Social Media as a Business Tool. Presented at a Social Media seminar in Birmingham on 4th February 2009

1. Social Media as a Business Tool
Dave Harte
Economic Development Manager, Digital Birmingham
dave@daveharte.com
07500 288980
@daveharte

2. Social Media as a Business Tool
Rocketrobin2 and my others gurus
An exploratory approach
Why this stuff matters to Birmingham

3. @rocketrobin2
- the internet is not a brochure

4. @rocketrobin2
a domestic cleaning, social media guru
“I have started to use twitter by interacting
with people more in a standard chatroom
type of way but dropping in the odd
commercial break, as I call them, here and
there.”
Connecting to franchisees. Positioning himself as
knowledgeable and personable. Selling.

5. Wiggly Wigglers
- covering all bases
Facebook
Podcasts
Blog
Building their own customer
lists. Instilling loyalty. Selling
worms. “The sale is on.”

6. An exploratory approach
- you are not alone
BT Tradespace –
300,000 businesses
All-in-one offer –
blog, photos, video, shop

7. Why this matters to Birmingham
- a leading digital city by 2010

8. Why this matters to Birmingham
- a leading social city by 2010
Business to business:
“So how’s the running going Dave?”
Business to customer:
“it's my theory that a plumber (or other
tradesman) could clean up in brum if they
started blogging & tweeting (as long as they
were nice)”

9. Why this matters to Birmingham
- a leading social city by 2010
Social Media allows you to re-position
yourself as:
Knowledge source
Contact rich
Sensitive to customer needs
Collaborative