At the 2012 Global Channel Partners Summit (which was held at Graph Expo in Chicago), interlinkONE and Grow Socially CEO John Foley, Jr. delivered the presentation "How Social Media Works for the Channel".
He provided an overview of strategies, tactics, tools, and tips that can be used to achieve success with social media in the channel environment.
5. Intro: John Foley, Jr.
• Grow Socially, Inc.
I love
– Online Marketing/Social Media Mar(H)keting!
– Website Design & Hosting
– Email Marketing
– Booth 1072
• interlinkONE
– Enterprise Marketing
Management Software
– Plan, build, manage, execute
and measure all activities
– Booth 1071
6. Accolades
• Jetsetter Status on FourSquare
• Ranked #16 as a Top CMO on Twitter in 2012
• 2nd runner up for this year’s B2B Twitterer of
the Year Award for the B2B “Boss Tweet”
Personality Category
• One of the 50 most influential people in Sales
Lead Management by SLMA in 2012
7. The Books
Printers
- Business Transformation
Mailers, Fulfillment Providers
- Business Transformation
All Businesses
- Untethered
Marketing
10. Online Marketing Statistics
955 Million Users on Facebook
400 Million Tweets Sent Per Day
72+ Hours of Video Uploaded every minute
170 million users
12 million users… and it’s addictive!
80 million users… and sold for $1 billion!
NOTE: As of July 2012: http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-media-users_b22556
and http://searchengineland.com
11. But Wait!!!
• All of the statistics and charts in the world
do not really mean anything unless you
can turn them into business.
• Social media success starts
here ---> Understand Inbound Marketing.
12. Inbound Marketing
is a Game-Changer!
“Inbound marketing is
a strategy that focuses on
attracting prospective
customers by offering
useful information.”
Social media is a huge part
of inbound marketing!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inbound_marketing
16. Let’s Get the Big Question
Out of the Way:
• Can social media and inbound marketing
actually work for Channel Sales?
• The answer is YES – Here are three
reasons why that’s true…
17. Reason #1
• Social media works best when people
connect directly around topics they are
passionate about.
… Channel Relationships are often on focused
on specific areas. People are often passionately
looking for answers & solutions about those
items.
18. Reason #2
• Social Media communities thrive around
joint-learning versus overt sales pitches.
… Channel partners have insight. They also
have an independence that provides both
authority and authenticity.
19. Reason #3
• Social Media success is often connected
to positioning oneself as a thought-
leader.
…Channel partners know their niche and know
their clients! They can deliver the right
information at the right time.
20. Example:
• “VMware sees a huge opportunity with
social networks. Our partners know better
than anyone the substantial savings end-
users get from leveraging VMware’s
offerings, so the more they are out talking
about the success they’ve had and
answering people’s questions, the better
it is for everyone.”
Lisa Caratozzolo,
Partner Communications Manager, VMWare
21. How This Process Can Work
• Content is provided to
channel partners on an
ongoing basis (some
created by partner).
• Partners push content
to their social
networks, as if they
had written it
themselves.
Image Credit:
• Partners follow up on http://socialmediab2b.com/2012/02/b2b-social-media-channel-partners/
the discussions that
ensue.
23. Social Media Provides
Opportunities For:
• Community Building & Relationships
• Conversation
• Networking
• Marketing
• Customer Service
• Delivering Immediate Information
24. Steps to Social Media Success
• Create a Strategy (PLAN)
• EXECUTE
Remember
Execution
• Measure TRUMPS
Strategy
25. Plan! Strategy before Tactics!
Step 1: Describe the Business, Service, Solution
Step 2: Business, Service, Solution Goal
Step 3: Where Is the Audience Cyclically?
Step 4: How Does the Audience Use Social Media?
Step 5: The Key Words
Step 6: How Will You Humanize the Brand
Step 7: Content Resource and Distribution Strategy
Step 8: How Will You Measure Success?
26. Key Social Media Element: Content
• Use social media as more
than a place to post Press
Releases….
• Rather, serve up relevant
content that can help
your audience find
answers to their
questions!
27. Content Resource Library Visit Resources Daily
Content Content
A C
Content
B
Pull Content Make Links Measurable Push Content Out
Content Distribution Strategy
• Resources are monitored. Content is identified and
pulled, made trackable, and pushed out across
platforms.
28. The “Key” Words
Apple = Innovation Disney = Magic
iPOD, iPhone, iPad, Jobs, Steve Jobs, etc. Mickey Mouse, Animal Kingdom, Florida,
Roller Coasters, etc.
