http://thecraftstar.com
The CraftStar Social Media
BootCamp Week 1:
What IS Social Media?
GUESTS: Wade Harman and Jeff Sieh
A basic transcription of the show:
Over the next 6 weeks … We (The CraftStar) will be broadcasting a SOCIAL MEDIA BOOTCAMP. From the VERY basics of “what IS Social media”
… to breaking down the main routes and finding best ways of using them.
This series is based on and
focused towards e:commerce small business owners. As an e:commerce small business owner… social
media isn’t a “I dabble here and there” thing anymore .. it’s a MUST.
There is SO much
competition out there, that you want to make sure YOUR items get seen through
the noise. As we’ve said a million times
… YOU GET OUT WHAT YOU PUT IN. So, at
the end of this six weeks, you will have a personalized “road map” for your
social media work. We push the 70 / 30
balance … 70% of your time should be creative / curative … and we’re going to
make that 30% as easy and as fun as possible!
With social media … you
also GET WHERE YOU SEND PEOPLE. We can
see The CraftStar sellers who drive their social media to their shops on The
CraftStar. And we can see those who list
and have shops on The CraftStar … but send their social media to their Etsy
shops. I don’t get this … and when
people email me saying they’re not getting sales in their TCS shop, I can just
look at their social media use and see why.
If we ALL focus our social media to The CraftStar .. believe me, the
traffic WILL follow! And let’s face it,
you have a MUCH better chance of being seen on TCS because we’re a billionth
the size of E.
So ... each week we’ll be
focusing on a different area of social media, and will be joined by pros in
their fields. These will be held every
Tuesday night. Then on Thursdays, we’re
going to “break it down with Brandon” where YOU get to join us in the room, and
ask Brandon questions. We want to make
sure you TOTALLY understand Tuesday’s info before we move on to the next week …
this part is open to CraftStar members only.
So … let’s kick off WEEK 1
of The CraftStar BootCamp! We have two
VERY special guests … Wade Harman and Jeff Sieh.
HELLO TO JEFF AND WADE.
I always find it much
easier to do something / anything when I understand the whys: … why I should be
doing it, and how it works … which is where we’re going to start off here.
Jeff’s
introduction on Google + is fabulous: Always learning and
sharing. Love helping small businesses succeed online.
In another life, I was a banjo
playing professional magician. True Story.
I can’t let that go and
just move on to social media … HAVE to ask you how a “banjo playing
professional magician” works!
JEFF: RESPONSE
JEFF:
BRAGGING RIGHTS IN AREA OF SOCIAL MEDIA
12 years experience and a web design company. I run a large FB group with 18,000 people and
have hit G+ hard personally and seen large growth in the last year. You need to know your audience and listen.
BETHAN: The definition of “social media” on Wikipedia
is: Social
media refers to interaction among people in which they
create, share, and/or exchange information and ideas in virtual
communities and networks.
What IS SOCIAL MEDIA?
Jeff: please
give us the basics of what IS social media in your opinion? Where do you start?
Make accounts on all social networks; even if you plan on
using only two or three. Also remember
reviews are critical so having all the social media sites set up then you can
respond to reviews. You want to listen
to your clients on these social media accounts.
Start small, ask questions, look at though leaders (share that). You can see that social networks are
different and each has its benefits and uses.
Start for searching for your audience and do it for 20 mins a day. If you don’t do it your competitors will do
it. If you don’t want to do it then hire out someone. When I started I wrote blog posts and paid
someone to edit them for me to make sure they sound good.
Bethan:
Three people take credit
for coining the term “social media”:
1. Tina Sharkey, CEO of
Babycenter.com and a former executive at iVillage and AOL. …. she coined
“social media” during the early days of iVillage, where she was in charge of
community-building. She confirmed that. “I said, ‘Well, it’s not like service
media, and it’s not quite informational media — it’s social media!’” she said.
“It wasn’t media we were creating — it was media we were facilitating.” Sharkey
added that she owns the domain socialmedia.com.
2. But she didn’t
register that URL until 1999, and
there’s no public evidence of her using the term before then. The earliest
citation in Nexis or Factiva for a use of “social media” in anything like the way
it’s used now is from 1997, when serial entrepreneur Ted Leonsis, then an
executive at AOL, was quoted talking about the need to offer users “social
media, places where they can be entertained, communicate, and participate
in a social environment.”
3. Darrell Berry, a self-described “photographer/writer/social
media researcher & strategist/hacker,” says he began using the term
sometime in late 1994 as he was developing an online media environment called
Matisse while living in Tokyo. In May 1995, he wrote a paper on “social media spaces,” arguing that
the internet had to evolve from what was then essentially a static archive of
documents into a network of users engaging with each other. “I have no
recollection of having seen that expression prior to that, apart from myself
and a couple of friends,” he says.
