1. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 1 Small Business / Social Media Survival Strategyv 2 Marc Danziger Charmed Particles, Inc. www.charmedparticles.com marcd@charmedparticles.com

2. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 2 4 rules of the game This is a conversation – please ask questions or raise issues when you think of them. If we’re off-track too badly I may steer us back a bit… Because this is a conversation between the folks in the room, please turn off your phones. Ring tones and texting are conversation-killers. If something isn’t clear or seems wrong – speak up. How else am I going to learn? We’ll take a 15-min break for phones etc. about 10:15

4. Who are you? Who am I?

5. Why are you here?

6. What’s Social Media?

7. How Social Media is changing marketing (and other things)

8. (break)

9. Social Media for Small Business

10. Step-by-step

12. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 5 …How did this all start? A friend built a website for her business. The site generated no business. She asked me what to do.

13. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 6 A bunch of wrong answers. I went to my playbook – things that have worked for my corporate clients. …and everything I thought of was wrong…for her That got me researching and thinking, and that thinking led me to what I’m presenting today.

14. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 7 What’s in it for you? Well, there’s a wave coming…

15. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 8 …caused by the explosion of online tools that help people communicate…

16. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 9 …so business is changing… Customers don’t listen to advertising.(how do you get them?) Customers are talking back.(how do you keep them happy?) Customers have more choices.(how do you add value?)

17. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 10 …and you don’twant to get wiped out.

18. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 11 So here’s the deal. We’re going to talk (quickly) about how social media works. Then we’re going to talk about how small business can best use it.

19. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 12 You should take away: A basic understanding of social media that will help you make your own plans. Some concrete actions you can do tonight to improve your business marketing using social media.

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21. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 14 In the 21st century it’s personal. Business communication is becoming a conversation. Companies don’t have conversations, people do.

22. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 15 So - who are you? Name, business. Why are you here? (show of hands) Do you use Facebook? LinkedIn? Twitter? Have a blog? (show of hands) Do you read blogs?

23. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 16 …Who am I?

24. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 17 …Who am I?

25. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 18 …Who am I?

26. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 19 …Who am I?

27. …what have I done? © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 20

28. …Blogged since 2002 © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 21

29. …2 blogs today © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 22

30. …clients? © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 23

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35. …what have I done? © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 28

36. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 29 Concepts

37. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 30 What is social media? Traditional media: You pay, I talk, you listen Interactive media: You pay, I talk, and you and I talk about what I just talked about Social media: Everyone start talking to each other while I get coffee, and then I’ll come back and join the conversation

38. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 31 How does that work? Traditional media amplified a very few people’s ideas, knowledge, and words. If you weren’t broadcast, your words only mattered to a small group. Today, the average person’s ideas, knowledge and words are easily found alongside traditional media’s. What’s the impact of that?

39. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 32 The impact is immense People get to talk back No niche is too small Scale matters – differently And, most of all, people can find other people and things they are interested in Find old friends Find people with common interests Find ‘stuff’ and the people who sell it

40. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 33 Where can you see it? Google Blogs Facebook Twitter YouTube Yelp Digg Del.icio.us

41. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 34 Some history.

42. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 35 In the beginning were blogs By themselves, not very useful (see above) But…add Google to make them findable, and suddenly...you get an explosion. Tech blogs, war blogs, politics blogs, relationship blogs, sex blogs, car blogs, travel blogs, language blogs, pet blogs, travel blogs…everyone seems to want to talk about something.

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44. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 37 Blogs …grains of content - useless without search engines.

45. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 38 Then came aggregators This ‘sea’ of little grains of content needed structure So at first, we had newsreaders that let everyone structure their own content

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47. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 40 Then came aggregators What I’m interested in What new that I’m interested in

48. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 41 Then came sharing & ranking People wanted to know what other people were paying attention to (Delic.io.us) People wanted to know what was popular (Digg)

49. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 42 Digg collects what other people flag as interesting and ranks them based on votes…

50. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 43 Then came sites that contained blogs Full circle back to AOL/Geocities but with collaborative search & event-driven web. Facebook and LinkedIn were the winners in that space (so far) Facebook as a personal gathering place LinkedIn and a professional networking tool

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52. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 45 They merged with yellow pages. Online yellow pages are old news Add user-created content and ratings, and you have new generation of user-built directory Add mapping and location-based search, and you have a whole new way to market .

