BBA presentation recap

Based on general feedback the presentation for the BBA went well today and I already have several social media mentions:

1. Executive Editor of the Burlington Free Press, Mike Townsend was there, along with a gaggle or would it be plethora of BFP representation -- seriously, they practically took up half the room! Mike posted a good recap of the meeting in his blog entry and even directed people to my Twitter and my Plurk accounts! Thanks Mike for sending me the link! By the way, if you haven't subscribed to the BFP Twitter updates, you should, it's a great way to stay on top of news items locally.
   
2. Jackie Kazil, the Digital Developer at the BFP Twittered during the presentation. (found that through Summize).

Very cool. Hope to see more of these types of posts -- not for my own personal gratification (seriously!), but more to see the businesses who were there begin to participate and use social media.

Much thanks go out to Dave Gibson from Propeller for mentioning "Google Alerts" as a way to monitor. Great catch Dave!

Next presentation will be on July 22 and 23 to middle and high school educators from CVU and surrounding areas on social media use for the classroom -- the good, the bad and the ugly. Lot's to talk about there.

Summer Presentation Series Part 3: Web 2.0 for the Burlington Business Association

I'll be presenting on "Web 2.0: What is it and Why you need to know" tomorrow (Thursday, July 10) to the members of the Burlington Business Association.

Even though I'll be using PowerPoint...I'm posting the outline and links here.

1. What is Web 2.0? Peter Rivera, SVP of Interactive Design & Development at AOL has this nifty little graph that provides a great visual. You might actually remember this from an old posting of mine from the iDMAa conference in Nov. 2007. Basically the old model is the one website with everything focused on that site. The intermediate model is still having that one website, but also including a blog or social networking sites but it all still points back to the main site (pretty much what we are seeing right now with the 2008 political campaign). The new model is more about creating a "brand web" that encompasses the informational site, all the social media including blogs and social networking and recommenders plus many micro-sites that fulfill needs of specific customer segments. Whew! Yep. That's Web 2.0!
   
   While I won't have time in the presentation tomorrow to show a video, I certainly can embed it here. This is a social anthropologists view of Web 2.0 and frankly I love it. It really gets at the behind the scenes and shows a great deal of the functionality of what these tools are bringing us all.
   
   
   
   
2. Some Interesting Examples (mostly localized):
   
   Social Networking -- MySpace, Facebook. Think applications (you control, consumers pass on). My link is to my Facebook page where I'll show the new Coldwell Banker "Housestrology" application that was sent to me by our local CBHB Reality folks.
   
   Online Video: YouTube, Google Video: Think video for the masses (consumers control, consumers pass on). At this link is a list of the top YouTube Videos about Burlington, VT. Notice that the visit of "Where the Hell is Matt?" is in the top 6 viewed videos!
   
   Blogging: Journalist, citizen, CEO and individual: Think new news and PR paradigm. Check out the links to our own 7Days Blurt, iBrattleboro, Jeff Hollander's blog at Seventh Generation and of course, my blog!
   
   Community Recommendations: Amazon, Trip Advisor, FindandGoSeek: Think user generated advice/recommendations (you and consumers control different pieces). The links are to Trip Advisor for Burlington -- I wonder how many of the BBA members are on that site? And the second one is to local startup Find and Go Seek. Great and powerful local recommender for family stuff to do.
   
   
3. What does all of this mean for your business?
   
   The tried and true still works!
   –Know your customer
   –Stay true to your brand
   –Don’t lose site of your goals
   
   BUT! Be ready to GIVE UP CONTROL!
   –User Generated Content is here to stay
   –Turn your customers into your message boards
   –Take the risk, but monitor, monitor, monitor
   
   
4. Pitfalls to avoid
   
   1. Ignoring the inevitable.
   2. Just jumping on the bandwagon without thinking it through.
   3. Assuming the “younger generation” has all the answers! (They don’t)
   4. Not putting resources into “Social Media”.
   5. Only focusing on one marketing channel.
   
   
5. Getting Started
   
   1. Educate yourself. What are the tools? What do they do? Play with them.
   2. Know your audience. Which tools make the best sense for your business?
   3. Talk about it. What are other small businesses doing? Locally, regionally, nationally?
   4. Take action. Select a tool and commit to using it for a period of time.
   5. Track your ROI. Did it convert based on your goals?
   
   
6. Resources to Help
   
   Education: CommonCraft: http://www.commoncraft.com/ and WEB 2.0 for Business Advantage (pdf): http://tinyurl.com/553r5l
   
   Talking: Seminars like this one!, Local mixers and special sub-committees to share ideas and resources.
   
   Planning and Action: Expert Resources and Interns for specific projects to help with planning and strategy, local Vendors such as Epik, Propeller, and KSV to help with implementation, hire new positions responsible for this type of marketing.
   

And there you have it. That's the nuts and bolts of my presentation -- all to be given in 35 minutes tomorrow morning at 8:00 a.m. They promise the breakfast will be good!