Many businesses dive into using social media without a thought, they learn as they go and some of these are hugely successful.  Others assume it’s not the right fit for their business so don’t bother looking.  On Tuesday I’ll be talking at the SME Business Summit in Kilkenny about how to decide if social media is right for your business and busting some common myths about social media.  Here’s a taster of what I’ll be talking about.

Where to start

Using social media as a marketing tool is in many ways the same as any kind of marketing, you need to identify your customer.  It’s no use trying to reach ‘everyone’ even if your target market is ‘everyone’ you need to segment it, define exactly each type of customer you have.  Once you have done this you can endeavour to find out if they use social media tools.

One sure fire way to know if potential customers are on social media is to see if your existing ones are, do they have Facebook pages? Twitter accounts? Linkedin profiles?  Next draw up a list of dream clients and see if they are using social media.  If the answer to any of these is yes list the networks are they using.  This should form your starting point, if your customers are there you should be there too.

Things we might not think of a social networks

When we talk about social media most people think of Facebook, some think of Twitter and others may look further.  However it’s not just these online websites that are social.  Social media reaches much further, essentially it is all interaction on the Internet, whether this happens on an online forum, a blog or through product reviews it is all social.  For those of you who know they’re customers are not on Facebook it’s worth looking at how else you can interact with them online.  Is it worth you setting up a forum on your website?  Can you mobilise a group of people and form your own community?  A great example of this in action is Design Spark from  RS components.  They have built a social network where engineers can share knowledge and learn, it gives them the opportunity to understand their market and sell key products on the back of it.

Monitoring

Are people talking about you online already?  This is one of the most compelling reasons to use social media.  It’s a common misconception that starting a Facebook page or a Twitter account leaves you open to complaints.  In reality if someone wants to complain about you they will, whether you are online or not.  If you have a presence you have the opportunity to manage your customer care in a transparent way.  Twitter is often used as a customer service tool.  I’ve found 02, and Asda very receptive, responding to just a mere mention of their names.

It’s important to know if people are talking about you. If you are a larger company it’s worth investing in a monitoring tool, here’s a list of paid monitoring tools & the costs involved [thanks to Black Dog New Media].  Smaller businesses are less likely to have people talking about them online so the free tools such as Google Alerts are adequate. Here’s a list of free monitoring tools.  As a small business it’s also important to monitor the internet for industry trends and competitors, this will keep you clued in and help you decide whether a social media presence is relevant to you.

For more on how to decide if social media is right for your business come along to the SME Summit on Tuesday (29th November 2011) and follow the hashtag #sebiz on the day.

Ever since I started working for myself I’ve made an effort to attend a number of conferences, at least twice a year I go to the UK and there are many in Ireland that I try to get to as well.  But why?  The perception can be that conferences are either an excuse for a holiday or terribly boring, for me neither of these are true.  Whatever industry you are in I believe that going to events like these  can enhance your business in many ways. But why and how?

Why do I go to conferences?

To improve my knowledge

It’s the obvious answer.  I want to be the best at what I do so I need to keep learning, keep on top of new developments and learn from the experience of others. Social media is such a fast moving field that it takes a lot of reading and discussion to keep up to date with developments.

To meet people

It’s true I do know a number of social media enthusiasts, I talk to them regularly but there’s nothing as comforting as getting in a room full of social media geeks.  We can be an odd bunch and it might be hard for others to understand how we get so excited about the latest monitoring dashboard or marketing ploy.  I imagine whatever industry you are in this applies.  It can be a bit daunting walking into a big room full of strangers to start with but with Twitter to break the ice conversations usually occur.  The recent Bloggers International event arose from a collaboration with someone I met at a conference.

To take time out

I’ve recently become passionate about work life balance.  This might seem an odd revelation for someone who has been running her own businesses for around 7 years but it’s something too many of us overlook.  Taking time out from your regular schedule can spark new ideas and help you see your business from a different perspective.  A day at a conference learning from others can really get your creative juices flowing.  It can restore your motivation and passion for your business.

#SMM11

On September 19th I’m attending the Social Media Marketing and Monitoring (#SMM11) conference in London.  This is the third year I will have attended and I’m looking forward to brushing up on my skills and being challenged by some ideas from the speakers.  Every year I come back buzzing with ideas about how I can implement what I’ve learnt.  For me the best speakers in the past have been those giving strong case studies.  It’s always good to hear directly from people what has and hasn’t worked for them and discover what insights they have discovered on the way.  The event run by ‘Our Social Times’ takes place on 19th September in Central London you can book tickets here. If you want to follow what I’m getting up to on the day look out for tweets with the #SMM11 tag.

