More than 65 club members and their guests did as they gathered at a large conference room in the offices of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom on April 12 to attend a sold-out social media seminar. We all know that Facebook is at the center of the fast-moving social media revolution. It adds more than 500,000 new users daily. With more than 600 million users, Facebook would rank as the third largest country in the world. Considering all this, Robin Colner, WG’83, Founder and President of DigiStar Media, initiated a Digital Media Series for Wharton alumni. The event featured Jeff Ragovin, Chief Revenue Officer of Buddy Media, and Danielle Trencher, Marketing Manager for Scripps Networks Interactive.

Buddy Media has quickly become the Facebook management system of choice among the world’s top brands to drive their business on Facebook. This platform enables brands to launch, manage, grow and measure their Facebook presence in any country at any time and in any language. Ragovin shared case studies on leading companies, such as HGTV, Domino’s, Budweiser, Zappos.com, Starwood, Target and L’Oreal, as they use social media and Facebook to listen to their clients.

Ragovin explained that the key is building engagement. First, companies should focus on building their communities and establishing content. Then, they can begin to push their products. Ragovin said that companies are no longer driving consumers to their websites but are driving them to their Facebook pages.

Ragovin gave the following tips:

— Make the most of your assets.
— Provide compelling fans-only content.
— Keep the page busy with fresh content.
— Get fans to guide your content.
— Ask questions!
— Don’t ignore your fans: They love you, so love them back.

Danielle Trencher heads social media campaigns at Scripps Networks Interactive, including those of the Food Network. She explained that its online social media plans and brand launches include guidelines for measuring effectiveness and ROI. She described the community, consumers and various holiday programs that the Food Network has developed to create unique content experiences that engage users. Discussions were lively, and everyone walked away with something. One man who was 75 years old left with new
ideas to drive revenue and build his brand, while another left with tools and solutions to launch a Facebook page. I, myself, walked away with a Starbucks gift card, one of the many gift cards that were given out throughout the evening to reward customer loyalty. Many thanks to Robin for an awesome event!