Social Media: More Powerful Than You Think!

March 30, 2011 By Leave a Comment

I challenged myself to give up Facebook for 40 days and have found it to me the most difficult challenge in terms of staying informed.  Facebook is one of my bookmarks of sites that I visit on a daily basis, as it is for many Facebook users.  Without Facebook, I immediately tuned in to other social media networks that I am subscribed to such as Twitter and LinkedIn.  Ultimately, I have failed this challenge of eliminating Facebook from my everyday tasks but have come to understand the significant influence that Facebook and social media has made globally.

    “Twitter Revolution”

In regards to the current events and the revolutions in Egypt, Libya, and Tunisia, they are often described as “Twitter Revolutions.” The defining characteristic in comparison to the Revolutions of the past, like the Russian revolution, is the means of communication.  I have read a number of articles that claim that the Tunisian and Egyptian revolutions were set off my social media activity.  Wael Ghonin, Google’s Middle East and North African Marketing Director and leader in the Egyptian uprising, told CNN that the Egyptian protestors had the Internet to thank for their victory with President Hosni Mubarak stepping down from power after 14 days of protest.  “I want to meet Mark Zuckerberg and thank him personally.  I’m talking on behalf of Egypt.  This revolution started on Facebook,” said Ghonim.  In regards to the Libyan affairs, researchers found that the main way for protesters to communicate inside and outside Libya was through social media.  Considering the power of social media in igniting an entire revolution, imagine the impact these networking tools can have on your business.

    Where is the world are you?

With the recent Tsunami in Japan, many students were witness to the terrible tragedy overseas as they were spending the semester studying abroad.  Three NKU students were reportedly studying in Japan during the Tsunami and made contact with the University and friends and family back at home through Facebook and letting them know he was safe.  Without Facebook, we would not have been in contact with these students for several days.  Facebook is a way to stay connected.  In times of disaster, Facebook allows just that.  This can be important for your business as well – many people have global networks and knowing where your assets are is important.  Social networks allow for these connections to prevail.

    Special Events

Moments ago, I found out I missed an event on campus because I missed the Facebook invitation.  I haven’t been on Facebook in two weeks.  JUST TWO WEEKS!  Events are being promoted through Facebook more often than they are through e-mail, and when you’re not on campus that often to see the paper promotions, Facebook is the primary medium.  Facebook is where every college student looks to see what’s going on.  Businesses are now doing the same.  Facebook has over 500 million active users, meaning that most of your audience, more likely than not, is on Facebook.  Promote where your people are instead of just your traditional mediums.

If social media can inspire an entire country to revolt, imagine what social media can do for your business!  It almost seems unreal the tremendous impact that social media can have on such a global scale.  It is crazy the amount of information I’ve missed from being detached from Facebook for just two weeks.  Social media marketing has certainly come a long way from where it first began – utilize these Internet marketing tools and, when properly implemented, you can watch your business grow.

How powerful is your social media strategy?

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Strategy, social media marketing, Social Media Strategy, Social Media Tools, Social Networks, Uncategorized Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Social Media Speaking: Building a Social Media Marketing Plan with The Circuit

February 14, 2011 By 2 Comments

This morning I had the honor and privilege of presenting to The Circuit, a Cincinnati Digital Organization.  We had a great turnout for the presentation – the room was packed (they even had to bring in extra seats)!  Thanks to Connie at The Circuit and everyone who came out (early on a freezing Friday morning).

My presentation focused on how to build a social media marketing plan that actually gets results!  The presentation follows the model from my best-selling book – The Social Media Field Guide.

The #1 reason that most of the businesses I see are NOT GETTING RESULTS with their social media is because they fail to create a plan and approach it strategically.  Most of them get on Facebook and Twitter and start posting content, without a clear idea of what they are trying to achieve from a business perspective, who they are trying to reach or what content is actually interesting to their target audience.

In the presentation below you will be able to see an overview of the models highlighted in my book.

The key steps to building a successful social media plan are:

  1. Listening
  2. Know your marketing objectives
  3. Know your target audience
  4. Develop a killer content plan
  5. Select the appropriate tools
  6. Implement with excellence
  7. Track & Measure
  8. Adjust
Building a Social Media Plan that Gets Results

View more presentations from Krista Neher.
I also created a short clip of my presentation for you to view.

