Social Marketplace Where Locals Share their Favorites RATE. SHARE. FIND
AGENDA
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14.
What is social media and… How does this fit into Social Marketplace? What this means to the audience What this mean for the business owner Making the connection and building bridges Explosive growth opportunity See it in action – real success stories Social Marketplace today: Bridal & Health Features & benefits platform overview Product packages – suggested Staffing requirements Turnkey solution – sales & marketing support Steps to success – next steps Questions & Answers
What is Social Media? Social media is best understood as a group of new kinds of online media, which share most or all of the following characteristics:
Participation: social media encourages contributions and feedback from everyone who is interested. It blurs the line between media and audience.
Openness: social media services are open to feedback and participation. They encourage voting, comments and the sharing of information.
Conversation: whereas traditional media is about broadcast (content transmitted or distributed to an audience) social media is better seen as a two-way conversation.
Community: social media allows communities to form quickly and communicate effectively. Communities share common interests, such as a love of photography, a political issue or a favorite TV show.
Connectedness: Most kinds of social media thrive on their connectedness, making use of links to other sites, resources and people.
How does this fit into Social Marketplace For the Audience Consumer/Member – the Audience Participation: Friend a business Give a Thumbs up Write a review/recommendation Start or join a group, blog, neighborhood Openness: Reviews written & received Businesses you recommend Friends list
What do you do with your social network profile? “It is clear that social media has become a platform for directly sharing opinion and thoughts; 34% of social network users are sharing opinions on music, 31% are writing a blog inside their profile, 55% are sharing photos, 22% are uploading videos and 23% are uploading applications, all of which project opinions and endorse brands if included”
Conversation: Write a review/recommendation Email vendor ask a question Photo commenting Community: Local profile that can be linked to and from similar interests/activities Local interest groups Connectedness: Link to/from recommended businesses Link to/from weddings page Access to local businesses and services for special offers, discounts and exclusive member only benefits Universal McCann © 2008
How does this fit into Social Marketplace For the Business Owner
BUSINESS OWNER Participation: Follow up on review/recommendation Friend other businesses Blog – share your expertise, tips and how to’s building trust and loyalty Join conversations in neighborhood Comment on photos/videos Openness: Friends/customers list Other businesses recommend/recommended Reviews written & received Showcase coupons/special offers Highlight expertise/products Photos, videos to tell a deeper story Conversation: Email/Bulletin loyal customers Follow up on review personally or to group Blog - showcase expertise Community: Personal profile Neighborhoods (hyper localized) Connectedness: Widgets promoted throughout site Videos promoted throughout site Business logo & link displayed on all reviews written and friended profiles
55% of the active Internet universe claim to have sought product and brand information on personal recommendations on social networks and 51% on personal blogs in an average month.
What’s this means for the Audience – local consumers
24/7 virtual community with access to what’s going on locally.
A great way to meet and chat with other locals, forming associations with each other (and businesses). Members can join interest groups and stay in touch with their like minded neighbors.
Members get their own personal webpage and media gallery
Direct access to local businesses and services for special offers, discounts and exclusive member only benefits.
Free bridal announcement page where brides can share the details of their wedding including uploading pictures, videos and sharing their unique story.
What this means For the Business Owner
All in one marketing platform, allowing business to engage local consumers in an interactive relationship that builds brand, establishes trust, and builds longterm affinity.
Drive new business through word of mouth marketing using the power of THE #1 local search option.
Gain more reach through the #1 local news website in Tucson.
Easily manage online messaging to consumers. Can serve as web site where none may exist, or compliment overall online marketing strategy.
Vastly improve presence on the national search engines and gain more exposure.
Easy to use with 24/7 updates. Yellow pages 2.0 with more speed and flexibility at a lower cost
Ability to implement a sophisticated digital-marketing strategy.
