New Networking Strategies How to Develop Your Business and Build Sales Through Social Media Shaa Wasmund

Traditional networking is an effective sales and marketing tool. But it’s limited to who’s in the room.

But online, there are no boundaries

Online networking and marketing means you can reach many people at once

How Do You Capitalise on Social Media? Use social media to create direct relationships – it’s a dialogue, not a monologue. “Does anyone know the best source to learn about Social Media? ” “Have you tried It’s the best one on PR / marketing / social media that I’ve seen yet. ”

Good News! You already have the skills… … from your offline networking, to succeed in online networking … … Meet people … Build relationships … Ask questions … Answer questions … Create Trust … Build reputation

Why should you care about social media? It’s not a fad! Social Media and online networking are the new ways of marketing and selling. Twitter now has 75m user accounts. LinkedIn has over 50m members worldwide. This means an increase of around 1m members month-on-month since July/August last year. Facebook currently has over 350m active users on global basis. Six months ago, this was 250m, meaning around a 40% increase of users in less than half a year.

Why should you care about social media? A study of over 1500 consumers by market research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey and iModerate Research Technologies found that 60% of Facebook fans and 79% of Twitter followers are more likely to recommend those brands since becoming a fan or follower. And an impressive 51% of Facebook fans and 67% of Twitter followers are more likely to buy the brands they follow or are a fan of. Considering Facebook has over 400 million users, the opportunity is great for social media marketers.

Social media & networking can help your sales Help cut costs for lead generation Create great customer engagement for repeat sales Make it easy for your customers to generate referrals

Traditional advertising is no longer working

1980s Fewer Ads Today reached more peoplevia fewer outlets More AdsReach fewer peoplevia more outlets

The average person is exposed to 3,000 advertising messages every day 90% of people who can skip TV ads, do Only 14% of people trust advertisements Only 18% of TV ad campaigns generate positive ROI SOURCE: Nielsen Global Online Consumer Survey new-way-marketers-can-reach-out-to-chinese-consumers

“I believe bloggers and their ideas. They will tell me the truth, unlike advertisements. “ In contrast… 70% Of people trust the online recommendations of other consumers

Social media sites are more popular than porn sites SOURCE: REUTERS TECHNOLOGY, SEPTEMBER 2008,

Your customers want to talk to you 93% of social media users believe a company should have social media presence 85% of users believe a company should interact with its customers via social media 56% of users feel they have a stronger connection with and are better served by companies when they can interact with them in a social media environment The 2008 Cone Business in Social Media Study

But online, there are no boundaries Your customers as your promotional tools >Your current customers are a great asset >Encourage them to promote your brand in social media using photos and discussions

Take Fiji Water… “Smartwater got Jennifer Aniston to be their spokesperson for millions of dollars. But every celebrity drinks my water. I just take the pictures from Us and Touch, or whatever the hell those magazines are called, and put those on our Web site.” Lynda Resnick | Founder | Fiji Water & POM Wonderful

King of Shaves… “King of Shaves re-tweets on Twitter anyone who advocates their product. So people mention them just to get re-tweeted, meaning more positive product and brand messages out there for potential customers to see.

Prioritise social media… … as a low-cost marketing channel DO put effort into reaching people DON’T spend a lot of money doing it

How can you get started using social media? Read opinions and get involved in the conversation Make your posts interesting and pertinent Be honestBlog what you know (good for SEO!) Create profiles, groups, and events on relevant social networks Engage with influential bloggers! Invite your customers to participate Offer useful tools for customers Share, enable, inspire, influence, and engage. Don’t insist on controlling the conversation.

>Network and collaborate what can you do for people you meet? >Become known as a connector who can you help? How Smarta can help

>Info and guides… How to use social media for sales success

How Smarta can help Ask questions. Who’s already overcome challenges you’re facing? Answer questions. Demonstrate your expertise.

I believe … The best knowledge will come from those around you, online and off. What do you need today? There are people in this room & on Smarta who can help your business, right now.

We’re in uncharted territory

Obama won…... in part through social media. He was everywhere

So…

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