Can social media deliver qualified leads and revenue generating opportunities to your business initiatives? Yes it can and in many ways. I should know as I have been delivering social media results since 2004. The challenge is that most businesses find they don't know which tools to use or how to effectively utilize them. It takes a unique blend of expertise and experience that will drive anticipated results.

1. Monetizing Your Business Initiatives in 2015 via Social
Media Outreach by Richard Sink, Founder of Critical
Connections

2. Get Social or Get Left Behind
 The companies that perform best over time
build a social purpose into their operations
that is as important as their economic
purpose. —Harvard Business Review

3. Unstoppable Success
 LinkedIn: 325M+ professionals in 150 industries in
over 200 countries
 Facebook: 1.2B+ active users
 Twitter: 284M+ active users
 Google+: 540M+ active users
 Pinterest: outpaced email to become the third most
popular sharing channel in the fourth quarter of 2013
Social Media is Your Brand, live and in motion

4. What Is Social Media?
 Conversational Marketing
 Powered by Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and
>3000 other platforms
 With Your Customers, Prospects,
Shareholders and Communities
 Unorganized and Uncontrolled
 Always changing

5. Enough with the
Social Media Blah, Blah
Give me the real deal!

6. How to do Social Media
 Facilitate discussions - Be Provocative
 Make social media part of the job,
just like email
 Offer help, advice & support
 Personalize requests and approaches
 Promote value-add across channels
 Emphasize quality, not just quantity

7. Keep the Relationship Alive
 Don't neglect your fans once the
connection has been made
 The biggest mistake companies make
with social media is that they set it up
and abandon it
 Keep followers engaged
 Spark conversation
 Share common interests
 Avoid being "spammy”

8. Building Business on LinkedIn
Participate and Investigate
 Find and join groups in your industry and your prospects industry
 Participate in online discussions in groups that are important to your
industry
 Use LinkedIn for Polls to ask questions and get insight and tips from
your network
 Source vendors, partners, suppliers, and new hires
 Review competitors’ information
 Check references on people you hire or do business with

9. Building Business on Twitter
"The real-time conversations that fill the Twitterverse offer an
abundance of market insight and unprecedented visibility into
consumer sentiment." --Ryan Holmes
 Track conversations about your brand—and your competitors.
 The dialogue on Twitter gives you a real-time focus group to
help drive innovation and adaptation.
 Find your most influential Twitter followers. Engage your
influencers with exclusive offers, sneak previews, or just
friendly acknowledgment.
 Measure the effectiveness of your campaigns. What is not
measured is not known.

10. Building Business on Twitter…
 Have more than one Twitterer at the company. People leave. People take
vacations. It’s nice to have a variety.
 When promoting a blog post, ask a question or explain what’s coming next,
instead of just dumping a link.
 Ask questions. Twitter is GREAT for getting opinions.
 Follow interesting people. If you find someone who tweets interesting things,
see who they follow, and follow them.
 Tweet about other people’s stuff. Again, doesn’t directly impact your
business, but makes us feel like you’re not “that guy.”
 Promote your employees “outside of work” stories.
 Share links to cool stuff in your community and industry.

11. Building Business on Facebook

12. Google+ Local Search Listings
According to a recent research by Google:
85% of smartphone users have searched for
local information
81% have taken action as a result of search
information
40% have visited in person
35% have called a business after searching

13. Social Media Purpose
1. Goal-based
2. Magnetic
3. Aligned
4. Scales
5. Evolves
6. Low risk
7. Measurable
8. Community-driven

14. Critical Failures
1. Goal contradiction – The purpose doesn't match strategic
goals, business needs and community desires
2. Process disconnect – Social media programs are not
connected with other business functions. Be organic!
3. Multiplicity – Many uncoordinated efforts that reduce
effectiveness and cause confusion
4. Monologue – Ignoring the potential for discussion and
collaboration within your communities
5. It’s not about You! – It’s about Them!!

15. Success Plan Recommendations
1. Consistency – Keep the purpose consistent with strategic
goals, community needs and the response authentic
2. Coordination – Make sure attempts into social media are not
disconnected from other business functions
3. Charter – Assign responsibility for plan development,
education, execution, governance and refinement
4. Conversation – Engage with your targeted communities by
creating opportunities for discussion and collaboration
5. Creativity – Encourage individual creativity, passion and
controversial

16. The Simple Way to Get What You
Want From Social Media
You don’t get if you don’t ask

17. Action Plan for Social Media Agenda
Monday Morning
- Begin examining how social media is already impacting your business
- Connect with existing partners, clients, database, prospects and Open
Networkers. Start building your value-based network now!
Next 90 Days
- Assemble a team and build a social media strategy. Look at competitors,
clients and prospects conversations and associations
- Deploy a social media initiative from the strategy
- Begin evolving leadership and corporate culture in a direction towards social
media familiarity
- Plan for and execute on building a corporate competency in social media

18. It’s not about Marketing, it’s about
Engagement!
www.linkedin.com/in/rsink
www.facebook.com/criticalconnections
twitter.com/Richard_Sink
rsink@critical-connections.net
(949) 226-9844