Stop wasting money on ineffective yellow-page marketing. Reduce or eliminate the expense of maintaining a web site
Making the Connection & Building Bridges Getting social about selling The power of Social and the local audience. Social networks, in many forms give these audiences a place to assemble. Where audiences form, revenue follows. Social Marketplace helps build bridges, start conversations, and maintain relationships with businesses most valuable asset – consumers.
WHERE online purchasers are going when considering purchasing a product or service
WHO is going there?
Social Marketplace Explosive Growth Opportunity
See it in Action Big wins for small businesses
Online research creates offline purchases Advertiser: Floral Memories and More | URL: http://my.stltoday.com/Bridal_Businesses/Floral_Memories_and_More True Story: The bride was out of the country, leaving the groom to prepare for the wedding. Through St. Louis’ Best Bridal Marketplace, the groom was able to confidently plan their wedding -- while the bride remained involved through their business profile.
Action ¾ The business posted numerous photos of bouquets on their business profile page Result ¾ The bride picked out and bought floral arrangements based on their online pictures Success ¾ Customers have written excellent recommendations on their page which leaves a positive impact on potential customers August page views: 306; +44% over the prior month.
See it in Action Big wins for small businesses
Direct connections, marketing tools pay off Advertiser: Clarice's Bridal Fashions. A full-service bridal shop located in a modest storefront in S. St. Louis URL: http://my.stltoday.com/Bridal_Businesses/Clarices_Bridal_Fashion
Actions 他 Uploaded nearly 100 photos and special offers, enticing brides to visit the store and purchase their dress 他
Directly connects with brides through e-blasts featuring special offers and events e-Blast
Results Highest monthly page views of all businesses on the site. Surpasses other regional bridal shops by taking advantage all of the social marketplace tools to connect with brides
Success Gained a larger share of the bridal gown business in St. Louis -- attributing the growth to connecting directly with brides through their business profile page
August page views: 2,174: +83% over prior month
See it in Action Consumers are engaged! Floral memories and more
Nearly 70% of all researchers viewed online photos, and nearly 15% viewed special offers.
Clarice’s Bridal
Nearly ALL researchers viewed online photos
Social Marketplace Today BRIDAL
BRIDAL MARKETPLACE Helping Brides on their way to “I DO” Bridal Marketplace Directory & Services THE One local source for all wedding and bridal needs -connecting businesses with local consumers in the area. Bridal Marketplace is an online 24-hour, 7-day-a-week, continuous bridal show specifically geared to assist in planning the dream wedding. Brides will find shops with maps, special sales notices, advice and guidelines. They will be able to see other couples that recommend businesses and friend and recommend businesses they like. Weddings Devoted to soon-to-be brides and others with similar interests, users can create their own virtual wedding site where they can add details about their wedding, share stories of how they met, post event details, join groups, and connect with other brides in the area. They can upload unlimited photos and videos as well as recommend their favorite Bridal Businesses!
EXAMPLES •http://my.quadsville.com/community/bridal.htm •http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyle/bestbridal
Social Marketplace Today HEALTH
HEALTH MARKETPLACE Health Marketplace Directory & Services - The place to go for local health info.
A health directory delivering information and services on all things local consumers need to know regarding health or how to deal with health issues. Includes health news, local interest chat forums, top local doctors, “Ask the Expert� health talk, sponsored videos & the ability to find and research local doctors and health related businesses in the area. An online resource connecting community members who are online and researching health matters to medical services, communication, and information tools.
Example: http://www.leecrm.com/health/
Premium Placement Be Found First Business Category Listing Page
Higher Visibility Advertisers gain a competitive advantage by their listing appearing on top of standard listings in their business category. They can successfully attract and keep customers by being found first.
