Building Your Consulting Practice with Social Media by Rick Simmons May 10, 2010

1. Building Your Consulting Practice with Social Media by Rick Simmons May 10, 2010

2. So – What is Social Media? Social media is a shift in how people discover, read and share news, information and content, it allows people to connect in the online world to form relationships for personal and business.

3. The Paradigm Shift • Traditional marketing is a monologue • Mistake in trying to use online tools the same way • Internet media enables 2 way communication • The main concept isn’t awareness it is engagement • Engagement means getting the prospect involved with your company • Create a memorable relationship • Engage your customers - they might have applications you never thought of – encourage their input. • Engage your referral partners

6. First - Strategy

7. How to start!

8. What are the tools? Alerts Blogs Facebook Twitter Video

9. Alerts Have you set up Google Alerts? http://www.google.com/alerts?hl=en

10. Blogging The Reasons to Blog • Increase awareness of your business, products, services • Encourage interaction with prospects and customers • Touch a whole new customer base • Establish yourself as the expert in the field • Respond to world events “now” • Increases optimization

11. How to get started Find blogs in your space Read the blogs and the comments below them Comment yourself Get bloggers to write about you Write your own blog Group authorship Blogs by patients, clients, interviews

14. Getting Started: • Find the popular bloggers and start posting to their blogs. • Read what others post at these blogs. • How does your target audience get information – will they read a blog – your blog? • Now what can you do differently? • Will your blog be your website or just a part of your website? • Domain name for your blog?

16. I am blogging – How do I get someone to read it? • Blog for a few weeks before you start publicizing – it just might not be “your thing”. • Submit your blog site to the search engines, FeedBurner, Technorati. • List resources on your blog page – other blogs you recommend – this is becoming part of the community. • Link out from your blog – often • Continue to comment on other blogs. • Give readers the opportunity to share your information – Stumbleupon, Digg, Reddit

19. What are the tools? http://search.twitter.com/ http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/03/17/99-essential-twitter-tools-and-applications/

21. Videos don’t need to be expensive Consider a flash movie http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30c7DkeeNTs The more you involve the audience the better http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSupZ7WN_5Q

22. Important to Remember Separate tools from: Expectations Needs Message

23. Social recommendations will in many ways replace ads. Why? Because trust is built in the visibility of what others do vs. your polished online ad.

24. FIRST – The strategy A Social Media strategy helps your organization think about objectives, audience, tools and measurements to support your online communications initiative. http://www.naw2.org/files/events/aecsum09_GLOBALSTRAT_Social_Media_Presentation.pdf

26. Discussion What will work for you? Why? Why not?

27. Rick Simmons Rick@DinkumInteractive.com 267-626-9094