(Forbes)
Bethan:
The way I look at it, and the way we use it as a company (The CraftStar)
… social media is the new broadcasting.
I do talks on this new world of broadcasting … and part of the spiel is
that “broadcasting” itself is a misnomer now.
It’s “narrow” casting … focused to who your audience is. As an e:commerce seller, this focus may
change depending on what you’re selling.
You’ll use a different voice, and perhaps different social media routes
to sell handmade jewelry, than you would selling vintage.
Wade:
Wade
Harman is a full time blogger and Relationship Marketing and Social Media
Psychology expert. He has a Psychology degree , and uses it to help people
create action from their social media updates. Wade also hosts a weekly
Hangout on Air called Relationship Marketing, where he shows you how to create
profits, build readership, and a bigger following online!
WADE:
BRAGGING RIGHTS IN AREA OF SOCIAL MEDIA
WADE BACKGROUND: Grew up in coal mining, and got a degree
in psychology. Got injured coal mining
and found about social media in 2009. In
2012 I started a blog and realized social media is where I need to be. I studied social media and learned as much as
I can.
Bethan asking Wade: With a background in psychology … what is the
psychology behind social media?
Questions:
* From a psychology
standpoint, how do you look at it: from
the creators point of view, the viewers point of view, or both?
* How do they differ?
People judge others within the first 8 seconds of
meeting the person. Not a lot of time to get to know the real “You” is it? The
same goes for a social media update. Even though the content on the other side
of that update may be beautiful, and some of the best ever written, it’s what’s
evaluated on the other side, ie, in the social update, that determines in the
readers mind if this is worthy of pursuing further.
The average attention span of a person done by a recent
study in 2012 was only 8 seconds.
Which means that you have at least that much time, probably less, in social
media to get someone’s attention with your updates.
(http://bloggersmakemoney.com/psychological-social-marketing/)
Jeff: how would you say that applies to Social
Media overall?
Social media is people coming together. FB first started as a FB type intranet to
help students with classes, homework, papers, etc. As humans we monetized social media as part
of our human nature. It has gone
downhill due to everyone trying to make money.
It has lost the interactions and is now more about me. We need to pull away and start helping others
out. We are only sending out the
messages and not expecting the engagement.
We are only doing the social and not the media.
From: (http://hisdesignonline.com/author/jeff-sieh/):
Your followers are people just like yourself
who enjoy hearing from a real person. There is a reason that they are
reading the content you write. You are providing something that adds
value for them. Think about how affirming it is when someone you admire
acknowledges you. Here are some ways that you can show appreciation to
your followers.
1. Thank them publicly by name. – It can
take a long time, but I still recommend thanking everyone who shares your content.
By thanking them in the comments or a retweet, you’ll find that many
times you’ll be able to start a valuable conversation.
2. Follow them back. – On some networks
it is just common courtesy to follow them back. If someone is
consistently interacting with your posts, following them back can show them
your appreciation.
3. Add them to a “special” list, then
share the list. John Paul Aguiar has a great list called 250 Follow
Friday Favorite People. This is a great way to honor your followers and show
them that they are important to you.
4. Give them exclusive deals. – If
you have products you sell, a coupon code or a discount that is exclusive to
your followers is a great way to say thank you.
5. Share reader accomplishments. – If a
follower launches a new book, gets their article published, or has some other
significant accomplishment, mention them. It may […]
Bethan: Taking an overall look at social media … in
all the routes you’re involved in and what we’ll be covering over the next 6
weeks … let’s take it the VERY fundamentals:
what is one trying to achieve on social media?
JEFF ANSWER:
You
need to create many relationships not just a few.
Wade: summarize article “How Social Media Updating
Affects The Brain”
Bethan: In a recent
Market Force survey, 81 percent of U.S. consumers surveyed declared social
networking recommendations were integral to their purchase decisions.(NOV 2013)
Social e-commerce
strategies can benefit large corporations and newcomers alike. Ad spending,
marketing budgets, and personnel are often barriers for entry for entrepreneurs
introducing a new product. Incorporating social apps within a site such as
sharing features, social rewards, a discovery product feed, and purchase
sharing buttons can boost product exposure and brand notoriety. (http://socialmediatoday.com/himanshu-sareen/1899201/social-ecommerce-and-customer-network)
Bethan: Let’s say we’re starting from scratch … where
would YOU start on social media?
WADE ANSWER
When I first started I wanted to dominate everything and it spread me
thin. I bought these tools to help save
time, but these tools made it more in-personable. Pick a social network and stick with it. Where is your crowd base coming from and
where do you get the most responsiveness.
I personally use G+, but that best suits my individual needs.
JEFF ANSWER
You
can spread yourself too thin to quickly.
