Now, let’s focus on what goes into a social campaign
Marketing has changed….maybe you’ve noticed? How many of you use [click to build] Facebook for business? How many are on Linked In? Twitter? Anyone tweetingright now? (remind of twitter handle) [click to build] Who uses Pinterest? Instagram? YouTube?[click to build] And how many have checked your email today? (all hands up) …. We used to tell people over the back fence, nowWe tell everyone – our family, our friends, our colleagues, our clients, old highschool boyfriends/girlfriends, grandparents, teens.We have flipped the funnel – it’s less about spending all of your time/money and energy finding new customers and more about fully engaging your existing happy customers and making it easy for them to tell others. The changes have leveled the playing field for smaller organizations to compete with the big boys….[click to next slide]Mobile stat from: research from:email open by platform: https://litmus.com/blog/email-client-market-share-stats-infographic-june-2012
Having a great CTA. A Social Campaign is only as good as what you’re offering. Is it compelling? Is it useful? Is it something your customers will want? CTAs in original slide…traded out to match the CTAs in the SC templates per S.S.Visit your retail locationPlace orders onlineCall you to purchase or book your servicesWrite a positive reviewTell their friendsDownload more informationRegister for an eventoffer a couponrun a sweepstakessell with e-commerceshare exclusive contentget donationsshare a videosign up for your email newsletter
If you have concerns, you’re not alone. Many small businesses think:(Click) Social Media Marketing looks interesting, but… I will never have a million customers or even 5,000….(Click) Using new, inbound marketing tools sound great, but… I will never write Thought Leadership articles….(Click) Paying close attention to what’s being said on social media sounds useful, but… I’ll never have a dedicated staff to do it right…(Click) I hear about new networks everyday, but… I just don’t have the time to stay current
What you do have is powerful! You can successfully market your small business or association because you have…Loyal, happy customersAn excellent customer experienceInteresting and important things to say!
As you get to know what channels your audience likes, also consider what you should be using for your business. Let’s talk about each social media channel, how to use them, and how you might use them for your business or organization.
UPDATED 10/2012- CHWhy are businesses and organizations using Facebook? It’s because the majority of people who use social media are on Facebook, which means your customers or members are there too. There are now over 1 billion active users, and more than 500 million of them log on to Facebook in any given day.They’re spending a lot of time on Facebook and it’s not just about connecting with their friends and family. Users are also connecting with the brands and businesses they like.Let’s meet one of those businesses, who we’ll use to illustrate how Facebook can be a key part of driving your strategy.[click to next slide]Source: http://newsroom.fb.com/content/default.aspx?NewsAreaId=22ADDITIONAL STATS: People Interact With their Favorite Brands on Facebook More than other Social NetworksFacebook – 34%, Twitter – 4%, LinkedIn 1%2011 Chadwick Martin Bailey and Constant Contact Consumer Pulse
Create a Business PageFill with content that is relevant to them – comments, photos, videosA Facebook page is a great customer service tool – invite your fans to ask questions, and make sure you get back to them as soon as possibleHave fun too – add some humor to engage your fansMake settings public so your customers and prospects can find youUse as an alternate landing page for your email Add a “Join My Mailing List” form to invite people to join your listA few important things to know about Facebook’s functionality include:Like – let’s the Business Page administrator know that you are a fan of their business, association, or brand. Upon “Liking”, a user can engage with the business page.Post – text, pictures, videos, etc. – the action of putting up content to your pageComment – Leaving a written response for all to see, be it positive or negativeShare – extending the reach of any content object within that user’s network. The content will reference it’s source. ‘Share’ also gives you the ability to send content as an inter-Facebook message to a unique userGroups – Administrated discussion groups within Facebook on varied topics(Click) Applications – Join My Mailing List! As with any marketing outpost, you will always strive to collect the contact information of a prospect in order to engage more deeply with them, in more targeted ways. Constant Contact provides you the ability to do this by adding it’s JMML Application to your Business Page on Facebook. As you learn more about applications, you can seartch for an add those that are right for your business.
