2. A COMMUNICATIONS OPPORTUNITY
Communication has been democratized
The Lifestream Age
Consumer generated content
Age of the digital camera
Wifi & broadband
Facebook – Doubled since 9/08
Twitter – Doubled since 3/09
3. WHY USE SOCIAL MEDIA?
More messages in more places
Attract rather than detract
Build communities not databases
Communicate “with” instead of “at”
Economy of a million niche markets
4. WHY USE SOCIAL MEDIA
Google loves social media
24/7 access
Connect directly with decision makers
Build frequency more efficiently and
dynamically
5. BUT HOW CAN I USE IT?
Be interesting
Build awareness
Generate relationships
Show passion
Demonstrate honesty
Create discussions
Listen, listen, listen
6. MAIN CONTENT TYPES
Social networking (Facebook)
Blogs (Wordpress)
Microblogs (Twitter)
Reference tools (Wikipedia)
Peer to Peer Sharing (YouTube)
Research (Google Alerts)
Peer to Peer Reviews (Yelp)
7. WHAT DO YOU USE IT FOR?
Recruiting
Branding
Call to action
Market research
Entertainment
Networking
8. PEOPLE
Who is your audience?
What do they like and dislike?
What motivates them?
What do they talk about? Obsess over?
What are their demographics?
9. OBJECTIVE
Who are the stake holders?
What is the end goal?
What will your audience do if you’re
successful?
Will your organization be more valuable
for having started the campaign?
HAVE A PLAN
10. STRATEGY
Which analytics and data will show you
reached your objective?
What resources (time, labor, financial) are
available?
Who will have ownership?
What are competitors doing?
11. TECHNOLOGY
Which technologies are important?
Video, picture, audio sharing
Per-to-peer networks vs. Blogging
When and how will content be generated?
Who is the caretaker and observer?
12. ROI
Not everything that
can be counted
counts, and not
everything that
counts can be
counted.
- Albert Einstein
14. TIPS
Have a personality, a perspective and
passion
Define your audience
Listen more than you talk
Have a plan and keep the end in mind
Make a schedule and budget time
15. TIPS
Engage in conversations by being helpful
and by giving more than you take
Consumers will share their opinions
whether or not you want to hear them
Concentrate on building word of mouth
by delivering interesting and relevant
content
Build trust and add value first. “Bring
wine to the picnic”
16. WHO IS USING SOCIAL MEDIA?AllstateBlog
forums.allstate.com
20. WHO IS USING SOCIAL MEDIA?StateFarmAgents
linkedin.com
21. WHAT ARE THEY DOING?
Toe dipping
Educational content
Video, links
Staying top of mind
Branding as the experts
Developing relationships
Retweeting, replying, interacting
22. BEST TACTICS
Focus on relationship building between
people
Twitter search conversations
Interject value into conversation
Use social media tools to be a catalyst for
real, in person interaction
23. BEST TACTICS
Create an internal platform facilitate sharing
of information and creativity
Comment, reply, retweet, forward information
that adds real value to people
Don’t be that guy, trolling, you can get
“blackballed”
24. MEASURING EFFECTIVENESS
Number of new relationships
Traffic to website
Increased revenue
Decreased expenses
Conversion rates
25. TIPS
Focus on consultative selling
Be educational!!!
Watch what you say!!! You can get
blackballed
Walk before running!!!
Prove communicate enhance repeat
26. NEXT ACTIONS
Develop content and distribute
Teach three agents to be experts
Evaluate, find successes, repeat
27. NEED HELP
KSWZ Insurance Services
Five Rings Financial
Katherine Wichmann Zacharias
I can refer you to social media experts if
needed
619.208.7717
thewic@sbcglobal.net