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54. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 47 Check-in … questions?

55. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 48 Why does it matter?

56. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 49 The impact of social media - June 2005: Blogger Jeff Jarvis (disclosure: friend of mine) buys a Dell computer, and has some problems. Dell customer service is - unhelpful. Dell stock is at 40.3; HP stock is at 22.68 Jeff starts blogging about ‘Dell Hell’

57. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 50 November 2005: Jeff’s blog post has been cited by Business Week, NY Times, PC World, the Guardian UK, Adweek, and other mainstream media. Dell’s reaction? It shuts down its message boards and issues press releases. The market’s reaction? Dell 29.24, HP 28.79 Eventually, Dell lost ~$36 Billion in market cap.

58. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 51 Here’s Jeff: “The age of caveat emptor is over. Now the time has come when it's the seller who must beware. Caveat venditor. A company can no longer get away with consistently offering shoddy products or service or ignoring customers' concerns and needs. For now the customers can talk back where they can be heard. Those customers can gang up and share what they know and give their complaints volume. Of course, they can use their reviews and complaints to have a big impact on a company's reputation and business.”

59. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 52 Why did Dell get in trouble? Because they didn’t know what their customers thought of them They talked ‘at’ their customers, they didn’t converse ‘with’ them. Blogs didn’t cause Dell’s problems. The problems were there and customers were mad – but unheard. No one at Dell – or outside Dell – listened to them. Once the media started talking about them – triggered in part by Jeff’s blog posts – then they had quite an impact.

60. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 53 What did Dell do? Dell got smart Reopened message boards Started a corporate blog, took its licks and converted a number of its critics to allies Decided to start listening to its customers, and with Salesforce.com, launched ‘Ideastorm’ a Digg-like rating tool that let customers suggest ideas and vote on the ideas suggested

61. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 54 Jarvis’ reaction? “Dell’s executives say their new problem is managing and spreading all this knowledge from customers. Its chief marketer said his new opportunity is to rely on customer-advocates to sell computers. And Michael Dell predicted a future of “co-creation of products and services” with customers. There it is: …Dell and its customers are collaborating on the creation of content, media and marketing - without content, media or marketing companies.”

63. Communicating with customers and potential customers

64. Engaging customers as marketers (viral)

65. Building trust w/customers and stakeholders by listeningAn example:

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68. SME’s, executive, paid staff

69. Puts a human face on the company

70. Allows direct connection to markets

71. Help customers communicate in

72. Like Starbucks

73. Support forums

75. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 59 More effective marketing. Those are important words…”more effective marketing” How is social media marketing different?

76. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 60 How do you read this picture? Romantic? Player?

79. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 63 The collapse of advertising. For years, we've all heard the doomsday predictions about the declining effectiveness of mass media advertising. What's changed is that this apocalyptic scenario has now made the fateful transition from ‘forecast’ to ‘fact.’ - John Hilbrich, in “Promo”

80. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 64 The rise of relationships. In a relationship-based situation, a critical factor is trust. This takes time to build, for particularly for the buyer to accept that the seller will always keep their best interests at heart. - David Straker, “Changing Minds”

81. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 65 Big business and relationships. Big business <> personal relationships with customers. The customer was to have a relationship with the abstract “brand.” Today, the brands are becoming re-personalized. Social media is their solution.

82. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 66 Big business v. small business Big business wants to reconnect to customers. Is that small business’ issue? The answer to that drives what direction small business should go.

83. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 67 Small business and social media Most people – and many consultants – teach small business a scaled-down version of what big business does. How’s that working? Citibank just surveyed 500 small business owners…

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85. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 69 Small business is different Famous (and very good) social media thinker Chris Brogan …Iisted “5 Things Small Business Owners Should Do Today Online: Start a blog Start listening Try Twitter OR Facebook Get the word out Try moving the needle (create events, do something out of the box)

86. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 70 That’s the conventional wisdom …a scaled-down version of what we recommend to big business. What’s wrong with it?