If you have 18K people on Facebook you cannot shift them all over to
G+. Pinterest is the place to go for
crafters. They say 20 mins a day, but
the more time you spend the better the results will be. It takes time and effort.
BETHAN: (from an article on e:commerce)
·
Customers. Using social media will allow you to increase your
customer base. By creating an online presence, your marketing campaigns can
include a population of people that you could never reach through local
advertising. You now have the opportunity to grow your customer base by simply
creating and maintaining an online presence.
·
Visibility. You can use your social media presence to let your
customers and followers know what your business is doing. And when you are
doing great things, your followers are more likely to share your business with
their friends and family who may also be interested in what you have to offer.
The more followers you have through your social media outlets, the more
followers and exposure you can gain as people share your business with
others.
·
Content. By using social media, you can advertise specials that
you are offering to your customers, increasing the reach of your special
promotions. You can also use online content to let the public know more about
the personal side of your business, like how you handle your customers. For
example, a dressmaker might write a blog post about how she helped a customer
and her daughter find that perfect prom dress at the last moment. Creating a
connection with your potential customers can increase your customer base and
brand loyalty. By using social media on a consistent basis, you are always
adding fresh content, which will attract more visitors to your website.
·
Involvement. Perhaps you own a shoe store and think you have the
best selection available in your city. However, if you allow for customer
comments via social media, you may discover there's a popular brand or size of
show that you do not carry. By hearing what your customers want, you are able
to meet their needs. When you find out what your customers truly desire and by
fulfilling those needs, you will be increasing their trust in your company and
creating repeat customers at the same time. Additionally, when you please even
one client, they will in turn recommend you to their friends, increasing your
customer base.
Target. With social
media, you can target specific demographics to get your name in front of the
exact group people that you want to see your products. For example, if you
place an ad on Facebook, you can select very specific criteria (say, men who
like skydiving and who live in Ohio), and Facebook will show your ad to just
the group you're targeting. By targeting narrow groups of potential customers,
you get the most bang for your marketing buck.
Bethan: Overall … Is there a right way and a wrong
way of “social media behavior”? And
remember …we’re focusing on e:commerce small businesses.
JEFF:
If someone makes a comment you respond and it makes it
authentic and personable. Ask
questions. Do not just broadcast, but
also listen, ask questions, share their stuff, etc.
Bethan: from those answers
… let’s come up with THREE KEY POINTS for the RIGHT way … and THREE KEY POINTS
for the WRONG way
WADE:
Communication, compilation, and . Just listen to people so you know what they
need and way. There is someone who wants
your product; you just have to find them.
How do you get to know your audience when they don't even
attempt to interact with you?
JEFF:
Be creative and find ways to engage your customers. How to get customers involved without
blasting them out. Stand out and set
yourself apart. Create a funny tutorial
and just think outside the box.
WADE:
Its easier said than done. There are so
many people doing what I am doing then go deeper into your niche or think of
something new.
JEFF:
Have a strategy, but don’t be scared to shift it. You may need to change it. I am now talking about mens strategies for
Pinterest, something I never thought I would be doing.
Bethan: What is KEY to social media success (overall) (for e:commerce
small businesses)
WADE :
Interact with others, thank people for shares, and business is personal in 2014. Be personable, people don’t want business.
Interact with others, thank people for shares, and business is personal in 2014. Be personable, people don’t want business.
JEFF:
Be nice, be nice & be
nice. I hate relationship marketing; it
doesn’t work like that. We do biz
because we know eachother. Relationships
through engagement are why we are here now.
Bethan: You all might be pleased to know, that I
found in my research:
Social media has overtaken
pornography as the No. 1 activity on the web!
THANK YOU WADE AND JEFF:
Wade Harman: where can we find you online?
5pm doing relationship marketing bloggersmakingmoney.com
wadeharman.com
Jeff Sieh: where can we find you online?
Jeffsdesignonline.com talking about men for pinterest
Thank you VERY much to
Wade Harman and Jeff Sieh for their help, knowledge and expertise in breaking
down the very fundamentals of what IS social media. We’ll be breaking it down even further on
Thursday at 5pm PST / 8pm EST … so please join us then if you can.
Tomorrow night we have our
WEDNESDAY NIGHT LIVE SALES – 4 shops, selling LIVE (our mini-Home Shopping Network).
THURSDAY NIGHT: TheCraftStar BootCamp Breakdown with Brandon. We want to make sure you get all the information shared on Tuesdays so you're ready for the next week. You'll be able to join us "in the room" and ask any questions you may have. This is available for CraftStar sellers only.
NEXT TUESDAY … Part 2 of
The CraftStar Social Media Bootcamp … we’ll be focusing on Pinterest and
Instagram. So make sure you have
accounts in both places .. and our guest PROS will be showing us how best to
utilize those!
SOURCES:
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