For more Facebook page vs. profile info, here’s a great blog post that Dave Charest wrote for the blog: http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/social-media-marketing/facebook-page-vs-profile-championship/Before we get started, let’s talk about setting up your Facebook business page. You want to make sure you create a business page and not a profile for your business. What’s the difference? A profile is for people – with a profile displays limited information, and it’s not set up to help you promote a business. A page has features and tools designed to market your business on Facebook. A page can also share statistics – Facebook calls these Insights – on your page’s growth, what content your fans interacted with the most, and how many people you’re actually reaching. If you’re not sure, what you’re using, take a look – if you have friends, you’ve set up a profile; if you have Likes, you have a business page. (If you want to convert a profile to a page: http://www.socialquickstarter.com/content/110-convert_your_facebook_profile_to_a_page) Let’s look at the anatomy of a Facebook business page – some of these are similar to a profile, but the way you use them is different:[CLICK TO BUILD] You have a cover photo on the top – use this image to promote your business. It could be products or services. It could be customers using those products or services. You can also spotlight your staff. It’s OK to have text on any images you upload as a cover photo, but make sure there’s not more than 20% on your cover photo, per Facebook policy. http://socialfresh.com/facebook-cover-photo-restrictions/[CLICK TO BUILD] Your business’ profile photo is here – this can be your logo; make sure that whatever you use fits that space and is not cut off. It’s 180 pixels by 180 pixels (resources: http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/social-sizing-cheat-sheet_b31732; if they don’t have photo editing software, use partner PicMonkey – it’s FREE!)[CLICK TO BUILD] Here’s where the page displays information about your business – your name, how many Likes you have (also referred to as fans), the type of business you are, address, phone number and business hours. If someone clicks the about link, they will see a map with your location and contact information, a link to your website, and a description where you’ll briefly share what your business does.[CLICK TO BUILD] Below your cover photo are tabs that link to your photos, video, events, and a map of your location. Facebook allows you to add more tabs to this section, and they are called apps – they’re developed by companies outside of Facebook, and businesses use them to promote different things. Constant Contact has an app that you can add that allows fans to join your email list. [CLICK TO BUILD] This section is what’s known as the Facebook timeline – it displays your posts; the most recent thing you shared appears at the top. It also includes any comments that fans have shared on your page, as well as reviews/recommendations they’ve written.[CLICK TO BUILD] Here’s an example of a Facebook post. You can share an update that’s just text, link to pages on the web, or share photos or share videos.
FOR PRINTING: prior slide won’t print well due to overlap of transparencies…use this slide instead (hide prior slide, and when printing de-select “Include hidden slides” in printing options)
If you have highly visual content or great photos of products or your events or whatever you are marketing, you will want share that visual content on Facebook – and your other channels as well. Here’s why: According to Facebook itself, a post that includes a video sees 100% more engagement than a post alone. But wait, there’s more – a post plus a picture sees 120% more engagement (we felt that one first hand – we actually got 127%, but I’m not bragging). AND – if you include a whole photo album, you are looking at 180% more engagement.(Now, we’re all aware that Facebook likes to make changes to how it works…and that applies to the algorithm that they use which determines what posts get delivered to friends and fans. So…be aware of when Facebook mentions changes to their algorithm…and be aware of whether or not you can make adjustments to your approach to optimize the visibility and engagement of your posts.)Not to mention the social sites that are entirely visually based - Pinterest has changed everything. Instagram makes your pictures social, instantly. Mobile is your best friend here.
So how can Facebook help your business? This is the Facebook page for the Belleville Farmers Market in Belleville, IL, and they do a great job with their Facebook page. It’s full of relevant content. [CLICK TO BUILD] There are many posts keeping customers up-to-date about current happenings and promotions within its feed – those posts link back to the farmer’s market website, making it easy for fans to purchase items.[CLICK TO BUILD] Notice that the tone of these posts are friendly! One states: “It’s 2AM: do you know where your fruit is?” with a picture of fresh fruit arriving in crates at the market.[CLICK TO BUILD]They’re also helpful – lots of fans ask questions about products and services on the page, and the farmers market answers right away[CLICK TO BUILD] They also do a great job sharing engaging content – their page is full of funny photos like this [CLICK TO BUILD] They’ve built a great relationship with their fans, and every post has likes and comments – [CLICK TO BUILD] notice that this photo got 260 likes, 63 shares and 6 comments. [CLICK TO BUILD] Because of this great relationship with their fans, the farmers market gets a lot of praise from them – their fans regularly post reviews, photos, and thank yous, which help continue that social word of mouth.
