Social Media Strategiesfor Beginners

2011 TFEA Conference & Trade ShowAnchors Aweigh!

July 8, 2011

About Me

GEEK ALERT!!

About Me

Today We’ll Cover …

• Social media review• Common social media platforms• What to say• Best Practices

Good-bye, Broadcast. Hello, Conversation.- Shel Israel

Co-Author of Naked Conversations

“

Social Media Review

It’s Not Just for Little Susie

The ROI of Social Media

Benefits of Social Media

• It’s FREE!• Builds deeper relationships• Increases brand awareness • Broadens your network• Helps SEO• Increases website traffic• Can help reach journalists/media• Empowers fans to be viral ambassadors

for your brand

Source: Social Media for Tourism Pros

Bring the best of your authentic self to every opportunity.

- John Jantsch Author of Duct Tape Marketing

“

Common Social Media PlatformsFacebook & Twitter

What Is Facebook?

• Social networking service that allows users to connect to friends and businesses

• Share content, links, photos, and videos• Comment on others’ activity• Remember: Personal profiles are for people,

not businesses. Develop a fan page instead.

Facebook Stats

• Over 500 million active users• Fastest growing demographic is women 55

years old and up • Average user is connected to 80 pages,

groups, or events• 50% of active users log onto Facebook daily• 250 million+ users access Facebook from a

mobile device– This group is 2x as active as those who don’t

Source: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

What Is Facebook?

Facebook Benefits

• Low cost• Engage with fans of your page• Fans receive your updates and can upload

comments, photos, and video• When fans engage you on your page, their

activity shows up in their friends’ streams– This can prompt others to check out your page

and your organization!

Facebook Benefits

• Can incorporate content from other social media platforms– Ex: blog posts, updates from Twitter, pictures from

Flickr, videos from YouTube, location-based apps (FourSquare & Gowalla), etc.

• Targeted advertising opportunities (cheap too!)

What Is Twitter?

• Free social networking and micro-blogging site that allows users to send and read messages known as “tweets”

• Tweets can have no more than 140 characters & are delivered to the author’s subscribers, known as “followers”

Twitter Stats

• 200+ million users• 500,000 new users sign up daily• 37% of active users use their mobile phone to

tweet• Twitter users are 3x more likely to follow a

brand on Twitter than any other social networking site

Source: http://blog.hubspot.com

What Is Twitter?

Twitter Benefits

• Low cost• Speed of feedback• Potential reach of message• Customer engagement/service• Track what people are saying about your

organization• Create buzz around upcoming events• Promote your organization and other content

you create

Twitter is not a technology. It’s a conversation. And it’s happening with or without you.

- Charlene LiCo-Author of Groundswell

“

So What Do I Say?

So What Do I Say?

• FAQs• Updates on festival events and activities• Highlight performers or artists• Unique food and drink• Content you want to promote• Content from partners• Observations• What you’re reading or watching

Rules of Engagement

• Listen more than you talk• Remember: It’s about them, not you.• Provide value far beyond your particular

site or service

Source: Social Media for Tourism Pros

Formula for Success

70 20 10

Source: Social Media for Tourism Pros

Formula for Success

• 70% of content = value-added, audience-based & not about you at all

• 20% of content = spontaneous interaction with followers, fans, or friends

• 10% of content = unabashed self-promotion

70 20 10

Source: Social Media for Tourism Pros

“The biggest mistake we see companies make when they first hit Twitter is to think about it as a channel to push out information.

- Tim O’Reilly & Sara MilsteinCo-Authors of The Twitter Book

Best Practices

Share Helpful Information

Make Exclusive Offers

Make Exclusive Offers

Make Exclusive Offers

Polls and Contests

Be the Concierge

Ask & Answer Questions

Ask & Answer Questions

Have a Compelling Bio

Link To Everything …

… on Everything

Create “Terms of Use”

Create “Terms of Use”

Create Group Rules

If you agree to these rules, you can join the groupOnly post pictures to this group for which you own the original copyright or are in the public domain.

All pictures posted to this group may be used by the Colorado River Trail in its various publications, both print or online (including social media). We will credit you as the photographer on any photo that we use.

Only photos depicting the Colorado River Trail region will be accepted. We reserve the right to reject submissions to our Flickr group displaying content we deem to be inappropriate or offensive without prior warning. The Colorado River Trail reserves the right to update the Group Rules.

Use Personality

Use Personality

Use Personality

Use Favorite Pages

Tag on Facebook

Get Great Photos with Flickr Groups

Create a Social Media Directory

Create a Social Media Directory

Create a Social Media Directory

Create a Social Media Directory

Make the customer the hero of your story.- Ann Handley

Chief Content OfficerMarketingProfs

“

Questions?

Old School:• Phone – 512.473.3513• E-mail – sarah.page@lcra.org

New School:• Twitter - @ColoradoRiverTr (work), @pagetx (personal)• Facebook – facebook.com/ColoradoRiverTrail• Flickr – flickr.com/groups/ColoradoRiverTrail • Foursquare – foursquare.com/pagetx• Gowalla – gowalla.com/users/pagetx (personal), gowalla.com/users/ColoradoRiverTrail (work)• Delicious – delicious.com/pagetx• Slideshare – slideshare.net/pagetx