These are visual aids for my talk on Introduction to Social Media.

1. Social Media Introduction Visual Aid for my Social Media Introduction talk

2. Business Owners Often Say… I am busy. Finish in 2 minutes “who has the time for such stuff?” “Looks interesting, but I have no time for anything” “It is good but I may not have time for follow-up” “Don't have time for all these online stuff”. These objections are mostly false and stems from misconceptions. Such People IGNORE Social Media

3. What is Social Media? Social Media is a set of tools designed for online social interactions.

4. business owners should be asking “Can I afford not to be connected with Social Media one way or the other? “ “Can I afford not to learn?”

5. The Answer is… It is very important to “get-in there” in the beginning stages to capitalize the most out of “customer shifts to on-line”. Online communities are growing by the day.

6. Is Social Media a Hype? Social Media site visits is ahead of personal email as online activity. Social media visits as numbers are contending with most populated countries in the world. It is not just a hype. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Social_media_count.jpg

7. 10 Reasons Why You Should Consider Social Media Your customers were only in market place. Now they are in cyberspace also. Image via Wikipedia

8. 2/10 Potential business through internet is not achieved by a website, but with online social interactions. Image via Wikipedia

9. 3/10 You need to sense and respond not only with products but also sentiments. Image via Wikipedia

10. 4/10 You need to shift from a marketer monologue to customer dialogue. Image via Wikipedia

11. 5/10 First you need to listen to on-going conversations. Image via Wikipedia

12. 6/10 Participation is a must. By participation, I mean real and on-going conversations. Image by Kris Hoet via Flickr

13. 7/10 Customer acquisition alone is not important. Retaining and satisfying are more important. Image by MatthieuDejardins, eCommerce Activist via Flickr

14. 8/10 Markets are changing faster than your marketing. Image by Brajeshwar via Flickr

15. 9/10 You need to watch quickly changing trends and align business model to it.

16. 10/10 By PR you should mean real relationships with public beyond press releases and pitches to a publication. Image by DoktorSpinn via Flickr

17. A Precursor to Social Media Strategy Social Media change processes involve changing from one culture to another. When you do new things, you also start thinking in new ways. Its time to take the first steps and start now.

18. Extension Of Real World Practices To Social Media Content is crucial in customers allowing us to connect with them. In real-world, references work. So do with online communities. People look for help and provide help in real-world. More so with Social Media.

19. Imagine… Imagine the power of a Computer and an Internet connection and what it can do to your Brand. You can publish Audio, Video, Images and Texts about your Brand for free and get a Global Audience for it. Image via Wikipedia

20. When to Start? Don’t be Afraid. Don’t Negate. Start and Stay Focused. Take the risk of showing your product to the customers. They may like it. Start Now Image by amirjina via Flickr

21. Example of Insurance Conservative Legal Roadblocks More Local Traditional ways

22. Example of Insurance FAQs that are highly repetitive Job of Educating customers. Satisfied customers spread the word.

23. Where to Start? Start Now, Start Here Express Yourself Content Comments Engagement Connecting to People with Objectives through a Strategy using Technology

24. e-Patients Example Have you found useful information online as a patient? Have you discussed that information with your Doctor? What had been the experience?

25. Changes brought by Social Media Acquiring Information Interaction and Questioning Changing habits and decision making. Changes consumption decisions. A big role in the reputation of a Brand Image by br1dotcom via Flickr

26. Examples of Social Media Tools LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Blogs YouTube SlideShare FlickR

27. Example of a Social Media Tool : Blog Why Blog? What does it do to your company or brand? How is it different from the old ways?

28. Blogs Bring Business Blogs are online versions of your materials and media. Blog helps customers to refer, share or use it with others. Customers feel equipped to refer. Since they are online versions, they are searchable(by search engines). Blog brings new visitors who can be potential customers. Visibility. New Business.

29. 5 Questions Towards A Social Media Strategy What are the objectives? Towards those objectives, where do we stand today ? What are the tools available that will help us achieve those objectives? If we use those selected tools, what will be the results and how will it fit the objectives? What are the barriers towards the whole exercise?

30. Keep in touch…. http://blog.varadh.com/ www.varadh.com varadh@varadh.com Twitter: @VaradhKrish LinkedIn: http://in.linkedin.com/in/varadharajankrishnamoorthy Appointments: https://tungle.me/varadh