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Social Media 101 ForLocal Businesses

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SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

There was a time when social media was considered by some as a pass-ing fad. Something that “the kids” were using that businesses could never really benefit from. Over time, the skeptics were proven wrong. There are over 3.5 billion internet users1 — and over 2.3 billion of them have active social media accounts2.

Popular social platforms have become marketing giants, offering busi-nesses valuable data about their customers and a (mostly) free way to reach them. The jury has spoken: social media for business is no longer optional.

If you’re wondering how social media can benefit your business, look no further. We’ve outlined key points below.

Protect your reputation:By responding to all reviews and building long-term rela-tionships

Grow your audience:By optimizing your profiles and using targeted advertising to grow your fan base locally

Engage and motivate your audience to buy:By creating original, engaging content and offers that drive traffic to your storefront

Track your results:By cheking in with how your business performs online

1 https://www.internetworldstats.com/stats.htm2 https://www.statista.com/topics/1164/social-networks/

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SOCIAL MEDIA FACTS

Like it or not, customers are talking about you online. Even more are listening:

1 https://think.storage.googleapis.com/docs/how-advertisers-can-extend-their-relevance-with-search_research-studies.pdf2 https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics 3 http://www.socialeemedia.co.uk/blog/28-social-media-facts-and-statistics-20154 https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/local-consumer-review-survey/#15 https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-for-business/

4 in 5 consumers use search engines to find local information1

Local searches lead 50% Of mobile visitors to visit stores within one day1

81% of shoppers conduct online research before making big pur-chases2

90% of consumers trust social media recommendations from peers3

84% of people trust online reviews as much as a personal rec-ommendations4

74% of consumers say that positive reviews make them trust a local business more4

63% of millennials say they stay updated on brands through so-cial networks5

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CONTENTS

Customer Review Websites ... 5Where customers compare you to your competition

Social Media Websites ... 12Engage and motivate your fan base

Check-In Websites ... 19Drive repeat business and spread word of mouth

Tracking Your Results ... 21How to understand your return on investment

Common Mistakes ... 23And how to avoid them

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CUSTOMER REVIEW SITESWhere customers compare you to your competition

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JOIN THE CONVERSATION

Review websites basically let customers have a virtual conversation about you, but you can listen, learn, and set the record straight.

When you respond to reviews, you’re reaching out to your target mar-ket, but those reviewers and their readers don’t feel like you’re adver-tising. Through conversation, you’re building a relationship.

Now we’re talking. Once you join the conversation, you can:

Respond to feedback

Tailor your customer service to specific needs

Stay top of mind to encourage repeat visits

Cultivate relationships with your target market

Increase customer trust and brand loyalty

Got another agenda? These sites also help you:

Get new ideas for sale specials

Run promotions to entice customers to act now

Highlight specific services or products

Spread word of mouth through friend-to-friend recommenda-tions

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THE TOP TWO CUSTOMER REVIEW SITES

Are Yelp and Google My Business. Yelp is the most downloaded custom-er review app and has 41 million monthly visitors. Google My Business integrates with search and Google maps, making it highly visible.

One out of five searches on Google is related to location. 2.3 million average searches per second1

Best For:

- Getting found by people who want to visit your business.- Responding to customer reviews.

Who Uses it:

- Over 1 billion people who use Google.2

What to share:

- Up to date information about your business.- Announcements about your business.- Special offers for your customers.

Best For:

- Responding to customer reviews.- Having conversations with customers

What to share:

- Up to date information about your business.- Announcements about your business.- Special offers for your customers.

1 http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/by-the-numbers-a-gigantic-list-of-google-stats-and-facts/2 http://www.comescoredatamine.com/2011/06/google-reaches-1-billion-global-visitors3 http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/yelp-statistics/

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SET UP YOUR YELP PAGE

This is your time to shine, so fill out as much business information as you can.

Customer ReviewsIf you want to appear active and interested in your customers online, you should respond to every review left about your business. A few tips:

Be polite and eager to please – people are watching

Overwhelm the negative with positive

Go the extra mile for “influencers” – people who have a large following

Four stars is average – go for five

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MAINTENANCE

Profile management is not a one-shot deal. Once you’re set up on Yelp, you need to constantly monitor your business profile. We suggest you:

Check for new reviews daily

Respond to every review either publicly or privately

Update the “About Business” section as your business informa-tion changes

Give customers a reason to consider you the moment they’re looking to spend. How?

Run Promotions and Announcements

To target a specific type of clientele

To generate business during slow times

To advertise something you regularly offer

Hint: It’s a good idea to create a special promotion or announcement just for those who find you through Google+ or Yelp. That way, you can track the business you get.