Also, I mentioned that my Dad joined Facebook and is using his Elvis Impersonator/Tribute Artist photo in his profile.  Here is the pic.  Enjoy.  Seriously, that is an actual picture of my Dad.

Filed Under: Speaking & Presentations Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Announcing My New Book – The Social Media Field Guide!

January 10, 2011 By 1 Comment

Boot Camp Digital is starting off the New Year right!  I’m excited to announce the release of my new book “Social Media Field Guide” as it hits Amazon.com and will soon hit the shelves at select bookstores!  Many of you probably know that I have been working on this book for quite a while now and I am THRILLED that it is finally done and available to order.

This is my first book, and it is actually being modified and turned into a textbook for social media marketing.  I have so many people to thank for helping me get here, and later this week I will post an entire Thank-You post.  I can’t tell you how much I value and appreciate all of the support and encouragement I have received over the past few years as I started my business.

I wrote the Field Guide after I started running social media training programs a few years ago, and after training thousands of people I created some systems to help explain and create a system for social media strategic planning and to help businesses understand the social media landscape, which can be overwhelming.

Part 1: The Social Media Planning System

I created the social media system, which is the underlying model for the book based on working with many companies and individuals on their social media marketing strategies.  One thing I learned was that most business owners lacked a real solid social media plan.  They weren’t getting results from their social media marketing because they didn’t really approach it with a plan.  Someone told them they had to get on Twitter or that all of their competitors were on Facebook, so they created accounts and started posting content.  They came to me because they weren’t getting results.

The Social Media System is a planning method that helps businesses get results by laying out a strategic plan.  This is the part that most businesses skip in their rush to get on social media and it is also why most businesses don’t get value from social media.  They have no real plan – they just throw stuff out there without a real audience in mind.

Part 2: The Social Media Field Guide – The Landscape

The second part of the Social Media Field Guide is the Field Guide model, which is a model to help businesses wrap their heads around the key opportunity areas in social media.  Rather than tactically focusing on the social media tools like Facebook and Twitter the Field Guide encourages businesses to think about the broader functionality of social media.  The Social Media Field Guide categorizes social media into 8 categories – Publishing, Sharing, Social Networks, Microblogs, Collaboration and Co-Creation, Discussion and Review, Public Relations and Mobile.  Rather than focusing on an individual tool, businesses should think about how they can leverage each of these categories, and then drill deeper into the specific tools.

In addition to the book, the Social Media Field Guide also comes with a FREE ACTION PLANNER DOWNLOAD so that you can put the Field Guide into action.

In the past 10 years of , I’ve traveled to Brazil, Vegas, NY, San Francisco, London, Toronto and countless other cities where I’ve had the pleasure of speaking to thousands of business owners, marketers and social media managers.  These experiences have helped me in creating this essential resourceful media guide full of great tips and advice.  It also served as a great tool used in my social media certification program held at the newly established Institute for Social Media at Cincinnati State.

I’ve already received some great feedback about the book and I would like to hear what you think!  Click here to order your copy of the Social Media Field Guide.

Also, stay tuned for the official announcement, but I will be hosting a book party and showcasing my new office space on January 20th.

For more information on my new book, visit http://bootcampdigital.com/social-media-book/.

Filed Under: industry news, Internet Marketing Strategy, personal branding, Social Media Tools Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Social Media Speaker Krista Neher to Speak at PubCon Las Vegas 2010

November 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment

CINCINNATI – Krista Neher, CEO at Boot Camp Digital and internationally known speaker on digital marketing, is honored to be speaking about online brand management strategies on November 11th at PubCon’s Las Vegas Internet Conference 2010 at the Las Vegas Convention Center South Hall in Las Vegas, Nevada. The conference attracts thousands of leading search and social media professionals to attend each year with riveting presentations by many of the world’s top speakers.

Krista Neher is a professional trainer and social media keynote speaker for trade shows, colleges, corporate events and seminars held around the world. In addition, Neher is an entrepreneur, published author and the Managing Director of the Institute for Social Media at Cincinnati State.

PubCon’s 4-day conference provides attendees with essential knowledge about search, social media, Internet marketing, website operation and much more with its strong line up of expert keynote speakers. This year’s conference is anticipated to be the biggest and most important event for innovators around the world with its impressive list of speakers, highly productive conference agenda and open minded, knowledgeable audience.

