A presentation at The Eliot School for Fine and Applied Arts about "Building a Buzz using Social Media" on May 1, 2011.

1. Creating a Buzz
with Social Media
The Eliot School of Fine and Applied Arts
Sunday, May 1, 2011 with Charles McEnerney
2-4 PM twitter.com/wellroundedradi
linkedin.com/in/charlesmcenerney
facebook.com/charlesmcenerney
charlie@wellroundedradio.net
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2. Charles McEnerney
My professional background includes editorial and
marketing positions at ArtsBoston, HBO, Fast Company,
WGBH, MovieMaker Magazine, OurStage.com, Seattle
International Film Festival, and film production.
Since 2002, I have hosted and produced Well-Rounded
Radio, an online music interview show that features
musicians from every genre and music industry thought
leaders.
With more than 70 interviews featured to date, the show
received 75,000 visits in 2009 and currently is receiving
18,000 visits per month from around the world.

3. How much do you already
use social media?
Have you ever written a
review of a product
online? Do you have accounts on
LinkedIn, Facebook, or
Do you read blogs? Myspace?
Are you subscribed to any Ever edited a wiki?
podcasts?
Do you use social
Do you watch videos on bookmarking?
YouTube?
Do you use Google
Have you watched your analytics?
favorite TV show online?
Do you Twitter?
Do you have a Flickr
page?

4. What is the Long Tail?
The concept (attributed to Wired magazine’s editor and
the book’s author, Chris Anderson) that there is a larger
audience in all the niche interests in the world vs. the
subjects and content that have a much wider,
mainstream appeal.
The concept truly comes to life with Web 2.0 or social
media, where there is an audience for every interest, no
matter how big or small.
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5. Web 1.0
While the consumer-friendly Internet of 1994 to 2003
was about companies and organizations using the
platform to publish information about themselves, social
media has put true social interactivity into the equation.
In the last eight years, using the Web to market products
and services has changed dramatically...and it’s likely to
continue.

6. Web 2.0 or
Social Media
Social media is about active and dynamic conversations
between companies and customers, between groups,
and between individuals.
It’s also about using the tools and technologies that
arrived with high-speed broadband access.
Now the Web is delivering audio, video, multi-media,
and realtime communications and the proverbial
playing field has been flattened for companies and
citizens. It may cost less cash, but it does require human
capital.

7. Using online tools, what do your
customers want to get out of
interacting with you?
information
education
to provide feedback
to be a part of the conversation
to be a part of your community
to be a part of the creative process

8. The lines between editorial,
marketing, and engagement
have blurred
we are using the internet to find out information
we are using the internet to educate ourselves before
making purchases
we are using the internet to feel more connected

9. Social media works
best when used to...
educate consumers
offer exclusive or advance access/deals
listen and converse
provide a sampling opportunity
give the audience a chance to contribute

10. Social media enables
you to...
humanize your brand
“tell your story” directly to consumers, without relying
on traditional media outlets
find your specific audience for programming, products,
or services vs. using broad channels like print,
television, and radio
use each activity to promote the other

11. Social media enables
you to...
let your customers help you do your marketing (e.g.,
TripAdvisor’s Cities I’ve Visited)
build community
be more transparent and open!

12. How do you track
success?
Site analytics from entry to sales conversion
Promo codes online and at box office/admission desk
Using bit.ly to track clicks
Growth of the number of your fans, friends, or followers
(and your influence)
Frequency/volume of people “talking” about your
organization

13. But first, what are
your strategic goals?
Customer acquisition and retention
Increased ticket sales and revenue
Deeper engagement between customers and organization
Web site traffic
Increased posts in the blogosphere
Collect email addresses/RSS subscriptions
Get people talking/buzzing about your organization/venue
Increased content contributions from customers
Create new ways to touch customers

14. What are the “hottest”
social media channels?
Blogs (as your own platform and pitching others)
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube
Flickr

15. It may cost less cash,
but it does require
human capital
There are dozens of options of ways to use the Web to
promote your organization, but social media can be time
consuming.
Be strategic: think about what your goals are first and
then prioritize which of these activities will be the best
use of your time to achieve them.