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WHY YOU SHOULD RESPOND TO POSITIVE REVIEWS

Your positive reviewers are your brand evangelists. Their comments convince others to give you a shot. Take the time to thank them. Cre-ating a relationship with these fans encourages the spread of word of mouth about you and improves your online reputation.

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WHY YOU SHOULD RESPOND TO NEGATIVE REVIEWS

Replying to unsavory comments can take the sting out of the review. When you take action, you get a chance to offer your point of view. This may cause the disgruntled customers to change their minds and their ratings. Since a one-star increase on Yelp can correlate to a 5-9% in-crease in revenue, it’s worth a shot.

You won’t get every bad review changed, but your response may im-press readers enough to agree with you. In the very least, it shows that you are willing to acknowledge and apologize to your unhappy campers.

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SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITESEngage and motivate your fan base

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WHAT IS FACEBOOK?

Facebook is the most popular social media platform today. If it were a country, it would be the third largest country in the world.

Facebook creates a place where your fans can interact with your busi-ness. That interaction is then shared with friends, which is really valu-able. Since each Facebook user has an average of 338 friends, friend to friend networks significantly impact the exposure of your business.

Facebook has more than 1.94 billion monthly active users1

Best For:

- Interacting with your customers on a more per-sonal level.

SECRET WEAPON:

- Facebook Pages houses all the information about your business in one placeWho Uses it:

- Widely used by all Demographics

What to share:

- Up to date information about your business- News about your business- Engaging Content- Questions and Answers

1 http://money.cnn.com/2017/05/03/technology/facebook-earnings/index.html

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CREATING ENGAGING POSTS ON FACEBOOK

Want comments and ‘Likes’? You need to post something interesting first. Publishing content that’s relevant to your fans is the best way to encourage them to take action.

We recommend posts that:

Promote your product, contest or giveaway

Have a pop culture base

Contain a question

Not every post will fall under all three categories, but your page should include a variety of each if you want to create a buzz.

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USE FACEBOOK TO GROW, ENGAGE AND MOTIVATE FANS

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WHAT IS TWITTER?

Twitter connects millions of people to their friends and interests every day. Tweeters share information with their followers, and follow oth-ers to keep up with the latest news. Twitter is a powerful tool for busi-nesses to gain insight on their customers’ likes, dislikes and behavior.

Implementing a Twitter account means you’ll have access to:

More customer feedback

Direct and real-time interaction with followers

More opportunities to spread word of mouth

313 million active users write 500 million tweets per dayBest For:

- Short and to the point updates- Monitoring conversations about your business- Talking directly with your customers in the moment- Finding potential customers

The Typical User:

- 86% of users get their news form Twitter- Over 67% of users are likely to purchase from a brand they follow- 60% of users expect a brand to answer a query within an hour

What to share:

- Links to content relevant to your audience- Hashtags to jump into conversations with people- Questions and conversations with your followers

1 https://www.talkwalker.com/blog/40-amazing-twitter-stats-to-inspire-your-2017-social-strategy

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USE TWITTER TO CREATE INTERACTIONS

Interacting with followers means that you can:

Give customers a pleasant surprise by saying thanks

Reach new people in real time

Communicate relevant business updates

Twitter also lets you:

Integrate your Facebook page and website

Integrate into offline marketing

Search keywords to connect with your customers when they are nearby and ready to buy

Connecting with customers nearby:

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TWITTER BEST PRACTICES

A few notes about Twitter etiquette:

Post enough, but not too much (2-3 times a week)

Give credit for retweets

Follow back anyone who follows you

Mention buzz-words relevant to your business

When creating your Twitter handleUse your business nameEx: @SPARintheUK

Publish the same types of posts as FBBut condensed into 140 characters

Tweet about trending topicsAnd use hashtags for brand promotion Ex. #bankholiyay

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WHAT IS INSTAGRAM?

Instagram is a social networking app made for sharing photos and vid-eos from a smartphone. Users can edit and post images and short vid-eos, record Instagram stories, and go live with video.

While other social media sites like Facebook and Twitter are great for sharing and promoting content, Instagram is a way to humanize your brand.

1 https://www.omnicoreagency.com/instagram-statistics/

700 MILLIONMonthly active

users

60% of users find new brands and products on

Instagram

49% of brands are active on

Instagram

GETTING STARTED

1 Download the Instagram app on your smartphone.

2 Set up a business account. Unlike personal accounts, a business account

allows you to: • Measure and track insights.

• Add a “Contact” button, where followers can call or request

directions to your business directly from Instagram.

3 Upload a great profile picture. Write a compelling bio, (tip: Include

hashtags!), and add a link to your website.

4 Get posting! You can easily use Instagram’s editing and filter features to

make your photos look amazing before you share.

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WHAT SHOULD YOU POST?