UPDATED 4/2013- ACActive users on Twitter: 288,000,000http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/twitter-growth_b36955 February 2013 Source: Global Web Index88% of users follow at least one Brand on TwitterMore than half of all users follow 6 or more brandshttp://techcrunch.com/2012/10/02/twitter-follow-brands/Tech Crunch, 10/2012If you ask the folks at Twitter if they are a social media network, they will correct you and identify themselves as an “Information Sharing Tool”. In essence, Twitter allows you to listen to global conversations about anything and everything in real time, as they are happening. This is important to any Small Business Owner for many reasons, including:
It gives you an easy way to listen to what is being said: about you and your industry; and about your domain of expertise and your competitors;You can become part of the “conversation”, engaging and adding value to the many-to-many dialogue. Cultivating an approachable online personality will increase your visibility and network-effect over time.Using Twitter, you can:Share links to interesting content & ask for feedbackTweet a survey or pollSend Direct Messages (DMs)Retweet content from people you are following
So what can Twitter do for you? This is the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH. They have a great dialogue on Twitter, a good mix of messages – [CLICK TO BUILD] they promote their exhibits and classes, live tweet during events, share photos, [CLICK TO BUILD] link to news coverage of their exhibits and museum, [CLICK TO BUILD] provide customer services by announcing hours and cancellations during weather emergencies, and [CLICK TO BUILD] they build relationships by promoting others’ content when they retweet their followers’ content and retweet comments from visitors, and when they share information about events happening at other local cultural venues.
UPDATED 10/2012 CH83% of marketers are using LinkedInContent Marketing Institute B2B Content Marketing: 2013 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends- North America, October 2012http://www.slideshare.net/CMI/b2b-content-marketing-2013-benchmarks-budgets-and-trendsnorth-america-1485577033% of Non-profits and 52% ofAssociations using LinkedInNonprofit Social Network Survey Report, 2009
Manage your professional contacts and relationshipsFind individuals you know in a professional capacityJoin networks or groups by industry, geography, or work historyParticipate in discussionsRecruit attendees to your eventsInvite people to join your mailing list
So how can LinkedIn help your business? This is PropertyMinder of San Jose, CA – they are a real estate software company. [CLICK TO BUILD]Their LinkedIn profile has a full description of who they are, what they do, company website and history. [CLICK TO BUILD]They show their expertise by sharing updates about the real estate industry – they post links to infographics they’ve created, related articles from industry blogs and major news sources like Forbes magazine. [CLICK TO BUILD]They have information on their products in the products section – filled out the product overview for each. [CLICK TO BUILD]And they build relationships on LinkedIn – they post engaging content, ask their followers questions about the industry, and they promote other products and services from industry businesses.
http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/online-users-social-media-infographic_b22882http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/pinfluence-book-review/http://therealtimereport.com/2012/04/02/pin-commerce-21-of-pinterest-users-have-purchased-a-product-they-found-on-the-site/If you are not using Pinterest, you might have heard of it. Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board where users pin images or videos to boards they create based on different categories. The top categories are home, arts and crafts, style/fashion, and food (http://mashable.com/2012/03/12/pinterest-most-popular-categories-boards/) Many of these pins are things they want to purchase, and are linked to e-retail sites.How do you pin something? You can add tools to your Internet browser that allow you to press a button or right click and pin. Many websites also have Pinterest buttons – just click from there and select which board to pin to.[click to build]Pinterest now has 10.4 million active users[click to build] 21% of those users have purchased something they saw on Pinterest
[click to build]Pinterest now has business pages – you can create a business account – different from a personal account.You can have your business verified by Pinterest – there will be a check mark that shows up in your about information.Pinterest has business resources at business.pinterest.com[click to build] Do you have visual content to share? It could be products that you sell, but you can pin anything that has images on a website – your blog posts, newsletters, photo albums, etc. Pin those images and link them to your website. [click to build] You can pin other Pinterest users’ content (which is also called re-pinning) to your profile – it’s easy to do. All pins have a red Pin It button that allow you to save to your boards.[click to build] Not everything has to be about buying and selling – create boards that are related to your business or are just for fun. For instance – if you’re a sporting goods store, you could also have a board for your staff’s favorite hiking and biking trails. [click to build] You can write captions and descriptions on your pins – ask people to share your pins. Share them on your other social sites and ask your followers to re-pin.
How do you use Pinterest for your business?[click to build] Visual content is a great way to drive engagement – a post that includes an album or photo receives 120%-180% more engagement from fans than a text-based post http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/storytelling-with-images/[click to build] Pinterest is a great way to do some customer research – what pins are getting the most comments or repins? Those are products or topics that your audience is most interested in, so make sure you’re offering them more of what they want.[click to build]Pinterest can also drive users to your website. This is a pin from Constant Contact customer/online T-shirt shop TeeFury. They have a new T-shirt every day in their shop, and they pin each design to their Pinterest board. All the pins are linked to the product’s page on their website, so you can easily buy their merchandise.
