Learn more about the power of social media and how to utilize it responsibly and effectively in your marketing strategies. Topics to be covered include: Topics to be covered include: * What happens if you ignore social media? * Which social networking site is right for you? * Tips on using Facebook and Twitter to enhance your brand * How to find lifelong guests and company advocates * Realistic results to expect from Facebook and Twitter * Top mistakes companies make and how to avoid them

1. Social Media Best Practices How to be involved without breaking the bank! Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

2. About Blizzard Internet Provide ROI-centric Online Marketing Solutions to the Travel, Tourism & Hospitality Industries. Offer Comprehensive or A-La-Carte plans for SEO, Paid Advertising, Linkbuilding and Social Media starting as low as $500 a month INCLUDING up to an hour of consultation each month. Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

3. About Carrie Director of Search Strategies at Blizzard. Twitter Addict &Conversion Evangelist. Small Business SEM columnist at SearchEngineWatch. In the Trenches columnist at SearchEngineLand.com. Questions? PLEASE contact me however you like! Twitter = @CarrieHill Facebook = facebook.com/carrie.hill1 Email: chill@blizzardinternet.com Phone: 888-840-5893 direct extension: 131 Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

4. What happens if you ignore Social Media Negative impact on your brand message. You open the door for your competitors to grab that market share. Be first and be the best. You miss the conversations that matter most. Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

5. Hmmmmmm

6. The Numbers 100,000,000 - number of users who log on to Facebook at least once each day. 200,000,000 – number of active users on Facebook. 3,000,000 – number of Tweets/day(March 2008). If social media users were a country, it would be the 4th largest. Years to reach 50 million users:• Radio = 38 years• TV = 13 years• Internet = 4 years• iPod = 3 years• Facebook added 100 million users in less than 9 months. http://thefuturebuzz.com/2009/01/12/social-media-web-20-internet-numbers-stats/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8 Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

7. More Numbers TripAdvisor receives more than 25 million unique visitors a MONTH. The fastest growing segment on Facebook is 55-65 year old females. 80% of Twitter usage is on Mobile Devices. 34% of bloggers post opinions about products & brands. 78% of consumers trust peer recommendations. Only 14% trust advertisements. Successful companies in social media act more like party planners, aggregators, and content providers than traditional advertiser. Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

8. How do I find them? Find the Demographic by Keywords. MSN Demographic Tool Watch the bloggers that cover your area. Search your key terms in Blog Search Look at your referral traffic. ASK! Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

9. How Far does a Tweet Reach? Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

10. How a few Fans turn into many… Friends of My Friends My Friends Friends of My Friends My Friends My Friends Me Friends of My Friends Friends of My Friends My Friends My Friends My Friends Friends of My Friends Friends of My Friends Friends of My Friends Friends of My Friends Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

11. Pretty soon a small network looks like this: YOU! Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

12. Getting Involved It’s not about being everywhere – it’s about being where the conversations are. Choose the platforms with the best chance of reaching a targeted audience. Start broad and narrow based on results. Watch your analytics for incoming traffic. Where are your competitors? Are you there too? Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

13. How do I track the Conversation? Use URL Shortners that track clicks. Kl.am is my preferred Ow.ly is part of Hootsuite – good graphics for stats but frames the landing page of a link Correlate Tweets & FB updates with spikes in site traffic – use this to sell the “C Suite”. Alerts are always useful. Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

14. What’s The ROI? Social Media is a tactic, NOT a platform – an avenue for you to communicate with your audience and market, much like your telephone system. It’s time to CHANGE how you think about investing in Social Media Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

15. Facebook Tips Be Genuine, Personable and ALWAYS Professional Set up a fan page and promote it on your website Don’t only post links and promotional material Share videos, images & stories that you’re reading Answer questions Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

16. Tips Short Bursts of 140 Characters Grab attention with deals Offer exclusive deals & codes ANSWER QUESTIONS Promote your presence on your site DON’T: Auto follow or Auto Direct Message new followers Post a link in every single update – it looks contrived Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

17. Integrating your approach Use a 3rd Party client to help you – my new fave is Hootsuite with Ping.FM Post to Twitter, Facebook, Myspace & LinkedIn all at once Schedule tweets for future posting Save keyword searches to closely watch who is looking for information about your area Track link clicks (with Kl.am or Ow.ly) Integrate in your staff’s email signature Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

18. You’re Doin’ it Right! We set up a Facebook fan page for Chula Vista in May of 2009. From May – Today they’ve seen: 1312 fans added (466 since 9/30) 1483 referrals to the Chula website since May! (806 since 9/30) 1135referrals to the Chula site since August 1 Top demographics are Males 25-34 – 43% Females 25-34 – 29% Females 55+ - 0% Males 35-44 - 14% Females 18-24 – 14% Guests are interacting, adding photos, comments, sometimes over a dozen a day! Guests are acting as brand advocates and refuting negative comments and encouraging positive interaction without the managements’ involvement Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter

19. Where should you start? Hands on is the best place – give it a try Read A LOT! See how others are doing and try their tactics for yourself. Blizzard can help – contact us about a Social Media Focus Plan! Consultation on Social Media and Reputation Management – 1 hour per month Facebook fan page setup or overhaul Twitter account setup or overhaul Create/Claim Tripadvisor listing and update Create/Claim Yelp listing and update Create/Claim Google local listing and update Create/Claim Yahoo travel listing and update Flickr account setup and media load And Much More! Carrie Hill chill@blizzardinternet.com @CarrieHill on Twitter