With over 10 years of marketing experience with P&G and start-up web companies, Krista Neher will be a great addition to the list of professionals who have the privilege of speaking at this event.  Neher’s company, Boot Camp Digital, has a strong track record of providing social media and Internet marketing training and consulting solutions. Krista has worked with companies of all sizes – from large corporations to start-ups – on all aspects of social media and internet marketing strategy including: integrated social media plans, community building, Facebook marketing, Twitter marketing, LinkedIn, webinars, search engine optimization, website strategy and much more.  Krista is also the author of Social Media Field Guide and is in the process of publishing her first textbook on social media marketing.

For more information about Krista Neher and Boot Camp Digital, visit www.bootcampdigital.com.  For additional information about PubCon’s Las Vegas Internet Conference 2010, visit www.pubcon.com.

About Boot Camp Digital

Krista Neher, CEO of Boot Camp Digital and social media expert, is an international speaker on digital marketing and provides marketing solutions for Fortune 500 companies as well as start-ups and small businesses.  Krista’s strong track record of providing social media and internet marketing training and consulting solutions will benefit companies of all sizes as well as those new to the world of social media. For more information about Boot Camp Digital, visit http://bootcampdigital.com.

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Strategy, Press Release, social media marketing, Social Media Strategy, Speaking & Presentations Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Social Media Speaker: Strategic Branding for Your Real Estate Agency

October 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment

When you begin crafting your social media strategy your first instinct may be to start with the sale…How do you drive a potential home buyer to buy your home on the market?  Focusing on the sale (first) is typically the wrong answer.

The brand cycle doesn’t typically start with purchase.  It starts with Awareness and ends with Loyalty.  Your social media strategy needs to focus the relevant portions of the consumer experience and create a strong connection (also know as brand equity).

The brand purchase cycle starts with awareness (I know about your agency) then Consideration (I am considering working with your agency) then Preference (I actually prefer your agency over the alternatives) then Experience (I worked with your agency and what was my experience like) then Loyalty (will I do it again/will I recommend to others?).

Your instinct may be to focus on the purchase – how are we driving sales.  It is important to remember that the actual sale may not be the best part of the sales cycle to focus on.

In my experiences speaking about social media, this concept is described in much more depth but here is an overview of some key strategies to implement the branding cycle for your agency.

Awareness Strategies

Consider a social media strategy where you post content that is generally of interest to your target audience.  Grab their attention by posting relevant things related to your services that they actually care about.  Trying to sell in a specific area of town? Talk about special events that go on there.  Trying to sell office space? Talk about the convenience to downtown or local restaurants.  Listen to your audience, learn what they are interested in and start to talk about the things that they are interested in.

Consideration

They know who you are, but are they really considering you?  Look for people who mention your brand and answer their questions.  Actively seek out people referencing your category or buyers – they know who you are but do they seriously consider you?  Provide information to make sure that your brand is in the consideration set.  Focus on search rankings and make sure that your site is optimized to answer questions.

Preference

Using social media to build preference can work well when done correctly.  You can build preference by showing that you truly care about your audience and are committed to serving them.  Brands that effectively build preference using social media focus on building real relationships.  Be nice.  Show potential homebuyers that you care.  Have flexible policies.  Build preference by focusing on building positive feelings about your brand.  After a social media interaction they should “like you” or “think that you are cool/hip”, etc, based on your brand equity.

Experience

Social media strategies focused on the experience portion can focus on things like customer service or support and feedback.  When focusing on experience, you should leverage social media to increase the value of the customer’s experience.  Customer service via social media can be a great tool in this.

Loyalty

The final stage is loyalty.  Social media is a great tool to build loyalty.  You can use fan pages and twitter to provide specific offers/incentives/discounts to drive loyalty among existing customers.  Focus on showing your customers that you REALLY care (this can also drive word of mouth and build new customers).  Find ways to use social media to *really* give your customers something special.  It doesn’t have to be a financial incentive either – it can be insider information or access to a members club.

Your strategy doesn’t have to focus on just one – it can focus on more than one.  They key is to use social media to build a great brand experience (and this will drive sales over time).  This strategy takes great content and can take longer, but in the end, this is where the real payout will be in social media. The key is to focus your social media strategy on the right part of the brand building cycle vs. blindly trying to drive sales for your agency.

Filed Under: Internet Marketing Strategy, personal branding, social media marketing, Speaking & Presentations Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,