88. How long to write 3 – 5 meaningful tweets/day? Or to post multiple updates to FB? How many followers/fans are you likely to get?

89. How many people will know about events?What’s the ROE (Return on Effort?)

90. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 72 Small Business Is Different

91. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 73 Scaling. Major corporate sites get hundreds of thousands (or millions) of visits a day. Small business sites may get dozens of visits a day. A corporate blogger for Microsoft may get ten thousand visitors a day, and have thousands of followers on Twitter because of the power of the parent brand. Lots of conversations are inevitible. A small business blogger faces this problem…

92. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 74 Empty restaurants aren’t attractive….

93. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 75 Numbers Matter. You need critical mass to make conversations start. Think about parties you give. What’s it like when the first two people come in? What’s it like for the ninth and tenth?

94. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 76 Bandwidth. Major corporations can hire someone to interact with social media – to represent them on Facebook or tweet as a full time job. Small business can’t.

95. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 77 Not making pizza, not selling houses, not fixing locks… …not making money.

96. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 78 The easy stuff

97. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 79 To get customers, your business relies on two things: Identity Reputation

99. Can I trust?

100. Who says?You need to understand how both are changing… (and that’s what this is about)

101. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 81 Is This All There Is? No. Advertising, marketing, building awareness – all of those obviously matter. And there are social media hooks for doing each of these. But there’s a hierarchy: Get found Don’t get trashed Be liked Be known Do more with whatever time and money you have left after doing the first two.

102. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 82 You used to own your identity. (bought and paid for…) Ads… Website… Location…

103. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 83 Where is your identity today? Shifting from: Print Directories Print Ads Your Web Site To Online local directories (Google, Yahoo, Citysearch, Yelp…) Search engine records in Google / Yahoo You don’t own or control all of these. But you still have to actively manage all of them… (that’s the core takeaway of this presentation)

104. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 84 Why does this change matter?The web used to be the open plains. All that mattered was improving your homestead.

105. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 85 Now there are highways. Roads other people built will make or break the value of your property.

106. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 86 Today, identity is search. Most people try and manage their sites and their ads. But you are often found and presented in the context of systems other people own. Maybe – just maybe - you should be focused on managing your identity instead…

107. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 87 How do shoppers find you? Search Engines (31%) Print Yellow Pages or White Pages (30%) Internet Yellow Pages Sites (19%) Local Search Sites (11%) Over 30% of the customers who find you don’t find your website or your ads… Source: Oct 2008 study,TMP Directional Marketing

108. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 88 Do you need your own web site? Could you get found perfectly well on Google, Yahoo, Yelp, Citysearch…? Lots of reasons to have a site (just like the reasons to have an attractive storefront). But is it for everybody? Is it the be-all-end-all of your marketing? No. The strongest identity you can afford is the be-all-end-all of your marketing efforts.

109. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 89 Just having a site – like just having a suit – doesn’t always help your image.

110. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 90 Reputation matters more. It used to only matter f2f (that’s Face To Face) …which meant building or changing it was slow. …and because it was verbal, it did not persist. …and relatively few people knew about it.

111. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 91 Now, your reputation is online. And tied to your identity.

112. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 92 For better … “…Yes, indeed, Frank, my new favorite locksmith, was here yesterday afternoon, just when the movers left. He worked on all the locks and got me new keys and reprogrammed the garage door opener. And told me where the best Mexican food is to be found locally (future review) and chatted with me about local events & all kinds of stuff. So happy to be your new neighbor, Frank! You did a magnificent job on my locks & general safety issues for an extremely reasonable price & I highly recommend you to anyone and everyone!” - Hermosa Lock & Safe, reviewed on Yelp.com

113. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 93 …and worse. “Flam's is terrible! Five hundred dollars later, the door still doesn't lock and they won't come back to fix it without charging a minimum of another $160 and who knows how much more after that. (Who's ever heard of a lock that needs twice a year housecalls when the weather changes... does the weather even change in LA?) They have bad customer service too, although honestly I don't care how unprofessional they are- all I wanted was a lock that works more than a few months. Hire someone else! “ -Flam’s Key Service, reviewed on Yelp

114. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 94 Managing Your Reputation What’s your strategy for dealing with people who say nice things? Who say bad things? …what if no one says anything at all?

115. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 95 Start By Observing To find your reputation online, first check: Google Yahoo Yelp.com Citysearch.com Superpages.com Yellowpages.com

116. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 96 Reinforce the Positive Find the people who say positive things, and reach out to them. Offer an appreciative comment, send a personal email, send them a coupon for $5 off the next time they come. It’s not the economic value that matters; it’s the fact that you’re paying attention.

117. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 97 Embrace the Negative Find the people who say negative things, and reach out to them too. Why they are unhappy? If you can – make it right. If you can’t, explain what you learned and what you will do differently. Send a personal email, send them a coupon for $5 off the next time they come. Just like the positive comment - it’s not the economic value that matters; it’s the fact that you’re paying attention.

118. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 98 Embracing the Negative

119. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 99 Why is that so great? (other than because it’s funny)… EA was paying attention – it was listening to what it’s customers were saying. They didn’t make excuses, duck the issue, or stonewall. They took something embarrassing and cleverly made an ad out of it. This video on Youtube has had 3.9 million views, and it’s basically an ad for the brand and the flawed game.

120. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 100 Ask So They’ll Tell Approach all your customers and let them know that you want to know what they think; that you’re checking online. Encourage them to tell others what they think of you. Hand out a card that tells them how to do it and where. Just like the positive or negative comment - it’s the fact that you’re paying attention that matters.

121. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 101 So what’s the plan?

122. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 102 Danziger’s Hierarchy of Survival

123. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 103 First, Claim Your Identity The major directory sites – Google Yahoo Citysearch Yelp Yellowpages.com All allow you to ‘claim’ your business entry. You can add content, correct data, and describe your business. Do this now.

124. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 104 Claim Your Identity www.google.com/local/add

125. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 105 Claim Your Identity http://edit2.ls.sp2.yahoo.com/csubmit/

126. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 106 Claim Your Identity https://ssl.bing.com/listings/ListingCenter.aspx

127. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 107 Claim Your Identity Go to the business entry and click

128. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 108 Claim Your Identity On any listing page, go to the bottom…

129. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 109 Claim Your Identity On any listing page, find this link…

130. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 110 Next, some actions and tools Here are three concrete tasks that will help you manage your identity and reputation online. Every 6 months, make a plan. Every day, check the Web. As needed, engage.

131. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 111 Plan Review the performance of what you have today – how much traffic, how many conversions. Decide if you want your own website or if you will maintain identity with your entries on local search. Hone the description of your identity on local search sites; optimize your own site if you have one. Do this every three or six months!

132. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 112 Check Set up keyword “agents” on Google and Yahoo for your business name and your key competitors’ business names, as well as industry terms. Google search on news, blogs, discussion groups. Once in a while, check the results against another search engine (Ask, Yahoo). Search on local search sites. Do this every day – set aside fifteen minutes and just do it.

133. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 113 Be alert. http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en

134. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 114 Engage Write up some ‘thank you’ messages to people who say nice things. Come up with a checklist of questions for users who were unhappy – when, what went wrong, who did you talk to – and send a message and some questions to everyone who criticizes you. Ask customers for feedback – on your site or on rating sites you point out to them. Your ideas? Here are mine…

135. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 115 …if you want your customers to be married to you…

136. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 116 …you need to get engaged first.

137. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 117 What is engagement? When you know who your customers are, and they know who you are. …you know what your customers want and what they think of you. …you can turn your customers into partners in the success of your business. The Good News? Giant corporations are spending millions trying to learn how to do this You’re already better at it than they are.

138. © 2009 Charmed Particles, Inc. 118 Want to know more?? Marc Danziger www.charmedparticles.com marcd@charmedparticles.com