The document provides guidance on utilizing social media for small businesses, outlining five key steps: identifying the target audience; understanding which social media channels align with the audience; developing and sharing content tailored to the audience's needs and buyer's journey; utilizing paid advertising on channels like Facebook to promote content; and analyzing analytics to understand what content and strategies are most effective. Following these five steps can help small businesses better connect with customers and promote their brand through social media marketing.

1. Welcome

2. Small Business
Social Media Workshop

3. Utilizing social media in your business strategy is one of the best
ways to:
• Increase brand awareness.
• Connect with customers.
• Promote products & services.
Why use social media?

4. Social media is a generalized term that describes online places that
encourage people to interact.
As marketers, it is important to remember:
• Do not fixate on specific terms and tools.
• Focus your attention where your best customers spend their time.
What does social media mean?

5. In order to give your small business a fighting chance within social
media, there are 5 things you must do:
• Identify your audience.
• Understand which channels to use.
• Develop, plan and, share content.
• Utilize paid advertising.
• Know what is working (and what isn’t).
5 must-dos for small business.

6. Audience
[1]

7. Identify your best audience.
The first step to successful social media marketing is to define and
understand your target audience.
a) Define who they are.
b) Define what they want or what is important to them.
c) Define any challenges or obstacles you may face when marketing.

8. Identify your best audience.
Define who they are.
There are three areas to consider:
1. Identify which of your products/services are most profitable.
• Who purchases these?
2. Identify the type of customer that is the easiest to work with.
• Which products or services to they purchase most?
3. Identify what product/service you wish to grow.
• Who purchases these the most?

9. Identify your best audience.
Define what they want or what is important to them.
• Customer service
• Specific price point
• Quality or value
• Convenience of location
• How it’s made

10. Identify your best audience.
Define any challenges or obstacles you may face when
marketing to them.
• Fear of change
• Higher price point than what they are paying now
• Longer drive
• New technology

11. Audience
WORK SESSION

12. Channels
[2]

13. Understand your channels.
The second step is to understand which networks align with your
audience and marketing goals.
Of total internet users:
a) 68% engage with Facebook
b) 28% engage with Instagram
c) 26% engage with Pinterest
d) 25% engage with LinkedIn
e) 21% engage with Twitter

14. Understand your channels.
Facebook remains the most popular social media platform.
Online users who engage with Facebook include:
a) 83% of women
b) 88% of 18-29 year olds
c) 84% of 30-49 year olds
d) 72% of 50-64 year olds
e) 62% of 65+ year olds
f) 75% of people who earn $50K - $74K
g) 77% of people who earn $75K+

15. Understand your channels.
Instagram is a social networking app made for sharing photos
and videos from a smartphone.
Online users who engage with Instagram include:
a) 38% of women
b) 59% of 18-29 year olds
c) 38% of people who earn less than $30K

16. Understand your channels.
Consumers use Twitter to broadcast short-burst messages to the
world, with the hope that their messages are useful and
interesting.
Online users who engage with Twitter include:
a) 25% of women
b) 24% of men
c) 36% of 18-29 year olds
d) 30% of people who earn $75K

17. Understand your channels.
LinkedIn is a social network for professionals.
Online users who engage with LinkedIn include:
a) 31% of men
b) 34% of 18-29 year olds
c) 33% of 30-49 year olds
d) 45% of people who earn $75K

18. Understand your channels.
Pinterest allows users to visually share and discover new
interests by pinning content.
Online users who engage with Pinterest include:
a) 45% of women
b) 36% of 18-29 year olds
c) 34% of 30-49 year olds
d) 35% of people who earn $75K

19. Understand your channels.
A significant portion
of social media
users engage on
more than one
network.

20. Content
[3]

21. Develop, plan, and share content.
Social media feeds on content. Great content helps lead, guide,
and direct potential customers through their buyer’s journey.
There are three things to remember when planning content:
a) Understand your audience.
b) Map their buyer’s journey.
c) Create content they want to consume.

22. Develop, plan, and share content.
In order for your social media management to be effective, you must
understand your audience and their buying journey.
• According to HubSpot, the buyer’s journey is the process buyers go through
to become aware of, evaluate, and purchase a new product or service.

23. Awareness Consideration Decision
Develop, plan, and share content.
PROBLEM:
What causes white,
chalky spots on my
clean dishes?
RESEARCH:
If I get a water
softener, should I
install it myself or hire
a professional?
SOLUTION:
How do I know
which plumber to
choose to install a
water softener?
A buyer’s journey is a three-step process.

24. Content
WORK SESSION

25. Develop, plan, and share content.
What should I post? Each brand, product, and service is unique.
However, knowing what to post is directed by answering one
question:
WHAT DOES YOUR AUDIENCE WANT?

26. Develop, plan, and share content.
By following your buyer’s journey, you can create and share
content that performs well with your best audiences.
There are four things to remember when creating content:
a) Visuals work better than text.
b) Video is key.
c) Culture is personal.
d) Great content is (almost) timeless.

27. Develop, plan, and share content.
Visuals work significantly better than text.
• Photos on Facebook get 53% more interaction than text-only posts.
• Use infographics that are relevant to your brand, industry, city, or cause!