16. Some Key Social
Media Innovations
Podcasting Photo Sharing
Blogging Video Sharing
Social Networking Video Search Engines
Microblogging Webcasting
User/Consumer/Citizen Virtual Worlds
Generated Content
Social Bookmarking Social News
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17. A Few Geek
Definitions
Metadata are terms or words assigned and embedded by
content creators to help content be found or crawled by
search engines and rank higher.
Tags are words assigned by Web visitors to pages and media
that are they tracked by disparate Web applications to help
others discover it.
Feeds are URLs that you can subscribe to and receive data or
media and receive updates in text, video, or audio.
Flash is an animation application (now owned by Adobe)
that has become the leading standard for encoding video.
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18. Really Simple
Syndication (RSS)
RSS (Really Simple Syndication) or XML (Extensible
Markup Language) feeds give people a way to subscribe
to content (text, audio, or video) without having to give
away their email address.
RSS/XML feeds help users subscribe to blogs and
podcasts. The technology is increasingly being
integrated into email applications, is a part of such
applications as iTunes, or can be used with desktop and
web-based RSS aggregators such as Sage, NewsGator,
Google Reader, or NetNewsWire.
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19. Blogging
Text-based entries much like a diary documenting your
personal or professional life and passions. Subscribed to
through RSS (Real Simple Syndication) or XML
(Extensible Markup Language) feeds.
Main blogging software services for citizen bloggers
include Blogger (Google), Typepad, and WordPress.
Blogs from companies often live on their own sites. Sites
that track subjects and content on blogs include
Technorati, Blogpulse, and Bloglines.
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20. Microblogging
Short text messages (140 characters or less) that go out to
those subscribed to your microblog so they can see what
you’re doing, what you’re thinking, or links to text,
video, or audio.
Twitter has won the war. There are also review sites like
Blippr.
To see what people are “tweeting” about around the
world, visit Twittervision, or just track people you’re
following via desktop apps like Tweetdeck, Nambu,
Seesmic, Hootsuite, etc.
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21. Tags
Tags are metadata or words that citizens assign to web
pages, text, images, audio, or video on the web so that
others can find things that are relevant and useful to
them. The better they get tagged, the higher they return
in searches. As these accumulate, you have a tag cloud.
With Twitter, citizens can assign a hashtag to their tweet,
so the Eliot School might be a hashtag of #eliotschool so
others could search on it and see what others are also
writing about it.
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22. Location-based tools
Building upon the Twitter ecosystem, location-based
tools like Foursquare, Gowalla, and SCVNGR let users
check-in when they are out at events, restaurants, stores,
parks, etc. and serve as discovery services.
The idea is for friends to let each other know what they
are doing, where they are, but brands are also using it as
a way to connect users and fans or incorporate into their
web site or broadcast programming, such as Bravo or
Zagat to “unlock” unique experiences.
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23. Podcasting
Downloadable (and often streamable) audio and video
files that users can subscribe to an RSS/XML feed and
update automatically in your podcast player.
Files can be played on a computer or transferred to an
mp3 player (such as an iPod) for playback.
Main portals for subscribing to shows are iTunes, NPR,
Podcast Alley, Podcast Pickle, Mediafly, Podshow, PBS,
APM, and PRI.
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24. mp3 Blogs
Given the “everyone is a critic” nature of the Web, mp3
blogs (or music blogs or audio blogs) are a way for
music fans to help spread the word about artists they
like in short, mp3, downloadable form, usually featuring
one song.
Some of these sites include Music (for Robots), Fluxblog,
and Stereogum. Sites such as Hype Machine and
Elbo.ws also aggregate disparate mp3 blogs.

25. Social Networking
Social networking sites enable individuals or companies
to create profiles, make friends or contacts, and share
their passions, likes, dislikes, career history, etc.
Sites with most members or traffic include Facebook,
Linkedin, Myspace, Orkut, Gather, Plaxo, 43 Things, and
Eons. Niche interest sites such as Dilettante are popping
up every month.
Services where you can create your own social networks
(either open or closed) include Ning, KickApps, Your
Membership, and OneSite. Brands are also creating their
own online networks, such as No Depression magazine.
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26. Social Networking
In addition to individuals belonging to social
networking sites, organizations can create Pages on
Facebook where users can become a “fan.”
Organizations or brands can also have Groups, though
these are being phased out by Facebook to some degree.
Given that more than 620 millions people are now on
Facebook, it is hard to ignore it as a marketing vehicle,
but you can test how much of your audience is already
using it and how much you can convert them into more
regular customers using Pages, Events, or Groups.
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27. Event Listings and
Socializing Sites
A number of sites are taking people’s online connections
and bringing them back to real world with sharing news
about activities, plans, ticket sales, and shared interests
to connect with existing friends and/or make new ones.
Sites include Upcoming, Going, Meetup, BeeThere,
Tourfilter, Planypus, etc. You can also post event
information on Facebook, Last.fm, Myspace, etc.