Some Irish Conferences Not To Be Missed

Dublin Web Summit – This looks like an unmissable event with speakers from YouTube and Linkedin on the agenda.  I’ve heard great things about previous DWS so I’m hoping I’ll finally make it to this one.

BizCamp Galway – I love the BizCamp format.  It’s a shared learning arena where businesses share knowledge.  Anyone can register as a speaker and I’ve been lucky enough to speak at two Dublin BizCamp’s but I actually enjoyed it more as a participant at the first one I attended.  There’s a great friendly atmosphere and the slightly informal air makes it a really comfortable place to be.

Foodcamp – Kilkenny seems to be becoming the food capital of Ireland.  Foodcamp takes place in October and is based on a similar format to BizCamp.  I get hungry just looking at the pictures!

National Women’s Enterprise Day - This conference has been running for years and is one of the most enjoyable one’s that I have attended.  I believe men are welcome too so don’t be put off by the name.  At just €100 to attend it’s a bit of a bargain.

Bob Proctor - (disclaimer Vision Seminars who are running this event are clients of mine). If you are a believer in ‘The Secret’ ‘The Law Of Attraction’ or even just positive thinking this should be a great event.  Positive thinking is all very well but how do we convert this into action?  Find out at this day seminar.

Are you attending any conferences this year? If so which ones?  Am I missing any great events from my list? Let me know what’s going on in the comment box below.

This Thursday (27th Jan 2011) at 7pm GMT / 2pm ET, I will be live on the Social Media Ireland’s Facebook page chatting and answering your questions about Selling online using social media.

The hour long session is the second time Social Media Ireland has run such an event, at the beginning of January Krishna De was the guest expert talking about Facebook and there was a massive turn out with lots of information and advice changing hands.  If you want to see what went on scroll back on Social Media Ireland’s Facebook page.

As many of you may know I started my business career selling corporate gifts online and much of my marketing activity was based in social media.  Because of this background I will be focusing this chat specifically on Social Media Marketing for selling online.  So if you are an online or offline retailer and want to know more about how to market your business and promote sales through Facebook, Twitter, Youtube etc drop in, ask a question or just find out what challenges others face.

To book your seat, RSVP to the event on Facebook and tune in on Thursday to Social Media Ireland’s Facebook page.  I will be collating the most useful stuff into a blog post next week.

Each week we are featuring one of the Work The Web workshops here on our blog.

This weeks featured workshop is ‘Owning Your Own Website’

Who is this workshop for?

This is not a course for nerds or technophiles – it is a course for the common or garden business person who wants to understand and appreciate the technology behind one of their greatest sales tools – their website.

Each week we are featuring one of the Work The Web workshops here on our blog.

This weeks featured workshop is ‘E-Commerce & Selling Online’

Who is this workshop for?

This workshop helps participants understand what e-commerce is, the benefits of using the Internet to sell products and services and how to implement e-commerce. This workshop is for both existing online retailers and those who are in the planning stage.

What you will learn:

• What is e-commerce?

• How it works

• How it could benefit you

• What could you sell online and to whom?

• What type of e-commerce is right for you?

• How might e-commerce change your business?

• Setting up e-commerce on your website

• Setting up the facility with your bank

• Security and reliability issues

• What price to charge for products

• Pricing models

• Payment methods

• Fulfillment and distribution

• Purchasing policies

• How to let users select items to purchase (the shopping cart options)

• How to promote your e-commerce facility

• Maintaining the e-commerce facility

• Google analytics and e-commerce

• Case studies

Where & When:

We are running this one day workshop on:

Friday 14th May at Jury’s Inn, Custom House Quay, Dublin 1

and

Thursday 3rd June at The Maudlins House Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare

A limited number of Early Bird tickets are available for €95

Full price tickets cost €145

Payment Details

If you wish to pay by Visa or Mastercard please simple pay online when booking your tickets. If you wish to pay by Laser or if you prefer to pay by Visa/Mastercard over the phone please call 091 399 939 and tell the receptionist that you wish to pay by credit card. To pay by cheque or EFT please contact Ruairi on 091 399 939 for details.

Each week we are featuring one of the Work The Web workshops here on our blog.

This weeks featured workshop is ‘Blogging For Business’

Who is this workshop for?

Small to medium sized business owners who own a website but feel that they are not maximising it to it’s full potential. Paricipants should already have a basic knowledge of Social Media.