UPSELLS (on this page) • • • •
EXAMPLES • Listings: http://my.quadsville.com/community/bridal.htm • Ads: http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyle/bestbridal /Gowns
BANNER ADS BIG ADS Sponsored video “Ask the Expert” video or editorial content
Enhanced Business Listing Enhanced Business power “All Local in one marketing Marketing Platform” It’s a directory, a web site and an online marketing toolbox all in one. All the marketing tools a Business needs to reach existing customers and the ability to engage with new ones including:
Premium placement Accessed from the #1 local search Ability to control information 24/7 Collect testimonials easily & showcase Directly connect with local consumers Upload unlimited photos & videos Post timely store news & events Add coupons & special offers
EXAMPLES •http://my.quadsville.com/Bridal_Businesses/A bbey_Station •http://my.stltoday.com/Bridal_Businesses/Stall ones_Formal_Wear5
Product Packages Suggested Basic – Free Business logo Business hours * Business has no control – coordinator would need to administer.
Enhanced - $150/month Premium placement Ability to control information 24/7 Collect testimonials easily & showcase Directly connect with local consumers Upload unlimited photos & videos Post timely store news & events Add coupons & special offers Upsells ‘Build your own’ videos Sponsored videos Banners, Big Ads
Getting the business in front of potential local customers at the exact moment they are looking for that service.
Cultivate Staff Staffing requirements - Community Community – Dedicated Full Time “Cultivator” Staffing for Community requires a strong, full-time “cultivator” to work with community groups, draw in and stimulate new groups and discussions, work with the newsroom to showcase – in print and online -- great community engagement, etc. This is a full-time position, although it could be mixed with the duties of a columnist on the print side. It could be someone with no formal journalism background. They just need to be active, resilient, and have a deft hand when it comes to managing people online.
Best practices to promote and manage a healthy and thriving community
Dedicate people to developing the community. The right people. Recruit community members to cultivate discussions. Host a “bloggers convention” and invite engaged & responsible bloggers to join. Give them a hands-on walk through of the community. Create video tutorials – example here: Welcome new members to the community. Flag and reward good behavior. Karma points. Reverse publish the “best of” in print. Enable story commenting, but impose light registration. Make it easy for readers to flag objectionable postings.
Cultivate Staff Staffing requirements – Social Marketplace Social Marketplace – Dedicated Sales Rep – “local digital marketing team” Staffing for Marketplace is best handled with a dedicated sales rep. This person will be the “seed” of a new sales team that grows around our inactive accounts, those hundreds of businesses we don’t frequently process needed to bring others online with the new products. In short, we’ll be introducing next month a comprehensive new approach to selling online, one that positions our local team as the “local digital marketing team” in service to our advertisers. Not only with community and marketplace but also building online as a marketing platform for local businesses using things like social networking, coupons, online promotions, search marketing, search-engine optimization, etc.
“Local media companies that are genuinely helping those businesses grow – rather than merely selling advertising to them – are well positioned to succeed in this brave new world of advertising” “Online Promotions: The Big Shift. Borrell Associates, 2008”
Turnkey Solution Marketing & Sales Support This is an end-to-end turnkey solution from site integration, to focused marketing and promotional campaigns
Readied Sales & Marketing Collateral
Sales training program Quick start guides Built out ‘brand’ and campaign Glossy brochure Direct mail pieces Email-turnkey campaigns Welcome kit POP collateral Online ‘widgets’ for added exposure
Turnkey Solution Marketing & Promotional Support This is an end-to-end turnkey solution from site integration, to focused marketing and promotional campaigns
Promotional Materials
Print Ads Online Ads Radio Spots TV Ads Bill boards/Bus Stop signage Trade show booths/Bridal expos Contests to promote site traffic & build audience
Next Steps & Key Milestones What you can expect of us:
Ongoing training and sales support as needed Sales kit, Marketing collateral, support documentation Leads in CRM Local and corporate support Toll free 800# number & Email support Online help documentation: FAQ, Getting Started, Video Tutorials
Next Steps & Key Milestones
What’s expected of you:
Review information and become familiar with new site Follow-up sessions and one-onones with role-playing as needed Work leads, sell and/or set appointments for sales blitz On site visits with vendors Admin work (CRM & Social Marketplace set up) Cultivating accounts, retention Tracking and reporting on a weekly basis
Questions & Answers