Introducing social media for small business aug 2013
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Introducing Social Media for Small BusinessNeil Infield – Manager Business & IP Centre
[email protected] - @ninfield (twitter) - www.britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/business
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3Introducing Social Media for Small Business – Neil Infield 2013
Who is the British Library for?
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We are for anyone who wants to do research academic, personal or commercial
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Key Criteria Registered or trading in LondonTrading for at least a year with proven salesTurnover shows you cover the cost of one other employee
Innovating for Growth programme
A free business consultancy worth over £10,000 to help you expand your business through new ideas, markets and products
www.bl.uk/bipc/innovating.html
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Aims to stimulate the application of open innovation principles to create jobs and new businesses
Partnership of business support organisations, higher education institutions, local government
Diverse programme of activities
Funded by Interreg IVB NEW
OpenInnovationProject.co.uk
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I can’t cover everything in two hours
A gallop through key areas
Develop an “About Me” script
Start to develop a Social Media Strategy
My top tips for success
Question Time
Two hours to cover all of Social Media?
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What is Social Media?
Social media refers to the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks
Ahlqvist, Toni; Bäck, A., Halonen, M., Heinonen, S (2008)
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Characteristics
Free or very low cost
or Freemium model
Simple technology using web browser, or mobile Apps
Lots of online help and guidanceSource - http://www.sxc.hu/profile/garwee
What is Social Media?
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What is Social Media really?
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For the UK only…
Facebook – 33 million people
Sourcehttp://www.rosemcgrory.co.uk/2013/01/08/uk-social-media-statistics-for-2013/
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AS-202_launch.jpg
Why all the fuss about Social Media?
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For the UK only…
Facebook – 33 million people
Twitter – approx 34 million active accounts
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AS-202_launch.jpg
Why all the fuss about Social Media?
Sourcehttp://www.rosemcgrory.co.uk/2013/01/08/uk-social-media-statistics-for-2013/
12Introducing Social Media for Small Business – Neil Infield 2013
For the UK only…
Facebook – 33 million people
Twitter – approx 34 million active accounts
LinkedIn – 11 million (79% over 35 years)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AS-202_launch.jpg
Why all the fuss about Social Media?
Sourcehttp://www.rosemcgrory.co.uk/2013/01/08/uk-social-media-statistics-for-2013/
13Introducing Social Media for Small Business – Neil Infield 2013
For the UK only…
Facebook – 33 million people
Twitter – approx 34 million active accounts
LinkedIn – 11 million (79% over 35)
Pinterest – under 1 million (but growing fast and 29% in highest income bracket)
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AS-202_launch.jpg
Why all the fuss about Social Media?
Sourcehttp://www.rosemcgrory.co.uk/2013/01/08/uk-social-media-statistics-for-2013/
14Introducing Social Media for Small Business – Neil Infield 2013
For the UK only…
Facebook – 33 million people
Twitter – approx 34 million active accounts
LinkedIn – 11 million (79% over 35)
Pinterest – under 1 million (but growing fast and 29% in highest income bracket)
Google Plus – unsure, but 135m globally active
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AS-202_launch.jpg
Why all the fuss about Social Media?
Sourcehttp://www.rosemcgrory.co.uk/2013/01/08/uk-social-media-statistics-for-2013/
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Find out what your
Customers
Critics
Fans
…are saying about you online
Spot trends
Monitor your competitors
Example: www.wigglywigglers.co.uk
What will Social Media do for you?
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Allow you to engage with your
Customers
Critics
Fans
…in a transparent manner
Measure your impact
Crowdsource your products and services
Example: Dress designer Sabina Alli crowdsourcing on Facebook - www.facebook.com/MotasemDresses
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kryten/125710155/
What will Social Media do for you?
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Wikipedia definition:
“Blogs are frequently updated webpages which are easy to edit and to share. They allow readers to subscribe as well as comment on the posts.”
Tend to be informal in style and short in length.
An addition to main business website.
Blogging for Small Business
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Why you should blog?
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Why you should blog?
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To build trust – ‘real’ people vs anonymous business
To build an audience
Increase Search Engine Optimisation without the risk – Google loves blogs and hates cheaters
Why you should blog?
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Drive traffic to your website – see above
To act as your social media hub
Be seen as an expert in your field – requires insightful, quality content
Reach a wider market – word of mouth referrals
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Kurhan
Why you should blog?
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With passion… and patience
For your audience
On your own or in a team
Mainly about things related to your business
Headings must be ‘Ronsealed’
How you should blog
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Regularly – minimum once a week
Content must be engaging / surprising / controversial / intriguing
Including images and videos
Length must be ‘just right’ – somewhere between Stephen Fry’s Blessays and Euan Semple’s The Obvious.
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/dspruitt
How you should blog
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Leveraging your other social media channels – Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, +Google, etc
Using your web domain if possible
Promote using contacts and ‘Blogroll’
Measure using built in tools or Google Analytics
How you should blog
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Not all spam is tasty
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Look out for Trolls
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Your “About Me”
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“The time has passed when Facebook was a "good idea" for businesses to try. It's now essential to your inbound marketing strategy.”
