Social Networking: Going Viral to Get Your Message Out – Sept. 23, 2010

Social Networking

Revolution or Fad? Demographics Social Networking Sites & Applications

Revolution or Fad?

Demographics

77.3% of Americans*

60% use broadband at home (fast, always on) 55% connect wirelessly (Wi-Fi or Handheld) Multiple Devices

* Internet World Stats – www.internetworldstats.com

50 Million Users

38 years

13 years

4 years

3 years

200 million users in 1 year

Social Networking

FacebookYouTubeTwitterFlickrLinkedInBlogs (Technorati)

Social Networking focuses on building online communities of people who share common interests and/or activities.

Social Networking focuses on building online communities of people who share common interests and/or activities.

Facebook

500 million users

YouTube

Video-sharing website2nd largest search engine200,000 video uploaded per day

Twitter

A micro-blog – 140 characters or lessTweet = a post on Twitter27.3 million tweets per day

LinkedIn

Business oriented social networkMore than 75 million users

Flicker

Image hosting siteHost more than 5 billion images

Blogs

A blog is a website where regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events or news are made.

Inside 208Technorati

Helpful Applications

Seesmic Desktop – manage your social networks at the same time

TwitPic – share photos on Twitter in real-time

Mashable – online guide to social media

Metricso Facebook Insightso YouTube Insightso Social Mention

Social Media and Your Community

Making Social Media Work for You

My background Examples Social Media Tips Q & A

My Background:

Reporter – 18 years, Greenville, Howell, Flint (Alpena, Cass City)– City Hall, County Gov’t, Village, Twp,

Schools, Crime, Courts– Community Content Coordinator

Public relations manager: Flint CVB

Michigan Municipal League: Director of Communications, November 2009

Why Do Social Media?

Cheap

Easy to Use

Offers Two-Way

Communication, give

and take (good and bad)

Effective at spreading

news beyond its first audience to larger audience

Decline of traditional media is an opportunity for us/you

Example: Community Excellence Awards

Use Traditional AND Social Media

MML on flickr and Facebook

Use Your Websites

How to Start?

Step Two: Form a plan

- Just don’t do it because everyone else is

- Identify a problem, issue or concern you want to address and then use

social media to fix it.

Example: “Enjoy Birmingham, MI” FB page

Step One: Set up Google alerts with your name, city, etc.

Form a plan: Changing Perceptions

Example: Flint, Michigan FB, Changing Perceptions of Flint email, ‘This Ain’t Flint’ story

Flint Michigan Facebook Page

Your Social Media Options

There are many social media options – so many in fact it’s easy to get frustrated or feel overwhelmed.

Suggestions

Start simple:

Blog – what’s a blog?

Twitter page

Facebook page

Blogging – Auburn Hills

MySpace – Can Use It Like a Blog

Blogging – City of Flint’s blog

Blogging – Elected Officials Are Doing it Too

Blogging – MML’s Inside 208

Twitter – Mayor Dayne Walling

LinkedIn

Facebook – general guidelines

A strong community/individual Facebook page will…

Be accessible, allow fans to post photos, comments, links and content

Can be personal (friend page) or a fan/like page – the lines are blurred, but be careful

Post video, photos, link to other favorite pages, i.e. local businesses, foundations and nonprofit FB pages should be listed under your favorites

Encourage feedback, ask questions, open setting

Example: Social media/facebook good example: Flint Institute of Music: In celebration of hitting the 1,000 fan mark on our facebook page, the Flint Institute of Music will be giving away a voucher for two tickets to the FSO Classical Concert …

Facebook: Flint Mayor Dayne Walling

Facebook: Hamtramck Mayor Karen Majewski

Detroit Councilman Ken Cockrel Jr. FB Page

Facebook: Holland Mayor Dykstra

Facebook: They’re creating a page for you

Paw Paw, Three Rivers – group pages

New to Facebook, new trend:

Check-In Sites: Geocaching is a term you should know. There are a few different definitions, but basically it incorporates GPS tracking, treasure hunting and social media. There are several up and coming sites doing it.

• It’s becoming such the rage that Facebook has got into the game with its new “places” feature. The most known sites so far are probably foursquare and Gowalla.

• It’s something businesses are starting to use to promote themselves and communities can easily start using it as well, i.e. come to the Apple Fest this weekend, show us the app and get a free apple.

Facebook page reviews

If time allows and if you’re interested I’ll run through quickly some of your community Facebook pages and give general comments.

Coldwater: Has an official-looking FB page

Facebook: Grand Haven – 25,000 fans WOW!

I Love Dexter, Michigan FB Page

Jackson Michigan FB Page

Midland FB page - excellent

Milford Facebook page – very good!

Social media leader: Zeeland

Social Media Tips: Summary

Set up Google alerts, have your name and your community’s name set up, know what’s being said about you and your community. Defend yourself when you can; or have others defend you, i.e. online comments “Council person X is a …”

Form a plan

Work with other municipalities and tackle issues as a group, i.e. joint press releases (Buick Open), community FB pages

Use social media to your advantage, i.e. Facebook and “This Ain’t Flint” campaign; “Changing Perceptions of Flint” and “Legislative Link and LOOP” email reports.

Get training: Recognize your weaknesses and get help, whether it’s how to do a video for YouTube or redoing your website to make it more interactive.

Get help: Don’t necessarily do it alone, get volunteers or supporters to help out.

Questions & Answers??

Q&A