beyond liking: building social strategies for startups
DESCRIPTION
Startups know social media is important, but a social media strategy is often overlooked. Max Thomas shares his thoughts on using social media to grow business in this presentation he gave to Columbia Startup Lab on October 8, 2014.TRANSCRIPT
BEYOND LIKING Building Social Media Strategies That Drive Business Columbia Startup Lab l Max Thomas l 10.8.14
DOWNLOAD this presenta7on:
bit.ly/CSLsocial
IAN LURIE @PORTENTINT
JONATHON COLMAN @JCOLMAN
MONIQUE POUGET @MONIQUETHEGEEK
INSPIRED by…
HELLO! Official business
CEO and Founder
@thundermax linkd.in/maxthomas
thunderac7ve.com/blog
CC’91
@ThunderMax
WHY am I here?
1. I like smart, cool people 2. I love Columbia and have met lots of cool people via
Columbia 3. I love new ventures & technology -‐ this seems like the place
to be 4. I’m happy that Columbia has (finally) launched the Startup
Lab and I’d like to be a part of it 5. I want to hang with today and tomorrow’s leaders, creators,
inventors, entrepreneurs, and backers 6. I love being excited 7. I like providing value
WHO am I?
• Graduated CC 91; Yale SOM 97 • Grew up in Louisiana, moved to NYC to a`end Columbia,
stayed for 20 years, moved to San Diego 7 years ago • Married my partner of 22 years in 2008 in CA • I love live theatre and performance, especially ‘modern’ • I love fashion and style • Three fave foods: 1) green tea, 2) le`uce & 3) dark chocolate • I am NOT mainstream • I love being INSPIRED • Last book (re)read: The Warburgs by Chernow;
Currently re-‐reading: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
WHAT am I?
• Founder & CEO ThunderAc7ve – San Diego’s Fastest-‐Growing Private Companies (2013, 2014) – San Diego’s Best Places to Work (2014)
• 20+ years experience marke7ng experience working with brands and companies
• Speaker at Search Marke7ng Expo in NYC, London & San Jose; LMA Tech Conference San Francisco, DrupalCon San Diego, WordCamp San Diego, na7onal conferences
• Previously co-‐founded dotcom developing interna7onal eCommerce solu7ons
WHY ARE YOU HERE?
WHO ARE YOU?
WHAT ARE YOU?
Now we’re being transparent.
Transparency is how we can make connecRons with other people.
PEOPLE CAN BE TRANSPARENT.
BUSINESSES CAN BE TRANSPARENT TOO.
SOCIAL MEDIA IS ABOUT ENGAGEMENT.
What do we (consumers) engage with? We engage with content. We engage with messaging.
WHY DO WE ENGAGE?
Because we care.
What is a brand?
A brand is an emo7onal connec7on. The savviest marketers understand that successful products appeal to the heart, not the mind.
– Steve McKee
So, how to build that emo7onal connec7on?
BE TRANSPARENT ABOUT:
WHY -‐ you are doing business WHO -‐ your company’s core values WHAT -‐ your company/product does
Without clarity around the WHY // WHO // WHAT messaging and content can get confused, even junked up.
Without clarity, you risk losing the good stuff.
WHY // WHO // WHAT ma`er
HOW = STRATEGY
WHY // WHO // WHAT
THIS IS NOT STRATEGY. What’s missing? > what’s the goal > what’s the process > what are we tracking > what are we doing?!
LET’S BUILD A SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY.
PROPERTIES OF A GOOD MARKETING STRATEGY:
1. A strategy isn’t a goal. A strategy helps achieve a clearly defined goal. It’s not the goal itself.
2. A strategy helps determine repeatable tac7cs. 3. A strategy links factors to goals using metrics. 4. A digital marke7ng strategy affects the
business core. 5. A marke7ng strategy withstands change. 6. A strategy transcends channels.
WHAT TO INCLUDE IN YOUR SOCIAL STRATEGY:
1. Embodiment of your company / product’s values, mission and/or vision
2. Defini7on of social media goals 3. Delinea7on of simple, repeatable tac7cs 4. Clear tracking between tac7cs and goals
IT SHOULD:
● Succeed regardless of social media channel ● Inspire and guide any person within company
VALUES MISSION VISION What do you stand for?
TARGET AUDIENCE ● Define your target customer
● Be as specific as possible ● Where do they hang out online?
LISTEN Social tools
LISTEN Old fashioned snooping
LISTEN Old fashioned snooping
LISTEN Old fashioned snooping
h`p://www.pinterest.com/source/momotarojeans.net/
INSERT COMPETITOR
WEBSITE HERE!
LISTEN Old fashioned snooping
INSERT COMPETITOR OR PRODUCT
HERE!
LISTEN Old fashioned snooping
INSERT PROSPECT OR COMPETITOR
HERE!
LISTEN Old fashioned snooping
INSERT COMPETITOR
WEBSITE HERE!
LISTEN Take a stab where your prospects hang
AUDIENCE CHANNEL AUDIENCE B2C Facebook B2C Pinterest B2C Instagram B2C Twitter B2B B2C Linkedin B2B B2C Yelp B2B B2C Blogs B2B B2C Search B2B
Persona Blog Post: h`p://moz.com/blog/personas-‐understanding-‐the-‐person-‐behind-‐the-‐visit
MINE DATA Develop personas
SOCIAL GOALS Chances are they are something like:
• Lead genera7on • Reputa7on • Branding
GET SPECIFIC.
TACTICS How do we achieve our goals?
GOAL: Humanize our brand with daily social media conversaRons. TacRcs: ● Share frequent behind-‐the-‐scenes photos of our warehouse / office
● Crowdsource new feature / product ideas ● Respond to everyone (within reason)
GOAL: An online conversion like an online product sale or info request. TacRcs: ● Drive visitors to website with relevant content and messaging
● Engage prospects via social channels ● Sweepstakes or promo7ons to a`ract new prospects
METRICS How do we measure results?
Please make this chart pretty Phoebe!!! <3 Monique
MEASURE A framework
MEASURE Tracking
MEASURE Tracking
MEASURE Tracking
Q & A
MAX THOMAS Founder & CEO
@thundermax
@ThunderMax linkd.in/maxthomas
thunderac7ve.com/blog
DOWNLOAD this presenta7on:
bit.ly/CSLsocial