It’s important to be present and active on Instagram to give an exciting visualization of your brand, business, and product!

Posting relevant, compelling content at the times your followers want to see it is what pulls new customers in and keeps loyal customers com-ing back. And remember, photos aren’t the only thing you can post. In-tegrate Instagram’s video, carousel, and Boomerang features into your content strategy

Photos of your products

Your events, giveaways, and specials

Video Content

Funny, or in-the-moment content

Quotes from great reviews

Reposts from your fans or followers

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AND WE’RE LIVE!

Get posting on Instagram today to amplify your social media marketing strategy, show off your brand, and reach a younger audience!

1 http://go.mainstreethub.com/rs/623-ZKJ-436/images/Instagram-Cheat-Sheet-0517.pdf

Post 2-3 times a week. Quality, not

quantity, is the key with Instagram. Post only highly visual and

engaging content.

Switch up your post-ing days. Wednesdays and Sundays get high

engagement.

Try an evening post to reach users on

their commute. 5:00P.M. is a great

time to increase likes on weekdays.

POST LIKE A PRO

FILTERS: Consider using one filter or similar filters -- 60% of the top brands on Instagram use a consistent filter.

HASHTAGS: Use hashtags - Posts with at least one hashtag aver-age around 13% more engagement.

FACES: Make sure you’re including people in your posts - Photos showing faces get 38% more “likes” than photos without them.

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CHECK-IN WEBSITESDrive repeat business and spread word of mouth

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WHAT IS FOURSQUARE?

The ultimate location-based social networking app for mobile devices.

Customers can:

Check-in at your business and tell their friends (since Four-square integrates with Facebook and Twitter)

Claim deals and promotions

Leave tips and feedback for other patrons

Businesses can:

Run promotions based on check-ins

Offer loyalty programs for those who frequently check-in

55 million active users with 10 billion check-insBest For:

- Broadcasting specials to encourage loyalty and grow your business

What to share:

- Special offers for loyal customers

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TRACKING YOUR RESULTSHow to understand your return on investment

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TRACKING YOUR RESULTS

So you’ve setup your pages, created new and engaging content and replied to all of your posts...now what?

By constantly tracking and monitoring your social media engagement, you can see if what you’ve been doing is working.

What to look for: How to track your metrics: Why does it matter?Are you growing your fan base? Monitor daily/weekly/monthly

increase in fans, followers andcheck-ins.

51% of consumers are morelikely to buy from a business after becoming fans of their Facebook page. More fans = more customers.

Is the content you’re creating helping spread word of mouth?

Track comments, shares, ‘Likes’, and retweets of your content. Look at the amount of people who saw your posts (broken outby ‘organic’ and ‘viral’). For a broader metric, look at your ‘people talking about this’ (PTAT) number.

Engagement is everything! Notonly are people who engage more likely to visit your business, their engagement spreads word of mouth about your business to their friends.

Is your business being found online?

Monitor the traffic to your Yelp and Google+ listings. By optimiz-ing and maintaining your profiles, you should see a steady increase in traffic to your profiles over time.

Today’s consumer looks online first before making a purchasing decision. If your online traffic is increasing, it’s very likely your in store traffic will do the same.

Let’s cut to the chase, are you getting more customers?

Ask your customers how they heard about you and keep track of the different channels. Create special offers that are specific to your social media sites and measure redemption rate.

It’s great to hear directly from your customers that they’re finding you on social media, but be sure to stay on top of all of your metrics for a complete look at performance.

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COMMON MISTAKESAnd how to avoid them

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COMMON MISTAKES ON CUSTOMERREVIEW WEBSITES

Some blunders to avoid:

Not responding to reviews

Responding to reviews in a defensive manner

Leaving out important business information, or not mentioning the entire scope of your services

Accidental typos and grammatical errors on your profile

Not removing outdated promotions

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COMMON MISTAKES ON FACEBOOK & TWITTER

Some typical gaffes we see:

Having a FB “profile” and not a “business page”

Not posting often enough

Lacking content relevant to your followers

Putting out one-way posts that don’t spur interaction

Posting too often or spamming

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LET US DO IT FOR YOU

Our full service ‘do it for you’ social media solution puts you in the driver’s seat, while we work to:

Protect your reputationWe monitor the most important review and social media web- sites 24/7 and respond appropriately to all cus-tomer reviews and messages, while they’re fresh.

Grow your audienceWe optimize your profiles, use highly targeted advertis-ing, and cross-promote your business across multiple social media web- sites to get fans and followers who are ready to buy.

Motivate your audience to buyWe create original, engaging content, craft special of-fers, and start real time conversations that drive traffic to your storefront.

Track your resultsWe provide you with a personalized dashboard where you can track all of your key metrics and see everything being said about your business online – all in one place.