30. How to Measure Success?
• How many
– Downloads
– eNewsletter Sign-Ups
– Blog Comments
– Questions
– Shared Links
– Re-Tweets
– Followers
– Site Traffic
– Show me the money
31. Tools for Measuring Effectiveness
• Link Shorteners
– iLink.Me
• Website Traffic
– Google Analytics
• Insights
– LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube
• Listening Tools
– Viral Heat, Radian6, Google Alerts
32. Next: Specific
Business Building Tips
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Twitter
• YouTube
33. LinkedIn Overview
• A business-oriented social
networking site
• Provides opportunities to
position you as a thought-
leader
• Contains a number of
under-utilized features!
36. Facebook Overview
• The most popular social
network by far
• Continues to evolve into a
place where both personal
and professional success
can be found.
38. Twitter Overview
• Continues to grow as
a tremendous way to
share content and to
engage with others.
• Features such as
Search and Lists
provide learning
opportunities!
42. YouTube Overview
• Allows you to share
videos that highlight
you what you offer –
products, services, and
knowledge.
• It’s also the world’s #2
search engine!
43. YouTube: Tips for Success
• Discuss topics that you are an expert on…
and that your audience is looking for
answers on. Be consistent!
44. Four Fundamentals of all Networks
1. Find your Audience / Build your network
2. Engage with the network you have built
3. Be consistent
4. Track and analyze
45. Align Tactics with Goals
Tactic Goal Key Steps
Facebook Fan page Increase awareness of Post once a day; Custom
services, generate leads Tab for demo
registration
Twitter company page Become a thought Post multiple times
leader, provide support daily; share marketing-
related news; active
listening
YouTube Profile Humanize brand; create Film weekly video of
demand employee(s); create
screencasts of customer
successes
Pinterest Drive website traffic! Create boards to
highlight portfolio work
46. Be Committed
• Social Media often
requires daily
attention
• Prioritize: RELEVANT
Content creation,
listening, & engaging!
• Measure & Adjust
48. This Takes Planning: Calendar #1
Announce Mail -
Send out on website Monthly
flyers to
Newsletter
clients
Email
eNewsletter
(Announce)
Tell
Expo Event
colleagues
8AM-6PM
you’re
attending
Send thank Enter new
you cards contacts in
Excel
49. This Takes Planning: Calendar #2
Create Announce Announce on Mail -
Send out Post, Link on website & Monthly
flyers to back to Newsletter
clients website
Comment on Connect with Share event Email
event’s Keynote article on eNewsletter
page Speakers on (Announce)
Announce Tell
Share event Join in on Expo Event
booth # colleagues
article on event’s 8AM-6PM
with you’re
hashtag
video post attending
Send thank Enter new
Follow-Up Share Friend new
you cards contacts in
with speaking contacts on
Excel
Post & Post presentation
Pictures on
50. Wrap Up
• Start with a Plan & Strategy
• Find, Create, and Share
Content that is Relevant to
your Audience.
• Be Ready to Follow-up!
• Measure the Results!
51. Action Items: #1
• Social Media: Strategize,
Plan, and Align Tactics with
your Goals.
52. Action Items: #2
• Spend time finding your
audience across various
social networks --- and start
engaging.
53. Action Items: #3
• Devote time to creating
content, sharing, and
measuring its effectiveness.
Description we provided: John will provide strategies and tactics that attendees can implement to incorporate social media into their sales process. John will discuss finding and connecting with prospects online, providing relevant content, and generating leads & sales.
During this slide, you would talk about the beginning part of your book… where you have stories about how your wife, kids, Dad, etc. react to different medias.
It’s more than just having a Facebook page.It’s more than just being on Twitter.It’s more than just knowing how to watch videos of cute kittens on YouTube.Social Media can mean business for you!How people communicate, Target like-minded prospects, Communicate with customers
What’s Your One Thing?What’s the soul of your brand. What’s the one thing that defines you – and it’s not features and benefits. Volvo = Safety. Apple = Innovation. Disney = Magic. What’s on the other side of your = sign?Note: This is not easy to figure out. You may need to engage in some brand anthropology, and have an agency help you find your one thing.
Social media is about people, not logos. How will you let down your guard? If you’re a small company, congratulations, this should be pretty easy. If you’re a big company, how can you act small again?
Lots of ways to measure social media success, so make sure you determine your key metrics BEFORE you get started. I recommend picking three solid metrics to track. Appropriate metrics differ based on what your objective is for the program.
Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length which are displayed on the user's profile page and delivered to other users who have subscribed to them (known as followers).
Here is how Tiwtter is used to promote a white paper…..