Starting or Enhancing Your Social Media

Strategy

By Angela KeyserAK Communications

angela@angelakeyser.comPhone: 715-212-2910

Twitter: @Angela_Keyser

Before We Begin…

“To succeed, we first must believe we can.” -Michael Korda

Todays’ Goal

From this

Todays’ Goal

To this

Overview

1. Why social media is important2. How to get started3. Overview of top five social media networks4. Tools and tips for managing social media5. Measuring what matters6. Top tips for blogging, videos, contests7. Resources

A Little Bit About Me

Where it all began…

A Little About Me

B.S. Animal Science & International Agribusiness

Spent the last 10 years working in food & agriculture marketing & public relations

A Little About Me

Military SpouseNew MomDifficult to grow

career given transient nature of the military

Started AK Communications in fall 2011

Coaching, Consulting + Freelancing Marketing Strategy Advertising Public Relations Events/Tradeshows Websites Branding Social Media Copy + Content Writing Sales Tools

Why Social Media?

Why Social Media?

What are the top 3 most visited websites?

A. Amazon, Yahoo!, Facebook

B. Wikipedia, Google, YouTube

C. Google, Facebook, YouTube

Why Social Media?

What is the most popular

online activity?

A. Google-ing

B. Social Networking

C. News Reading

Why Social Media?

What website drives more

referrals than Google+,

LinkedIn & YouTube?

Why Social Media?

What is the fastest growing demographic on

Facebook?

Why Social Media?

Why Social Media?

Social networks and blogs reach what percentage of the

active U.S. internet users?

A. 33%B. 55%C. 80%

Why Social Media?

Last year, the followers on this network claimed it had 24%

influence on purchase behavior.

This year, the followers of that same network claim it has a 47%

influence on purchases.

Why Social Media?

Other Important StatisticsThe ‘check-in’ trend never existed22% of Americans check social sites several times/dayB2C companies who blog regularly see an 88% increase in median monthly leads (B2B see 67% increase)

Why Social Media?

Other Important StatisticsHalf of all local searches are performed on a mobile device49% of smartphone users use their device for social networkingMobile & video are the fastest growing areas in marketing Social media helps your SEO

Why Social Media?

In one minute online there are:100 new accounts created on LinkedIn100,000 tweets sent on Twitter277,000 log ins on Facebook2.8 million videos viewed on YouTube

How to Get Started

“Begin with the end in mind” Habit #2 of The 7 Habits of Highly

Effective People

How to Get Started

How to Get Started

Going Back to Business Basics Do you have an existing marketing plan? If so, revisit it. If not, develop one.What is your brand image?

Fun, sophisticated, adventurous, creative, wholesome, family-focused?

Market Research Who are your target

customers? Ages? Lifestyles? Where do they spend their free

time? What needs/wants do they have? Where do they go for information? What challenges do they have that

you could help out with?

How to Get Started

Market Research Who are your competitors?

What are their strengths? What are their weaknesses?

What’s your competitive advantage? What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? How are you different/better?

How to Get Started

Product What are you selling?

What adjectives can you use to describe your product?

What are the tangible things you sell? What are the intangible things you sell? What are the benefits of your product? How does your product make your

customer’s life better/easier?

How to Get Started

What are your company’s core values & key messages?

How to Get Started

What is your annual marketing activity calendar? Review social media Gantt chart

How to Get Started

The Top 5 Social Networks

The Top 5 Social Networks

Twitter Facebook YouTube Google+ Pinterest

Top 5 Social Networks

Over 1 billion monthly users globally47% male, 53% femaleTraffic is highest mid-week btwn 1-3pmEngagement is 18% higher on Thurs &

FriBrand engagement in 2011 increased by

176%

Top 5 Social Networks

77% of B2C companies acquired customers from FB (43% of B2B)

9:1 ratio of views to sharesAuto-posting to FB decreases likes

and comments by 70%95% of all wall posts are not

answered by brands

Top 5 Social Networks

Is it right for you? Most likely should be #1 SM priority if you’re a B2C businessAre you willing to commit to posting dailyDo you have the capability to answer all wall posts?Can you identify at least 1 other person that can help?

Top 5 Social Networks

How to get started Watch & Listen

Identify 3-5 pages you admire/are similar to your business and study them

Notice what comments get the most engagement and which ones don’t

Pay attention to how the brand words things

Top 5 Social Networks

How to get startedStart Your Page

Fill in as much company information as possible Post several pictures/videos Make several posts before you make your page

public

Top 5 Social Networks

How to get startedLaunching & Engaging

After making your FB page public, let everyone know Share in your eNewsletter, advertising, website, brochures, etc. Don’t focus on number of followers, focus on engagement Use your platform for a variety of things:

Promoting your services/products (sales, promotions) Product education Market research Product development

Top 5 Social Networks

How to get startedFine-Tuning & Exploring

Multiple postings per day Posting at different times of day Focus on call-to-actions Less is more (photos, short videos & short posts) Partner up with other like-minded pages Using apps Develop contests

Facebook Contest Tips

Facebook Contest Tips

Contest TipsKnow the rulesWhat is your goal/why are you doing this?What type of contest are you having?