343 million monthly active users: http://socialmediab2b.com/2013/02/b2b-social-media-google-plus-best-platform/http://socialmediab2b.com/2013/02/b2b-social-media-google-plus-best-platform/37% taken an action http://www.marketingprofs.com/charts/2012/9671/facebook-pinterest-trigger-more-offline-actions-than-other-social-sites5 billion times Google +1 button used per day http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/11/28/the-latest-27-social-media-facts-figures-and-statistics-for-2012-infographic/What is Google+? According to Google, the idea is to make sharing on the web more like sharing in real life. Essentially, the user experience is similar to that of Facebook (a news feed based on status updates and shared content, recommended friends, etc.), but the idea here is to make it easier to share content with specific sets of people (called Circles) instead of just publishing content on your wall for everyone to see.Google+ is a small but growing social network – [CLICK TO BUILD] there are 343 million monthly active users, and [CLICK TO BUILD] their +1 button is clicked 5 billion times a day. The +1 button is similar to a Facebook like, and allows you to give a stamp of approval/endorsement of content that’s shared by other Google+ users.
http://blogs.constantcontact.com/product-blogs/social-media-marketing/what-is-google-plus/If you decide to use Google+, here’s some tips to get you started:[CLICK TO BUILD] You can choose what audiences to share your posts with – to get the most bang for your buck, make sure you’re sharing things publicly so more people have an opportunity to see your content.[CLICK TO BUILD] You can organize your Google+ followers by putting them into groups that Google calls Circles. Think about creating circles for customers, event attendees, people who like a certain product, volunteers (if you’re a nonprofit).[CLICK TO BUILD] Once you’ve organized your circles, consider sharing relevant content with those circles. If you have a survey for current customers, think about sharing that on Google+ with your customer circles.[CLICK TO BUILD] Google+ has live videoconferencing, which they call Hangouts. You can schedule them in advance and notify your circles. Think about having a hangout for Q&A, as a webinar, or as a video podcast. You can save your hangouts and post the videos on your other channels.
So how can Google+ help your business?Here’s the Google+ page for Quiqq – they’re a CTCT Solution Provider – and their app provides small businesses a fast, easy way to sell their products. [CLICK TO BUILD] Having a Google+ page is a great way for Quiqq to get more SEO (Search Engine Optimization) value. Google+ is a Google product. If you have a Google+ page and provide information about your business, and you’re sharing things online – blog posts, photos, videos, and any content from your website – you have a greater chance of coming up in a Google search. [CLICK TO BUILD] The Google+ cover photo is huge – we cropped this image of Quiqq’s page – the photo is very large, and gives you a digital billboard to advertise your products or services.[CLICK TO BUILD] There are tabs on Google+ for photos and videos – it’s really easy for your followers to have access to any multimedia you’re posting[CLICK TO BUILD]Quiqq also has lots of Google Hangouts – this gives them a chance to speak directly with their customers in real time. You’ll learn more about what your customers want, and they will get to know you better.
We've covered a lot of social media tools here, tips on what to do with them, and how some businesses are using them. But what do you do with all of it? After you’ve decided what you want to use for your business - set up your profile, spread the word, start sharing content, and don’t forget to monitor what people are saying online.
Make sure your presence looks good: make your profiles polished and professional-looking.Complete your business profile with a: description, clear contact information, your website URL, and a Join-My-Mailing-List tab/information;Include your website URLBrand the presence: add your business logo, pictures, and a backgroundAdd starter content! It’s important to populate your social media profiles with interesting, relevant content before you begin inviting folks to fan, follow, friend, and link to you.
Make sure your presence looks good: make your profiles polished and professional-looking.Complete your business profile with a: description, clear contact information, your website URL, and a Join-My-Mailing-List tab/information;Include your website URLBrand the presence: add your business logo, pictures, and a backgroundAdd starter content! It’s important to populate your social media profiles with interesting, relevant content before you begin inviting folks to fan, follow, friend, and link to you.
