How to use Social Media properly and keep your eyes on the prize.

1. Employing an Effective Social Media Strategy Muhammad Karim, 2011

2. First… answer these questions… What does your company do? What does your company want? What benefit does your company offer? … in a 140 characters or less… ;)

3. What is Social Media? A set of on-line tools that foster the exchange of ideas. ”…media for social interaction, using highly accessible and scalable communication techniques. Social media is the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into interactive dialogue.” - Wikipedia But… more importantly… It’s about People.

4. Is Social Media Really For You? It most likely is …. But Why? Ask yourself … What do you want? Sales? Leads for new Clients? Brand Awareness? Word of Mouth / Buzz? Thought leadership? Your Ad to go Viral?

5. What is your Target Market doing in the Digital World? Consumers behave differentlyon-line. You need to Determine… Where they are? What they do ? How they engage ? How they influence and who they are influencing? What are their shopping habits on-line? How do they see your brand currently?

7. Your consumers impact Google Results on your brand.

8. Rapid Word of Mouth – they organically facilitate the conversation around your brand.

10. by Brian Solis & JESS3 at theconversationprism.com

11. So What Do We Do With the Tools?

12. 1. Talk TO them, not AT them. Old marketing tactics don’t work here. So here’s what you do. Deliver Relevant content to your target market. Make sure all your communication ( ATL and BTL) is aligned. Simple, Clear, Human Messaging Assess whether the content you’re delivering is… What the consumer wants (Relevance) Where the consumer will look for it (Correct Placement) When the consumer wants it (Timely)

13. 2. Listen! Listen! Listen! Begin to Monitor… Companies in your industry Products and Brands ( Competitors, etc.) Relevant Key Twitter Accounts Important Customers Employees Competitors Make sure EVERY key stakeholder has this information Set up real-time alerts for key-words/mentions or trends on-line that you can’t afford to miss.

14. Next… We Try and Understand What It All Means.

15. Trend Analysis Google Real Time search Social Mention Google Insights Twitter Search Hash Tag Search Addict-o-matic search

16. Trend Analysis … These tools are all FREE. … but the price is Accuracy. Free, But inaccurate. Paid, But more accurate. What’s the best route for you?

17. Making it all Seamless…

18. Rossiter, J. R., & Danaher, P. J. (1998). Advanced media planning. Boston: Kluwer Academic.

19. What to do ? Integration - Create a presence on all relevant consumer touchpoints – Social Media is an important part of this. Interaction(Start conversations, Engage in ongoing conversations. Build trust.) Innovation(Research new ways to improve the efficiency of online marketing across all digital assets – including Social Media)

20. Example: The Arab Spring “We use Facebook to schedule the protests, Twitter to coordinate, and YouTube to tell the world." - Activist in Cairo during the Egyptian uprising.

21. What will Success Look Like? It depends on your initial Objectives… A visible increase in brand mention. Better brand awareness amongst Target consumers. Increased Sale Increased Brand Image scores. Higher traffic across digital assets Higher “Likes” on Facebook Higher Follower count on Twitter… etc., etc.

22. Measuring Success. BackTweets (http://www.backtweets.com ) Blog Pulse(http://www.blogpulse.com/) Klout (http://www.klout.com) BackType (http://www.backtype.com/ ) Facebook Insights to see Fan Page Influence Once again, these are the free tools which can give a good idea about how successful your online campaigns are. More specific tools are via your agencies, internal measurement tools, etc.

23. Summary: What Your Social Media Strategy Should Cover… How to reach your specific target audience with the appropriate tools. Integrating your Social Media activity with your off-line marketing activity .(Advertising, activations, In-store, etc.) Communicate and engage with right community on the web, or even create your own. How to increase on-line audience by creating effective word of mouth and getting the brand message spread by advocates. Gaining higher traffic across all your on-line assets (Website, eCRM, Social Media Accounts, etc.)

24. Any Questions? Muhammad Karim Email: muhammad@karim.co.za Twitter: @mkarim