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Presentation on online communities from Social Media Breakfast Bangor #3 (4 August 2011).
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Who to reach, what to say and how to say it
Social Media Breakfast Bangor4 August 2011
#SMBBGR
Wearer of many hats
Copywriter Social media geek (Sporadic) blogger Journalist PR & marketing pro Communicator Storyteller
What I’m not: expert, guru, rock star, Jersey Shore fan
Disclaimer
There is NO one-size-fits-all method for building and growing
an active, engaged, thriving online community.
“Online community”?
In the beginning …Today…
A note about tools & platforms
You can’t be all things to all people, and you can’t possibly be everywhere.
Go where the food is.
Sample online community
The “big dogs”
“It depends”
(coming soon)
What’s gonna work? Teamwork.
Use your platforms to complement each other, and you’ll build deeper relationships with your audience.
An Online Community IS
A messaging channel Conversational Community-driven Interactive Customer service An opportunity to build one-to-one
relationships Free research
An Online Community IS NOT
Traditional marketing Advertising A billboard Formal Self-centered Sales-driven
Why an online community?
Build trust, which helps build brand recognition, loyalty and affinity
Obtain a deeper understanding of your audience’s needs and wants
Create one-to-one relationships with customers and prospects
It’s what people want and expect
What influences you most?
Who do we trust?
“The Participatory Web”
Browse Interact Personalize Talk about and connect with what and
who they’re browsing Share those interactions and
experiences with others
Your opportunity
Build relationships and trust with your target audience
They can be your best allies, sharing your information with others who trust them
Social media allows them to pass that along to hundreds more people
So how do you get there?
A big thank you
Begin at the beginning
Factors to consider
What do you hope to achieve with your social media efforts?
Think concrete, tangible and quantifiable.
How will you measure results against your goals?
Creative Dental Solutions
Build awareness around Creative Dental Solutions
Attract new patients/grow the practice Cultivate word-of-mouth
recommendations Promote the importance of dental
health Generate discussion and interaction
around dental health and other topics that interest the target audience
Find your maestro
Embarrassingly outdated image courtesy of Bit Social Media
Your manager
The party host An active and high-profile community
member Accountable to everyone
Company Community
The “voice” of your brand Sets the tone for the community Becomes your brand’s online persona
He or she should be
Friendly Smart Patient Creative Proactive Fun Articulate An excellent writer Knowledgeable about your brand
Listen to learn, learn to listen
What’s being said about:
Your company Your competition Your industry Other factors that impact your business
Who’s talking?
They may be interested in your company, product or industry (your target audience)
Helps define and refine your target audience
Your target audience may not be who you think they are
What are they saying?
What topics generate the most discussion?
This is what interests your audience Use this information to shape your
messaging strategy
Zeroing in on your audience
Google Alerts
Google.com/alerts
Twitter search
Advanced Twitter search
Advanced Twitter search results
Behind closed doors
Facebook people search results
A tough nut to crack
Facebook page search results
A necessary evil
Socialmention
Socialmention results
Technorati
Compiling results
A simple checklist or spreadsheet A more involved Word document where
individual conversations are catalogued Anything in between Whatever works for you
Influencers
Who are influencers? Recognizable Greater than average reach or impact
through word of mouth in a relevant marketplace
Their opinions matter to others Engaged in conversations with
hundreds or thousands of people
The ultimate influencer
Why influencers? When they talk, people listen They may talk about you More people will join your community
A cautionary tale
The lesson?
Diversify
Celebrities not required
Industry bloggers Trade publications Local personalities
Finding influencers
Where do you find information that’s relevant to your industry or niche?
These are some of your influencers
They’re talking to your influencers.
They’re talking about your influencers.
Content really is king
Your messaging toolbox
Key words Key messages Protocol
Engaging Responding Escalating
The Content Loop
Good content = return visits = word of mouth = new members = more content (community-generated)
Good content drives participation and growth
The right content Interesting and relevant to your
audience Addresses audience members’ interests Sparks discussion Establishes you as an expert in your
field Positions you as a valuable resource
Baby steps
Focus on a handful of topics that reflect your audience’s
shared interests.