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/5492/How-to-Create-a-Facebook-Business-Page-in-5-Simple-Steps-With-Video.aspx#ixzz2NMs3aw5H
Facebook for Small Business
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Do’s
Stay active
Post frequently
Post questions
Ask about your customers
Include photos and videos
Offers and promotions
Facebook for Small Business
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Do’s
Stay active
Post frequently
Post questions
Ask about your customers
Include photos and videos
Offers and promotions
Don’ts
Too much activity
Too personal
Only posting links
Only in selling mode
Facebook for Small Business
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What can you fit into 140 characters?
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal. (72) – Thomas Jefferson
Aim for the sky and you’ll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and you’ll stay on the floor. (95) – Bill Shankly
An iron curtain has descended across the Continent. Behind that line lie all the capitals of the ancient states of Central & Eastern Europe. (140) – Winston Churchill
Less is more
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What is Twitter?
Micro blogging – 140 character limit
The ‘Marmite’ of Social Media services
Love it or loath it – it does work
Twitter for Small Business
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What is Twitter?
Smaller numbers than Facebook – but bigger spenders
Unparalleled access to celebrities and decision makers
An opportunity to ‘go’ viral
The current reigning champion of social media for business
Twitter for Small Business
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“More companies should use Twitter than Facebook. Twitter is like a search engine, it drives people to your website…
It is somewhere to bring your brand to life, give it more personality and humanise it.”
Jon Clarke - CEO Space & Time Meida
56% of tweets to companies are being ignored - AllTwitter.com
Why you should use Twitter
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Short term promotions and special offers
Invite feedback / market research
Enhance your reputation
Improve your customer responsiveness
Build good relations
Protect your profile name
How to use Twitter
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Find trending topics
Find experts and evangelists for your brand
With caution – going viral could be a bad thing
Try to separate work and play
Be careful when re-tweeting (libel laws apply)
Think first – tweet second
How to use Twitter
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Create a tweet button on your web pages
Create and use lists to clean your stream
Learn the twitter lingo
@reply - Direct Message (DM) - Follower - Hashtag - Retweet (RT) - Trending Topics
Use tools to manage - e.g. Tweepi
Twitter top tips
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Customize your page:
Change default profile picture
Use 140-character BIO space, using keywords
Use # tags for searching - e.g. #thatchersdead
Shrink your links using Bit.ly etc
Install a mobile app
Twitter top tips
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Don’t start and then give up
Tweet throughout the day
Spread your tweets - up to 10 a day
Don’t ignore complaints - they are a test
Switch to direct message (DM) instead of email
Follow key tweeters including your rivals
Twitter top tips
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Tweet with less than 100 chars = +17% engagement
Limit account to one or two people - not a big team
Don’t forget to link to your website
Do let your personality shine through…
“People aren’t expecting you to be the voice of God. You need to be professional, helpful and polite, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun or tongue in cheek. Do social media with a smile.”
Twitter top tips
Top 4 ‘twits’ quiz
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The ‘grown-up’ Social Media channel
‘Your virtual CV’
2013 study by Hubspot - LinkedIn is 3 times more effective than Twitter or Facebook for converting website visitors into leads
LinkedIn for Small Business
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Good for consultants, trainers and professions
Research and engage with potential customers
Check out your competitors
Get connections to endorse your expertise
Get recommendations
Link to your other social media activities
LinkedIn for Small Business
Is Ben a clueless hippy or an industry expert?
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Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests, hobbies, and more.
Users can browse other pinboards for inspiration, 're-pin' images to their own pinboards, or 'like' photos.
The young upstart on the Social Media scene
…But very rapid growth last year
Pinterest for Small Business
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Use it to post images related to your business
Reach an affluent audience with high quality images
Benefit from visual content over text
Link to your website
and other Social Media activities
Pinterest for Small Business
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Still a pale shadow of Facebook
But is now incorporated in search results
So definitely worth adding your presence
One to keep an eye on
Google Plus for Small Business
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People love moving images
Google loves videos
Demonstrate how things work
Share your knowledge
Examples:
Blendtec and
Rasheed Ogunlaru
YouTube for Small Business
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Have a plan
Work out what you want to get out of Social Media
What are your goals?
More attention for your brand?
Customer service?
Customer interaction?
All of the above?
Define your audience and find out where they ‘live’
Developing your Social Media strategy
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Work with your neighbour to complete pages 1 and 2 of the hand-out
Developing your Social Media strategy
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Hootsuite or Tweetdeck to manage your posts
Google Analytics
Facebook Insights
Sprout Social
Wildfire Social Media Monitor
Monitoring-Social-Media.com
SocialMediaToday.com
Tools to help you
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Hootsuite for monitoring and scheduling
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Try to limit to 30 minutes a day
Keep it professional – you might go viral in a bad way
Keep an eye out for new services
Try to measure results
Cull any activities that don’t help your business
Try to stay focussed – keep away from the Lolcats
My top tips for Social Media success
Don’t get involved in flame wars
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Be a person online – but not too personal
Always try to add value
Don’t just lurk - contribute
Try to be ‘marketing lite’ - avoid spamming
Have a consistent brand / name across your social media platforms
Have fun with it
My top tips for Social Media success