Building Relationships through Social MediaBuilding Relationships through Social Media

Why is Social Media Part of the Why is Social Media Part of the Innovation Showcase?Innovation Showcase?

Potential for real value, with little investment

Social media is garnering a lot of buzz

Social media remains largely untapped by operators and affiliates

WhatWhat is Social Media?is Social Media?

A communication vehicle that promotes interaction and dialogue

A medium that transforms people from content consumers into content producers

A feedback loop An eliciting of conversation Opinion sharing

What Makes Social Media Distinct?What Makes Social Media Distinct?

Some properties that make social media different include:

Reach Convenience Ease of Use Immediacy Permanence Ability to inter-connect social media tools

across different mediums

Forms of Social MediaForms of Social Media

Blogs• Pros:

• develop personality: put forward views & philosophies

• develop brand and authority

• build relationship, trust

• ability to communicate about product and services that cannot be traditionally explained

in web

Forms of Social Media Forms of Social Media

Blogs• Cons:

• can be time consuming, especially for novice writers

• communications can sound too much like a sales pitch

• negative commentsalways respond/address negative comments,

to minimize damage & secure relationship

Forms of Social Media Forms of Social Media

Forums (i.e. discussion board, message board)• Pros:

• popular medium for affiliates• ideal place to share industry expertise/knowledge • good source for increasing credibility

• Cons: • requires a high level of moderation; maintenance

requires time investment• negative comments unfounded

Forms of Social MediaForms of Social Media

Videos• Pros:

• popular medium as of October 2009, YouTube reached 1 billion views a

day• easy-to-view• control branding and marketing message

• Cons: • searchability of video not as sophisticated as written social

media• can be a costly investment if you don’t have resources

development, editing, hosting

Forms of Social MediaForms of Social Media

Twitter• Pros:

• immediate, convenient• quick snippets of information: micro-blogging • anyone can do it!• ideal for reaching target market with limited time • very compatible with mobile phones• live announcements from events, conferences• post to other great links of interest• Google and Microsoft inked a deal with Twitter,

making tweets available in search engines’ real-time results

Forms of Social MediaForms of Social Media

Twitter• Cons:

• flooding followers with too many tweets may have negative effect

Must be careful balance: regular updates VS. over sending• too short to be meaningful • moderating followers & following back• monitoring tweets about your brand made by followers• ‘Twitstorm’ of bad information: half-truths, rumours, hoaxes

Haiti crisis: rumors spread that UPS was providing free shipping to Haiti and that American Airlines was flying doctors and nurses for free. These tall tales overshadowed bona fide relief efforts and caused PR nightmare.

Forms of Social MediaForms of Social Media

Facebook• Pros:

• huge number of users• multimedia• tight community• more personal• stronger relationship• identify and target potential affiliates and

consumers based on profile• a business does not need thousands of FB fans to

be successful; most have less than 500

Forms of Social MediaForms of Social Media

Facebook• Cons:

• how much of yourself do you expose?

• although you don’t need thousands of fans, you do need some

having no fans can reflect poorly on your brand

Forms of Social MediaForms of Social Media

LinkedIn• Pros:

• professional network• create new connections through initial contact

• Cons:• too many groups used to push agenda, without

meaningful content• Spam

Forms of Social MediaForms of Social Media

Picture sharing• Pros:

• opportunity to get personal!

• Cons:• possible manipulation of pictures• pictures out of context can be misinterpreted

What are the Advantages of Using What are the Advantages of Using Social Media?Social Media?

Part 1: Building and developing relationships Part 2: Recruitment tool Part 3: Communication tool Part 4: Increasing brand awareness Part 5: Developing your personality Part 6: Increase transparency

Part 1: Building and Developing Part 1: Building and Developing RelationshipsRelationships

This is critical for relationship building between operators and affiliates

• Business tool • ideal for distinguishing yourself in crowded market space• ideal for getting yourself seen and heard• build trust, and they will come• build advocacy: stronger when affiliate speaks about your

program!

Once you’re developing new relationships, tell your affiliates to do the same!

• All the same benefits apply for the affiliate-player relationship

Ideal form of social media: forums, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, video, photo sharing

Part 2: Recruitment ToolPart 2: Recruitment Tool

This can be used as a recruitment tool for operators to find affiliates• Express your personality

• Widen your reach

• Make initial contact Once you’re developing new relationships, tell your

affiliates to do the same!• Reach new players

Ideal form of social media: LinkedIn, Facebook, blogs

Part 3: Communication ToolPart 3: Communication Tool

Social media serves as an instant form of communication between you and your audience• Talk about promotions

• New marketing tools

• New products

• Events/gatherings

• Industry news

• Announcements

Constant advertising/promoting will fall on deaf ears; engage, share—create a community!

Ideal form of social media: blogs, forums, Twitter, video

Part 4: Increasing Brand AwarenessPart 4: Increasing Brand Awareness

Create awareness of your brand Communicate key messages Use the feedback to develop your brand

further

Ideal form of social media: blogs, videos

Part 5: Developing your PersonalityPart 5: Developing your Personality

Using a personal blog to voice your opinion• Add value, tell your readers something that they

need to know

• Develop trust; affiliates don’t trust companies, they trust people

• Express yourself, have fun—but engage your audience at all costs!

Ideal form of social media: blogs, forums, video, photo sharing, Facebook, Twitter

Part 6: Increase TransparencyPart 6: Increase Transparency

Transparency implies openness Make information readily available Avoid posts with hidden agendas Be honest and straightforward

Ideal form of social media: blog, forum, videos, Twitter, Facebook

What are the Disadvantages of What are the Disadvantages of Using Social MediaUsing Social Media

Lack of control• Especially with damage control

• Keeping track of all the comments made about your brand

Abuse of brand via social media can result in loss of credibility• Scammers, hackers

Time consuming• Keep regular updates

• Respond to comments/feedback

Demystifying Social MediaDemystifying Social Media

Often we hear: “But social media is SO BIG; I just don’t know where to start!”• If you’re dialoguing with clients, you’re using

social media

• If you’re answering questions/concerns, you’re using social media

• If you’re asking for feedback, you’re using social media

• If you’re chatting online, you’re using social media

Educating Affiliates on the Educating Affiliates on the Benefits of Social MediaBenefits of Social Media

Using social media as recruitment tool

Promoting Banner Manager• Icons for social media, that are trackable

Tracking social media efforts gives you more accurate ROI

Tracking & Measuring Social Media Tracking & Measuring Social Media ResultsResults

Using IA software to track variables, such as banners and text links• Impressions

• Clicks

• ROI Affiliate Sign-up Pages

• Where did you hear about us?

• Identifies what’s working, what’s not Identifies which of your affiliates are most

profitable

ConclusionsConclusions

Social media is a form of dialogue Allows you to build your brand, your personality

and trust value Presents opportunity to build profile, recruit and

expand business Presents additional tool for affiliates to use to

reach players Results are highly trackable using IA software People are more likely to trust a person, rather

than a website/company