Build on these topics later, using your audience as a guide.
What people want
Useful information on a topic they find interesting or attractive
Engagement in experiences to improve their personal or professional life
Examples: How to improve job performance or be a better parent
What they don’t want
Information on how to buy more of your product
Constant calls to action Communication that’s mostly brand-
specific
No shouting allowed!
Ask yourself:
What value am I bringing to my community?
Why would my community members care?
What kind of conversation could this generate?
Content sources
Google Alerts (set up during Listening) Blogs News outlets The web
Community members Influencers Become the best source of information
interesting, relevant and valuable your audience
Messaging
Getting it rightFinding the balance between
self-interest and providing value in your messaging
Short and sweet
Whatever you share, keep it bite-sized. It’ll be a quick read that can easily be passed on to others.
Seed online channels with content
Who really wants to go first? Why would anyone join a barren or
inactive community (which isn’t a community at all)?
We all want to be part of something bigger than ourselves
Trial and error
When to communicate Where to communicate How often to communicate What content resonates with your
audience
Up, up and away
Go time
“Officially” activate your channels (Twitter, Facebook, etc.)
Reach out to and interact with your target audience and influencers
Invite them to join your community
Remember:
A polite, effective invitation doesn’t include a sales pitch
Engage
Why it’s important
Promote your community and attract new members
Communities are driven by relationship building, not by the sales cycle
Communicate with people as friends or potential friends, not as prospects
People seek out those who share their interests
Allows your community to be a platform for open, honest conversation
Wallflowers need not apply
Ask open-ended, thought-provoking questions
Conduct polls Offer incentives
Contests * Coupons Reward good content and/or participation
Join in others’ conversations Provide thoughtful, expert answers to
questions Become a trusted friend
Engaging influencers
Re-tweet something they’ve said on Twitter (add an interesting comment)
Post on their Facebook wall or tag in one of your wall posts
Comment on their blog post, YouTube video, etc.
Mention them in a blog post Link to their website or blog
Be memorable!
Did I mention participating?
At least once a day Use multiple platforms Constant and consistent You don’t always have to start
conversation Let others be heard Always respond to questions,
comments, mentions, etc.
Why respond?
Communication is a two-way street People want to know they matter Immediacy is key: respond quickly to
complaints, endorsements or any kind of mentions.
A response, especially a fast response, will build or strengthen trust
Mapping out your responses
Rule of thumb
Work day: respond within 1 hour Overnight/weekends: respond within 12
hours Respond within 24 hours at most Do your best
When responding…
Be positive Be transparent Be honest Be timely Be helpful
Handling negative feedback
Balance between moderating (reactive) and managing (proactive)
Often the best course of action is no action
Know when (if ever) to delete a post ALWAYS save a screenshot before deleting
a post Never get defensive
Turn this
Into this
Monitoring = listening, continued
Monitoring tools
Use your listening tools and tactics as you continue to monitor and participate in the conversation
Use aggregation tools like TweetDeck, Seesmic, RSS feeds, SMS and email alerts for instant notification of updates to your community
TweetDeck
Easy to use Allows you to
monitor: Twitter Facebook LinkedIn Others
Updates regularly, automatically
Change happens
Tools, services and networks are constantly evolving, which means your community will evolve too
Expect and be prepared for change, especially community-driven change
If something isn’t working, don’t be afraid to ask the community what they’d like to see
If you remember nothing else …
Be respectful Be genuine Be helpful Don’t fear the funny Take risks (within reason) Be human
Finally, let’s be careful out there
Homework
Today Identify your manager Set up your listening/monitoring tools
(Google Alerts, Twitter searches, socialmention, etc.)
Homework
The next 7-14 days Gather and compile information Identify your audience and influencers Set up at least a Facebook page and/or
Twitter account Add content to your platforms Determine your messaging and content
strategy
Homework
Days 15-30 Launch Follow Invite members Engage Respond as much as possible Make the time!
Homework
30 days Evaluate your efforts Change what needs to be changed
To infinity … and beyond Participate Monitor Measure Evolve