28. Social Bookmarking
Web sites/services where users can publicly bookmark
their favorite sites and add tags (or keywords) to the
sites so that others can discover new Web sites that
might be of interest to them.
Dozens of sites exist in this space, but the main players
are Del.icio.us, Digg, Furl, Google, Newsvine, Reddit,
Stumbleupon, Technorati, and Yahoo. Some of these sites
also perform hybrid services, such as Technorati and
Stumbleupon.
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29. Social News
Web sites/services where users can vote or “digg” a
story to show their interest in a story as well as comment
on the link to the piece, which usually resides on a third-
party site, often a news site. The rank of stories will rise
and fall throughout the day.
Top sites include Digg, Fark, Reddit, Stumbleupon, and
Slashdot.
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30. An example of
a tag cloud

31. User/Consumer/Citizen
Generated Content
Content created by citizens and posted on the web,
ranging from text reviews to audio, video, and multi-
media. These include blogs, podcasts, digital arts,
writing (news, gossip, political analysis, diaries, fiction)
etc. Most sites do not approve this content, though this is
or can be an added function.
Examples of sites that rely on citizen generated content
for their success include Flickr, Wikipedia, Tripadvisor,
Epinions, ebay, YouTube, DailyMotion, Plum, Lulu,
eHow, etc.
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32. Photosharing
Photosharing sites allow users to create accounts, post
photos, tag them (and allow others to tag them), and
organize and create albums to share with anyone or just
a select list of users.
Leadings sites include Flickr, Fotolog, Photobucket,
Picasa, Slide, Fotki, Snapfish, etc.

33. Video Sharing
Web sites where commercial + non-commercial
broadcasters along with citizens post short video
(usually in a Flash-encoded format) that can be shared
with friends, commented on, tagged, and searched for
based on specific topics of interest.
Top and developing sites include: YouTube, Google
Video, Yahoo! Video, Myspace, Howcast, Vimeo,
Viddler, Bing Video, Veoh, Our Media, Miro, Crackle,
Metacafe, Daily Motion, and One World.
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34. Video Search Engines
Given the growing volume of video on the net, the need
for search engines that can specifically search and
categorize the metadata associated with these files has
evolved to help users find more relevant content. Video
posted on the net must be properly tagged in order to be
crawled by these search engines.
Top and developing sites include: AOL Video, Google,
Live Search, Blinkx, Yahoo!, Truveo, Fooooo , Peekvid,
Digitalsmiths, and Clipblast.

35. Webcasting
In addition to broadcast television stations bringing video to
the Web and experimenting with business models, other
companies are creating online spaces where brands can
currate their own channels and also attract new fans through
cross pollination of interests and tagged content.
Joost, Brightcove, Next New Network, and Open Media
Network.
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36. Music + Video
Discovery
Audio and video sites that let users stream content (not
download it) and preview or discover it in a free setting.
Most services also offer premium or paid level without
commercial messages or a higher level of access.
Music discovery sites include Last.fm, Pandora, Fine
Tune, iLike, and Soundpedia.
Increasingly these overlap into the social networking
space as well.
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37. Mashups
Content where citizens take two or more different media
(audio, video, data, maps, ideas) and combine them to
create something new.
Examples include a myriad of Google Map variations,
famous audio examples like The Grey Album (mixing
The Beatles White Album with Jay Z’s Black album).
Visit Wikipedia for latest examples.
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38. Wikis
Collaborative Web sites where contributors from around
the world can edit and work with each other on projects
and utilize the “wisdom of crowds.”
Made most famous by Wikipedia and services such as
PB Wiki, Basecamp, JotSpot, and many others exist for
individuals or companies to set up their own
collaborative spaces online for either open or closed
contributions.
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39. Virtual Lives
Web-based universes or multi-player games where
humans (through their digital incarnation or avatars)
interact with each other, play games, spend real money,
buy virtual property/products, build businesses,
consume media, travel, make new friends, etc.
Some major sites include Second Life, Entropia
Universe, There, A Tale in the Desert, Everquest, World
of Warcraft, Webkinz, and Club Penquin.
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40. Keeping on top of it
There are a handful of sites that can help you stay on top
of news and developments in the social media world,
including Mashable, Allfacebook, HubSpot, and Social
Media Jungle.
For the arts, there are several well-followed people
worth following, including Beth Kanter and John
Haydon (for the non-profit world) and Katie Paine (for
return on investment from public relations and social
media).
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41. Not quite social
media, but...
Consumer e-mail, which can be sent out daily, weekly, or
monthly to keep your customers informed (MailChimp,
Constant Contact, Blue Sky Factory, Convio, Vertical
Response, etc.)
Online consumer surveys so you can find out more
about your customers, ask them about what they seek
from you, engage them more deeply. (SurveyGizmo,
Constant Contact, Survey Monkey, Vertical Response,
etc.)
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42. Mobile/Handheld
With the rise of cell and smart phones, citizens can also
interact with each other via text messages and mobile
apps.
Apps allow users to interface with a brand’s web site
and a subset of its content to access via an iPhone.
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43. SMS Text Messages
SMS (Short Message Service) or “text” messages are a
protocol to send and deliver messages to mobile phones
and devices. Consumers can also subscribe to such
delivery systems, asking for updates, educational
snippets, or reminders.
Services for acquiring and delivering SMS messages
include g8wave, Mobilestorm, Clickatell, Message
Media, EZ Texting, etc.