Sweepstakes, essay, photo, video

What’s the prize? Needs to be enticing Ideally promotes your brand, product, service

Facebook Contest Tips

Contest TipsKeep it simplePromote it everywhereUse it to gather information/insightResources

ShortStack.com for 3rd party Facebook apps HubSpot.com’s – How to Master Facebook Marketing in 10 days SocialMediaExaminer.com’s – 9 Tips for Running Successful

Facebook Contests

Top 5 Social Networks

MeasureTrack Monthly LikesPay attention to which posts get most engagementAsk for feedback from followersReward most engaged followers

Top 5 Social Networks

500 years of YouTube video are watched on Facebook every day

4 billion YouTube videos are viewed per day800 million unique visitors a month700 YouTube videos are shared on Twitter

each minuteTraffic from mobile devices tripled in 2011

Top 5 Social Networks

YouTube was bought by Google so you can access YouTube through your Google account

Top 5 Social Networks

To create a channel Log into Google Click on YouTube along top of window Sign In on YouTube Go to upper right hand corner where your picture or a

blue picture icon is and click on the drop down menu Click on ‘Advanced’ underneath your name and email Under Channel Settings, click on ‘Rename Channel’

Top 5 Social Networks

How to get startedWatch and learnWhat is your purpose, goal, expected customer action?Does the content fit/support/complement your brand image, marketing plan activities & goals?Who will be your spokesperson/actor?

Top 5 Social Networks

How to get startedDo you have a suitable set?

No background distractions Pleasing to the eye and complementing the actor Ideally showcasing your product, service, brand

in an indirect way

Would an animated slide show better communicate your information?

Top 5 Social Networks

How to get startedDo you have all the tools?

Camera SD Card Tripod Lights Microphone Video editing software

Top 5 Social Networks

How to get startedIs you ‘actor’ comfortable speaking in front of the camera?What are your talking points?Do you need a script?Do you have the appropriate props to best tell the story?

Top 5 Social Networks

How to get startedKeep it short: less than 3 minutesFocus on product education vs self-produced advertisementKeep it entertaining

Action shots but not too much action Use simple sets, images, demonstrations Show that you’re human! Give the viewer something to do (Call-to-Action)

Top 5 Social Networks

What’s trending on Twitter today often becomes tomorrow’s newsIt’s becoming search-engine-likeOver 60% are womenGreat place to network with

Media Follow magazines/news/influencers People you would otherwise never meet

Top 5 Social Networks

Top 5 Social Networks

How to get startedYour handle (@Angela_Keyser) should be consistent with your brand nameUse key words and your website in your profile descriptionMake sure your profile image reflects your logo or brand imageDON’T tweet on someone’s behalf unless you publicly notify your followers

Top 5 Social Networks

How to get startedWatch, listen and learnStart following like-minded people & organizationsUse key words, phrases used in other marketing communicationsUsing a hashtag (#) directly before a word (#twitter) gives your tweet stronger searchabilityFocus on direct messaging and mentioning people vs. always blasting out information

Top 5 Social Networks

How to get startedOne of the best networks for news sharingMake sure you site your sourcesThe information can be overwhelming so learn to use lists or social aggregatorsLimit your timeMake sure you determine your goal every time you hop on the network

Top 5 Social Networks

Third most popular social network in regards to traffic

10.4 million usersSpend 97.8 minutes per visit80% femalePrimarily crafts, gifts, hobbies, interior

design, fashion, recipes

Top 5 Social Networks

Best time to pin in the day: 2-4pm ESTBest time to pin in the evening: 8pm-1am ESTRemember the focus is on imagesHow to Get StartedGo to Pinterest.com and request permission to

sign-upOnce you are granted permission, start

following people or companies to learn the ropes

Top 5 Social Networks

170 million usersUsers spend 3.3 minutes each time they visitPrimary users are college students and

software developersPrimarily maleThink of Facebook on steroids that hasn’t

caught on yet.

Top 5 Social Networks

How to get startedYou need a Google accountSign up for Google+ on the top left hand corner of the Google account home screenBegin searching for people and adding them to self-determined circlesGreat for organizing your friends and pages into more manageable groupsCan really help your SEO b/c backed by Google

Don’t Forget…

BloggingCompanies that blog have 55% more web visitors than those that don’tOne of the most valuable social media activities yet the most often under utilized b/c of time investment60% of blogs are updated twice a week

Blogging TipsDetermine the blog leader and 1-2 people to

supportDevelop a list of blog topics that compliment your

marketing plan and expertiseSet aside a chunk of time weekly or bi-weekly to

write several blog postsPost on a regular basisFocus on call-to-actions and engagementIf possible, integrate your blog with your websitePromote the content on all social media networks

Blogging TipsVary the content: slide shows, videos, guest

posts, interviews, reviews, commentaryKeep it shortPay attention to what drives engagement and

what doesn’tChoose headlines wisely (look to newspaper,

magazine and other blog headlines for guidance)

Remember to tag your postsUse Blogger (Google) or Wordpress.com for

blogging

Don’t Forget…

LinkedInMore than 135 million usersB2B companies experience a 61% success rate with customer acquisitions from LinkedIn75 out of the Fortune 100 companies use LinkedIn to hireGroups are hit and miss but overall networking is extremely effective

Managing Social Media

Social Media AggregatorsHelp you manage everything in one placeAllow you to gather and track more specific data

TweetDeck.com HooteSuite.com VerticleResponse.com

Measuring What Matters

Measure based on goalsEstablish benchmarksBe patient – it’s a social scienceFocus on quality vs. quantity

Engagement vs number of followers Your target audience activity vs random visitor activity

As soon as possible, try to track conversion rates Click-through rates Clicks that result in purchases

Sources & Resources

MediaBistro.comSocialMediaExaminer.

comMashable.comHubSpot.comLinkedIn.com

Conclusion

Social media is completely doable given the right plan, focus and daily dedication

Don’t go it alone, find a partnerKeep up with the changes – find a social

media resource you like and try to read their information regularly. Or, meet with someone that does and get the download on a regular basis.

Remember, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. Slow and steady wins the race

Questions?

By Angela KeyserAK Communications

angela@angelakeyser.comPhone: 715-212-2910

Twitter: @Angela_Keyser