Transcript The Power of Social Networking - Pawnshop Consulting Group

The Next Economy
Jerry Whitehead
Justin Whitehead
What is the greatest invention of modern man?
 What Al Gore claimed he invented?
 The Internet
 The world has become a truly global network and we are ALL
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connected!
Any conceivable topic, language, or subject matter is found on
the Internet
E-Net Business today is estimated to process over a billion dollars
a second via the Internet
A number of institutions have been crippled by this revolution
such as the Post Office, Newspapers and other forms of print
media!
Don’t know what your looking for or at, Google IT!
EBAY changed the world forever – customers gladly send E-cash
and goods all over the world today!
What is one of the biggest advantages
to having the social media
connections?
• ITS FREE!
•
•
It’s out there everyday, 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week, 365 days a
year!
Global media presence IS
revolutionizing our world
everyday!
Social
Capital:
your network of
relationships and connections’ availability to
resources accessible and available within
Cultural
Capital:
the corresponding
advantages and influence resulting from your
knowledge, experience, and connections
Financial Capital!
Social Networks: Today’s time can now
be used in reference to Web based platforms
where people can connect to and/or stay
connected with one another in REAL TIME!
Reeds Law – Social Networks can scale exponentially with the size and social
importance of the network – Every new person can potentially double it’s
value!
Are all connections created equal?
Being in the center of your network gives you more access to
more info that gives you more POWER!
Being at the center allows your company to make better policy
decisions and online investments which has advantages to your
bottom line or your message!
What types of tools or media are
available VIA the Internet?
Video: Utilization of web cams, YouTube and digital
media allows you too express your image and your
philosophy!
Audio: Utilization of audio in online presentations
adds effect!
Blogs: Keep your message alive within the community
you create
Analytics: See where your traffic comes from, what
they look at, how long they were there and mine the
data!
Email: Send and receive limitless propaganda on all
sides!
• IN the selection process it’s important to fit you, your
business into the right medium for you and your ultimate
message
• Once you begin this process it’s important for you to
maintain and update your presence and your message
frequently
• People or users who may frequent your site or sites
typically do bore very easily
• Keep your message fresh and updated ALL the time!
•Get out there as much as you can and build
bridges
•Take photos w/ high profile people in your
industry
•Comment on others’ postings if and when you get
your blogs up and running – dual traffic in and
out
•Sign off w/ embedded links to your site
•Imagine not needing a resume, “Just Google Me”
sounds so nice doesn’t it?
What Social Sites are out there,
and which one is for me?
• My Space
• Facebook
• Hi 5
• Twitter
• LinkedIn
• You Tube
• Any many more
Getting on and Starting Up
Social Networks Out There
MySpace
http://www.myspace.com/
•200+ million users
•Customizable profiles, bulletin boards,
blogs, even classifieds
Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/
•250+ million users
•Best used for maintaining and building your
personal network
Look at it as a Living
Rolodex!
Facebook Tactics
•Status Updates – Distilling the most interesting and pertinent
information will grant you more inquiries and more influence among
your group
•Posting Items and Links – Posting videos and pic’s of you and your
organization at attended events and among luminaries and industry
celebs goes a long way
•The Wall – Keep messages short and sweet - Some things are better for
email
•Applications – Interactive Friends Graph, Six Degrees of Separation
•Social sphere and connectivity of your friends grows as the circle of
sphere influence grows in the viral realm
hi5
http://www.hi5.com/
•70 million users
•Rated #1 social network across 25
nations in Latin America, Europe, Asia,
and Africa
Similar Sites
-bebo.com (Europe, Canada)
-orkut.com (Brazil, India)
Great for expanding your sphere of
influence outside of the United States!
Twitter
http://twitter.com/
•190 million users
•Uses Short Message System (SMS)
•Best for those who are heavily connected to the
internet, used to remain “super-connected” w/ one
another
LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/
•50 million users worldwide
•Primary audience is entrepreneurs and business
professionals
Great place to start social
networking and build your
professional network!
You Tube
• More than 100+ million users world wide
• Tremendous format to place your video messages
• Video Imaging allows for so much more
communication of who and or what you are and
what you do
• As your you tube presence grows, keep it updated
constantly with good, funny, goofy and practical
material
• Once the viral looks begin, you, your message start
a movement around the world!
Almost every single network now has applications for
your smart phones – pretty much letting you do
everything you could at your home computer on the go!
•Remember to use common sense
•As w/ any means of communication, keeping
some things private and other things public is
vital
•Anything you place on the worldwide lives
and stays there FOREVER!
The Micro Celebrity
•w/ valid input and genuine and creative ideas your
network will grow exponentially around you and/or
your business
•The key benefit from
this ties back into being
at the center of the
universe for you or your
industry
Being Popular
•Online Networks allow you to achieve this
in a very genuine manner
•Social Networks let you
view what the influencers
in your social circle are
doing
•Know yourself and make use of your own strengths
•Search Engine Optimization, use more key words to
create a broader susceptible audience
•Meeting your network community creates more
attachment
•Don’t “sell out”, people can see right through gimmicks
and corporate shills
•Be Genuine and Be REAL!
Caution
•When everything is on the web
and accessible to by the masses,
you can’t run or hide.
•Always be genuine-when people
are invested in what you’re doing
they feel personally betrayed if
you’re not being honest.
The Feedback Cycle
Feedback
Customer
Community
Company
Feedback
Respond to those within your community, they will more likely
follow your future work, Silence can lead to unfavorable
perceptions about you and or your company!
Social Capital
• It’s all about your connections, for each strong one
you have, you also gain weaker ones. Keeping in touch
with the weaker ones gives you access to more
resources too!
•It’s not always what you know, but who you know!
Cultural Capital
• Company’s w/ a lot of Social
Capital can influence their
partners. Being at the center
of your information flow, will
have Cultural Capital follow
• Company’s w/ a lot of
Cultural
Capital
can
influence their industry and
have the world have it’s own
view of you!
Social
Capital
Financial
Capital
Cultural
Capital
Large amounts of social and cultural resources obtained
thru social networking translates into financial wealth thru
enhanced development, communication and recognition!
Audience to Community
Easy Tips
•Don’t talk to, but rather, with your network audience
•Forward along relevant blog postings, articles, and links
•Recommend former employees/coworkers and suppliers
Tricks of the Trade
•Look for patterns of interaction: who influences the larger
groups? And how?
•Pass along endorsements on your home page to social
influencers in your network
•Observe the hidden dynamics of how people interact w/ your
brand and each other
Feedback Cycles
The Internet has changed our lives so much within the
past years and one thing that has become evident is
that the audience which used to primarily function as
a receptor/consumer now through the Internet and
the feedback mechanisms built within has been
empowered to become participants in the
information cycle through active feedback in real
time!
Feedback can Make or Break your messages,
your community or your life!
Inspiring Better Communication
1. Which way do you want to open the channels?
Within the company?
For customer interactions?
2. Do you want a dedicated community or just a
way to share info?
•Internally, a wiki may be for you.
•Externally, remember to keep the real
motivations of your community in mind.
Inspiring Better Communication
Tie in promotions, discounts and activities like product
giveaways and more at the store(s) in with popular group
discussions and give customers a reason to register and
talk about their favorite products and/or services. Be
genuine you can’t force conversation and more than you
can force a purchase!
Future
the
of
Wave
Make no mistake, social networking is not a fad.
Social Networking is the new way that business
will be carried out in the future.
Pawnshop Consulting Group also
Specializes in Web site and Social
Media Development, thank you
for your Participation!
Jerry Whitehead
Pawnshop Consulting Group
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