28. Develop, plan, and share content.
Video is key. The more engagement you receive from a user, the
more likely she or he is to become a customer.
• 100 million internet users watch online videos each and every day.
• 92% of mobile video users share video with others.
• Real estate listings with video receive 403% more inquiries than those which
do not include video.
• 64% of users are more likely to buy product online after watching a video.
• 90% of users state that product videos are helpful in the decision making
process.

29. Develop, plan, and share content.
Culture is personal. It is important to introduce your culture
without selling.
• Talk about the not for profits you support.
• If you have an office pet, share its adventures.
• Share the history of the building you own/rent.
• Showcase a special employee, volunteer, or client.
• Show people a sneak peek at what it takes to do what you do.
• Address frequently asked questions.

30. Develop, plan, and share content.
Great content is (almost) timeless. On average: only 40% of
businesses share the same content on their social media
networks two or three times. And, 37% share content just once!
• Share your content; then share it again later on and then again. The key is to
present the content in a different manner each time while still making it
attractive and relevant to your audience.

31. Develop, plan, and share content.
Example: You own a carpet cleaning company. Create content that
compares professional carpet cleaning vs DIY carpet cleaners.
• Initial: Do DIY carpet cleaners really work?
• Second: Why DIY carpet cleaners are not all they are cracked up to be.
• Third: What is the difference between a professional carpet cleaning and a DIY
machine?
• Fourth: Learn what DIY carpet cleaners leave behind.
• Fifth: Learn how a professional carpet cleaning can help your carpets last.

32. Content
WORK SESSION

33. Develop, plan, and share content.
How often should I post? Follow the 5-3-2 rule. Out of every 10
posts, the rule breaks down like this:
a) 5 posts should be content from industry-based sources.
b) 3 posts should be content that was developed by your organization.
c) 2 posts should be centered around your business culture.

34. Develop, plan, and share content.
Who should post my content?
• Answer: Not your office manager’s, sister’s, friend’s, boyfriend—unless he
happens to be a social media professional.

35. Develop, plan, and share content.
You can develop and manage social media in-house if you have
someone in your organization who:
• Can write clearly and precisely.
• Can put in the continuous time and effort it takes to understand your
audience and their needs.
• Understands how to properly use each social media channel.
• Utilizes the benefits of spell check.
• Can develop relevant content.

36. Develop, plan, and share content.
A quick test to assess initial capabilities would be to:
• Assess their face-to-face interactions with others. If social interactions are
not natural, they more than likely they will not be the best choice to manage
your social media.
• If you do not have someone in-house who can properly manage your social
media, you should consider finding a professional partner that can assist with
your social media marketing.

37. Develop, plan, and share content.
Pre-schedule your content. Scheduling content allows your
organization to present a consistent appearance within social
media.
• Doing this helps you establish a professional trust with your audience.
• While scheduling is great for social media productivity, it is important to
remember that you will still need to supplement the scheduled posts with
spontaneous, culture-based posts.

38. Develop, plan, and share content.

39. Develop, plan, and share content.

40. Develop, plan, and share content.

41. Promotion
[4]

42. Use Facebook’s inexpensive, paid advertising options to reach
your best audience because less than 0.5 percent of your fans
actually see your page posts.
With targeted ads you can:
• Increase your organization’s brand awareness.
• Drive more traffic to your website and improve search rankings.
• Receive higher conversion rates more cost effectively.
• Gain better insights on your best clients.
Use targeted, paid advertising.

43. Facebook’s paid ad options include:
a) Like ads
b) Click ads
c) Boosted posts
Use targeted, paid advertising.

44. The main goal of like ads is to
increase your following on
Facebook. These ads are also
targeted towards a specific
audience that you want to like
your page.
Use targeted, paid advertising.

45. Click ads are targeted ads
aimed at driving people to your
website through link clicks. We
can select a specific portion of
the population to receive the
ad on Facebook.
Use targeted, paid advertising.

46. Boosted posts are posts from
your page that, for a fee,
appear higher on users’ News
Feeds. Boosted posts are also
able to target specific
audiences.
Use targeted, paid advertising.

47. Promotion
WORK SESSION

48. Analytics
[5]

49. Know what works (and doesn’t).
First, you must develop goals for your social media marketing.
• These goals will set a foundation for your social media marketing strategy.
Second, pay attention to your social media analytics.
• There is no reason to continue posting about a certain topic or running a
specific ad if it is not performing well.

50. Know what works (and doesn’t).
Here are the top analytics you should be paying attention to.
• Like/follower growth
• Optimal times for engagement (when your best clients interact)
• Content likes, reactions, and mentions
• Audience demographics
• Reach
• Comments, replies and shares
• Referrals to your website and click through rates

51. Review

52. Social media for business is no longer optional.
By following the 5 must-dos for social media, you will have a
better understanding of:
• Who your best customers are.
• Where you can reach them.
• What type of content to develop.
• How to promote your content.
• What is working.
5 must-dos for small business.

53. Questions

54. Downloads
Guide - socialmedia-treefrog.com
Slides – slideshare.net/KellyRice1