44. Tracking mentions
on the web
Google Alerts provides a free service to monitor the
Internet and send you an email update whenever that
word or phrase appears.
While helpful, Google Alerts tend to miss a significant
number of mentions and should be used as a secondary
tool for monitoring all web mentions. Services like
Radian6 or Collective Intellect do a better job.
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45. Analytics
Analytics programs help tell you where your Web site
traffic is coming from, how much time they are spending
on your site, what pages or links they are traveling to,
and if they are converting to paid customers.
Google’s Analytics is free to implement and use; other
paid services with more in-depth features exist with
WebTrends, Omniture, NetIQ, HubSpot, and Compete.
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46. Search Engine
Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization relies on assigning that the
correct keywords are found by search engines that crawl
the site and help your site’s ranking by search engines
(Google or Bing (also now managing Yahoo! search
results) via their organic or natural search results.
These results help consumers find the information they
are seeking, resulting in qualified in-bound traffic and
sales, which is becoming a cornerstone of success.
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47. Pay Per Click (PPC)
Pay Per Click is for advertisers who purchase keywords
through Google Adwords or Bing for paid search results
or sponsored results.
These can range from pennies for words that are not
popular to many dollars for those words that are
popular. These clicks from consumers are then trackable
and help tell you which PPC campaigns are most
successful.
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48. Facebook Advertising
Facebook and other sites offer low-cost advertising that
can be targeted to users by city, state, gender, education
level, age, marital status, and interest areas.
Facebook’s ads start at a minimum of $5/day, but you
don’t have to commit to a long-run of ads.
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49. Display Advertising
Online advertising has come into its own in the last five
years as analytics have enabled advertisers to know
where, who, and when consumers are clicking through
on their ads, greatly increasing their value in the paid
media world.
Hundreds of agencies now exist to help advertisers
place ads on sites, including Boston companies such as
Burst or MRW and national companies Google,
DoubleClick, and Clickable.
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50. Ad Spending
Researcher The Kelsey Group has projected that online advertising
will hit $147 billion by 2012. That is worldwide advertising and it is
part of their report, The Kelsey Group Annual Forecast
(2007-2012): Outlook for Directional and Interactive Advertising. As
it stands the group measures the market at $45 billion for last year
(2007). That is a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 23.4
percent.
Interactive advertising, which comprises search (including local
search), display advertising, classifieds and other interactive ad
products, grew its share of global advertising revenues from 6.1
percent in 2006 to 7.4 percent in 2007. By 2012 Kelsey Group
analysts expect the interactive share of global ad spending will
reach 21 percent.
Just focusing on the US, the group predicts that for the years 2007
to 2012, in the United States interactive advertising revenues will
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51. Some results from
social media
Greater Web site traffic
Increased customer acquisition and retention
Deeper brand engagement
Increased sales/revenue
Increased posts in the blogosphere
Collect email addresses/RSS subscriptions
Get people talking/buzzing about your product or service
Increased content contributions from citizens
Create new ways to touch customers
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52. And speaking
of viral marketing...
If you know anyone who might need some help with social
media and web marketing strategy and execution, please ask
them to contact me at:
charlie@wellroundedradio.net
617.233.6613
Thank you!
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53. I welcome your
recommendations!
• As I continue to grow my business, I would love a
recommendation from you on LinkedIn:
• http://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesmcenerney
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