Announce your new presence in your newsletterwith a clear Call-to-ActionInclude standard links in every email so subscribers can share your contentInclude social media sign up icons in every email so subscribers can join you on your social sitesAnnounce your new presence in your newsletter with a clear Call-to-ActionInclude standard links in every email campaignAlways include a share bar in every email. Make it effortless for your network to share your great content
Wondering what kind of starter content you can use to populate your profiles, today?Information, tips, and practical adviceQuestions asked by your customersOr links to:Archived Email Marketing newslettersPolls and SurveysEvent Homepages and registration pagesBlogs (yours and others)Websites (yours, and others in your area of expertise)Product or service reviewsThought-provoking discussions that inspires debate and dialogueRich media: relevant videos, photos, podcasts
Speaking of starter content, one of the best ways to reuse content is by repurposing email marketing newsletter content. Most Email Service Providers such as Constant Contact provide a Share Bar at the top of emails which will allow both you – and your recipients – to share your content across social networks. Whenever possible, add Social-sharing capabilities to your content to provide customers and prospects alike an effortless way to share it within their networks.
When getting started with social media marketing, be the expert!1. Focus on the content - share knowledge so people careIt’s not about youIt’s about what you know2. Trade useful information for attentionWill they talk about it when out with friends?Will they look forward to your next communication?Will they be inspired to share/tweet/comment on this information?3. Filter out the noise by narrowing focusing on creating a stream of relevant, interesting contentBe an expertClearly convey the mission. It’s OK to deviate at times, but stick to a 90/10 rule of thumb
What should you monitor? Monitor the activity of all your social presences, including:Your Brand. Think about all it’s possible spellings / configurations. For example: Far And Away Bicycles, Far & Away, Bicycles, Bikes, etc.Your competitors. Spot successful tactics being used by others in your industry (and the not-so-successful!) For example: Does the pizzeria down the street tweet daily?Do the other consultants in your area of expertise have LinkedIn profiles? What do they look like?3. Categories, topics, and keywords of your business. For example:Pets, Dog Day Care, Cat, Dog, Pet sitting, Animals, Rescue etc.Take a few minutes to make a list of the main topics you’re monitoring, and then make a list of three or four subtopics. If you think about it, when you’re focused on your reader and your expertise, most of what you’re going to be monitoring falls under five to seven main topics. Set these topics up in Google Alerts or Twitter to begin to get a pulse on the conversations happening and content being distributed.4. The experts and influencers in your business. Watch not only what they’re saying, but what they’re sharing, which events they’re choosing to promote, who they’re following, etc.
When you’re just getting started monitoring and listening to what is being said about you, there are several easy and free tools at your avail:HootSuite: a social media dashboard for teams used to gather intelligence, search, etc.Last but note least: NutshellMail: (more in the next slides)Google Alerts: Google Alerts allows you to “save” keywords. Google Alerts will then send you an email anytime your keyword matches with new content found on the web.You could mention these as well…TweetDeck: a real-time browser, connecting you with your contacts across multiple social platforms such as: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Google Buzz, etc.RSS: Real Simple Syndicate. Use a web reader (such as Google Reader) to “pull” new content to you in real time. You can apply an RSS feed from newspapers, blogs, and most content distribution channels.
When you’re just getting started monitoring and listening to what is being said about you, there are several easy and free tools at your avail:HootSuite: a social media dashboard for teams used to gather intelligence, search, etc.Last but note least: NutshellMail: (more in the next slides)Google Alerts: Google Alerts allows you to “save” keywords. Google Alerts will then send you an email anytime your keyword matches with new content found on the web.You could mention these as well…TweetDeck: a real-time browser, connecting you with your contacts across multiple social platforms such as: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Google Buzz, etc.RSS: Real Simple Syndicate. Use a web reader (such as Google Reader) to “pull” new content to you in real time. You can apply an RSS feed from newspapers, blogs, and most content distribution channels.
When you’re just getting started monitoring and listening to what is being said about you, there are several easy and free tools at your avail:HootSuite: a social media dashboard for teams used to gather intelligence, search, etc.Last but note least: NutshellMail: (more in the next slides)Google Alerts: Google Alerts allows you to “save” keywords. Google Alerts will then send you an email anytime your keyword matches with new content found on the web.You could mention these as well…TweetDeck: a real-time browser, connecting you with your contacts across multiple social platforms such as: Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, Foursquare, Google Buzz, etc.RSS: Real Simple Syndicate. Use a web reader (such as Google Reader) to “pull” new content to you in real time. You can apply an RSS feed from newspapers, blogs, and most content distribution channels.