest? You can
reply back to that individual’s comment.
Keep it short and sweet. (Only 127 characters)

Integrate
Did you create an email that is full of how to’s and
practical hints? Share it with your followers by
archiving the email and tweeting it.
Hint: Make the URL small enough to fit by using
www.tinyurl.com


Photo, Videos & Podcasts

Listen & Watch
Search out images, videos or podcast (audio
recordings) that match your interests and your
customers’ interests.
Observe elements, get comments, marked as
favorites or individuals who are an active producer
of content.

Participate
Do you like or not like what you are seeing or
hearing? Speak up! Use the rating tools to
comments and start ratings.

Integrate
Start to post some of your own creative media.
Promote your media to your email list and through
your Social/Business Networks.


Social Book Marks

Listen
Is your readership young, a
professional group or active on social
networks? Yes?
Watch what they are pointing out as useful, helpful and
interesting. Pay attention to what is valuable to identify
what these elements have in common.

Where do I look?
Del.icio.us
Digg
Bookmark sections of Social/Business Networks
Additional Resource Sections of Blogs

Can you describe what forward to a friend in email
does? -Social Book Marks work in a similar way.


Social Book Marks

Participate
Once you start looking around the web, social networks
and blogs, you might encounter things you want to share
via social bookmarks.

Pick your comfort level regarding where and how
much you want to share:
■ Create your own bookmark entries and talk
about why you find this valuable.
■ Rate others bookmarks on the value it provided
for you.
■ Socialize the information through your own
network of people how and where ever you
connect.


Social Book Marks

Integrate
Make the most of your content and continue its life. Archive the educational emails and make them accessible.
Encourage people to share the archive via Social Bookmarks to increase your reach.

Note:
Make sure to include the “Join My List” feature in the email design. When it is archived, people can reach you and ask
for more.


Want more details on Social Networks?

Dave Gowel of Clearly
Creative

marketing@clearlycreative.net

www.clearlycreative.net


Questions?


Constant Contact's Power of Social Media for Businesses and Email Marketing

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