Social Media & the Enterprise, Part 3Other Social Media

Blogs, YouTube & Social Media Beyond Facebook & Twitter

Presented by Sean Gallagher sean@seanmgallagher.com

The ‘Other’ Social Media

• Blogs• Video sharing• Photo sharing• Private social networks and boards

Blogs

• Provide a soapbox for gaining mindshare, positioning execs as thought leaders in their markets

• Especially effective in reaching technical audiences, channel community

• Can offer an easy way to boost search engine rank of “official” Website content

• Can drive media coverage of company• Discussion platform, way to capture

information on potential partners and customers

Hosted Blogging Platforms

• Wordpress.com• Tumblr• Blogger• TypePad

Blogging Platforms• Wordpress

• PHP powered, extensible, auto-updating• Support available

• Moveable Type• CGI based, both cloud (hosted) and self-hosted options• SixApart offers support plans

• Open-source and commercial CMS tools• Varying levels of blog feature support, ease of use• Some plug-ins for commercial Website CMS

Blogging Musts

• Consistent posts• Links to other blogs, primary sources• RSS feed• Tagging and categories• Integration with other social media

(Twitter, Facebook)• Comments (with moderation, user

identification)

Is It a Blog or a ‘Blog’?

• Blogs should have an identifiable author or set of authors to establish thought leadership, make more accessible to audience

• Blogs should have a sense of immediacy, even if they’re edited and vetted

• Comments should be engaged, responses on other blogs linked and acknowledged

• Good blogs link to others – and perhaps ride on their coattails

Blogs & Customer Engagement: Thing Magic

• Combined blog and Twitter campaign to build “thought leadership” position in modular RFID

• Launched blog with email blast to customers, followed up with Twitter links to blog

• Registered “subscribers” with email

ThingMagic Blog Results

• Overall Web visits up 37%• 20% increase in blog email subscriptions• Increased visibility to media, made it easier

to pitch stories• Search and Twitter exposure of blog

reached new audiences outside typical customer base a

Other ‘Thought Leadership’ Wins in Blogging

• Rackspace• Hired “A-list” blogger Robert Scoble to blog,

raised profile

• Sun Microsystems• CEO and technical execs blogged regularly,

engaged (and sometimes bypassed) media

Video Sharing Sites

• YouTube, Vimeo, Flickr offer educational, promotional, marketing opportunities – and chance to go viral

• “Private” social media sites allow internal collaboration or communication within a specific constituency – without noise

• All provide comment streams that can be a channel for communication with customers, clients, employees, and partners

Video Blogging & YouTube

• Can reach a wider audience

• Video can be more directly engaging than other content

• Can create a sense of an organization's personality, boost positives

Examples of Successful YouTube Campaigns

• Old Spice• Combined YouTube and Twitter for “real time”

interaction with consumers• Blended traditional and social marketing for

multiplied effect

• Blendtec• “Will it Blend” raised profile of blender company• Combined YouTube channel and blog drive

traffic to ecommerce site

Keys to YouTube Success:• Lots of content (YouTube says, “Upload all your video”)

• Well crafted content• Product showcases and demos

• How-to and expert advice to build trust with your users

• Case studies and editorial support of other Web content

• Conferences / events coverage

• Thought leadership

• Combine with other social media, Web, and promotion to get noticed

• Brand your channel

• Track response, improve based on feedback

• Use all the capabilities of the tool – annotations, subtitles, other creative tools

Private Social Networks: Ning

• Private-labeled discussion, social networking, collaboration

• Invitation-only or registration driven

• Can use credentials from other sites to create account

• Gives direct channel to audience

Applications for Private Social Networks

• Colleges & universities: converting acceptances into enrollments, building community, matching up dorm roommates

• Healthcare: patient communities around specific conditions

• Adding social network to any customer community or Website

Social Media Feed Social Media

• Blogs, Youtube, and private social sites can feed into Twitter, Facebook – and vice versa

• Cross-pollination of social media widens community, increases opportunities for marketing and building customer relationships

• Communities require care – or they can become very unfriendly places