Sherrilynne Starkie, MCIPR, ABCS17 February 2010

Introduction to Social Media

Sherrilynne Starkie

Sherrilynne is a communicator, blogger, columnist and occasional podcaster, and is the Isle of Man's leading

advocate and influencer in social media communications for organisations and businesses.

She is a public relations graduate and has held senior roles in a variety of environments including in-house, agency and consulting. She is an IABC and CIB-award winning writer. Her clients have featured in hundreds of media including the BBC, CNN, The Financial Times,

the Wall Street Journal and more.

Agenda

What's this about? Why is it important? What does it involve?

The 10 Stages of Social Integration

What is social media?

Officially social media is an ‘umbrella term that defines the various activities that integrate technology, social interaction, and the construction of words, pictures, videos and audio.’

http://wikipedia.org

(It’s also a fancy way to describe the zillions of

conversations people are having online 24/7 )

But why should you care?

• A third of adults post at least once a week to social sites such as Facebook and Twitter.

Forrester Research, January 2010

• 70% of adults read blogs, tweets and watch UGC video.

Forrester Research, January 2010

• Webinars and podcasts are top social media resources used by 69% people in business

Business.com, Nov 2009

Social Networks

Multi-media Sharing

Social Bookmarking

Microblogging

Blogging

• Blogging is democratising information• ‘Technology is shifting the power away

from editors, the publishers, the establishment, the media elite. Now it’s the people who are in control.’

-Rupert MurdochGlobal Media Entrepreneur

The Value of Blogging

• Search Search Search!

• Encourages feedback from users

• Positions your company & team as authorities

• It enhances your core brand identity

• Increases your reach

• Gives your organisation a human face

• Positions you next to industry thought leaders

How social nets fit

• Total blog reader engagement has grown 30% year over year since 2007

• Engagement on social networks has grown from 1% to over 29% of total engagement (sharing content)

• Trackbacks and bookmarking have taken a nosedive

• Blogposts now live longer

Social Engagement Strategy Case Study

• Gain top search engine ranking• Engage with online communities incl: media• Underline industry leadership• Increase reach beyond established

relationships

Method & Tactics

• Create blogging platforms• Engage in social nets (LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube)

• Create rich content (txt, audio/video, more)• Publish first & frequently• Strategic tagging

Early Successes

• Week 4: Google No. 2 for 3 key search terms• We are behind 8/10 P1 Google hits• Posts from our blog have been run on 6 sites• 395 visits, 1477 page views, 39% bounce rate

No overnight change• 10 Steps to social integration

– 1. Listen

– 2. Create a social presence

– 3. Initiate conversation and track response

– 4. Evaluate and refocus

– 5. Engage

– 6. Let go: empower all people

– 7. Build communities

– 8. Internalise, adapt & transform

– 9. Socialise it all

– 10. Measure everything

Cutting edge

• 2010 is the year social media goes mainstream• We are ahead of the curve• A true 'growth strategy'

Questions?