What you will learn:

Where & When:

We are running this one day workshop on:

Thursday 13th May at The Maudlins House Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare

and

Friday 28th May at at Jury’s Inn, Custom House Quay, Dublin 1

A limited number of Early Bird tickets are available for €95

Full price tickets cost €145

Payment Details

If you wish to pay by Visa or Mastercard please simple pay online when booking your tickets. If you wish to pay by Laser or if you prefer to pay by Visa/Mastercard over the phone please call 091 399 939 and tell the receptionist that you wish to pay by credit card. To pay by cheque or EFT please contact Ruairi on 091 399 939 for details.

Each week we are featuring one of the Work The Web workshops here on our blog.

This weeks featured workshop is ‘Blogging For Business’

Who is this workshop for?

Small to medium sized business owners who own a website but feel that they are not maximising it to it’s full potential.

What you will learn:

If you would like to start a blog for business but aren’t sure where to start, we can show you how to do it from the ground up. We will show you everything you need to know in order to set up a blog easily and quickly and to maximise both SEO and branding potential.

• Choosing hosting and domain name

• WordPress vs Blogger

• Creating your blog online

• Configuring basic blog settings

• Changing the look of your blog

• Creating your first post

• Formatting and editing posts

• Using hyperlinks

• Embedding video and images

• Managing comments

• Tags, Keywords, and SEO

• Case studies – Blogs that work

• Setting a blogging schedule

• Different types of blogs

• Targeting your market

• What to write

• Goals and calls to action

Where & When:

We are running this one day workshop on:

Friday 7th May at at Jury’s Inn, Dublin 1

and

Thursday 27th May at The Maudlins House Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare

A limited number of Early Bird tickets are available for €95

Full price tickets cost €145

Payment Details

If you wish to pay by Visa or Mastercard please simple pay online when booking your tickets. If you wish to pay by Laser or if you prefer to pay by Visa/Mastercard over the phone please call 091 399 939 and tell the receptionist that you wish to pay by credit card. To pay by cheque or EFT please contact Ruairi on 091 399 939 for details.

Each week we are going to feature one of the Work The Web workshops here on our blog.

The first one is ‘Social Media For Business’

Who is this workshop for?

Small to medium sized business owners who own a website but feel that they are not maximising it to it’s full potential.

This workshop will provide you with the skills required to market your brand online and increase traffic to your website using social media.

This is a complete introduction to Social Media for business focusing on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and YouTube.

What you will learn:

• Case studies on the different ways businesses are using social media.
• How to set up pages, groups, and events.
• How to populate your pages.
• How to attract fans and followers.
• Key strategies for each network.
• How to syndicate your blog or RSS feed across each network.
• Top tips to remember about each network.

Where & When

We are running this one day workshop on:

Thursday 6th May at The Maudlins House Hotel, Naas, Co. Kildare

and

Friday 21st May at Jury’s Inn, Dublin 1

A limited number of Early Bird tickets are available for €95

Full price tickets cost €145

Payment Details

If you wish to pay by Visa or Mastercard please simple pay online when booking your tickets. If you wish to pay by Laser or if you prefer to pay by Visa/Mastercard over the phone please call 091 399 939 and tell the receptionist that you wish to pay by credit card. To pay by cheque or EFT please contact Ruairi on 091 399 939 for details.

Thanks to everyone who completed our Work The Web survey, your responses have helped us create a set of workshops which we believe will help you unleash the power of your website.

Today sees the launch of our new website: www.worktheweb.eu .  We have designed five, one day workshops covering everything from Social Media to E-commerce running at two locations: Dublin and Naas. The workshops will give you the knowledge you require to really start making the most of your website.

There are a limited number of ‘Early Bird’ tickets available for €95 per workshop.  Full price tickets are €145.

Book Now

Click the links below to find out more and book your place today:

Social Media for Business – Dublin / Naas

Creating a Social Media Campaign – Dublin / Naas

Blogging for Business – Dublin / Naas

E-Commerce and Selling Online – Dublin / Naas

Owning Your Own Website – Dublin / Naas

You can purchase your tickets online with Paypal

or

Call Kro IT Solutions:  091 399 939 To pay by credit card, Laser or cheque.

For more information contact Spiderworking.com: 01 442 9410

Spiderworking.com is teaming up with Kro IT solutions to offer a series of ‘Work The Web’ workshops.

The workshops are designed to help website owners make the most of their online presence.  We are still in the planning stages and if you are based in Ireland we would love your input so that we can tailor the courses specifically to your needs.

If you have a few minutes please complete our simple survey by clicking here.

Feel free to pass the link onto any other business owners you know in Ireland.

Watch this space for more details on the workshops.