2. Why Social Media?
Social media has changed the way business is conducted
globally, nationally, and locally.
The customer is starting to discover goods and services via the
digital social experiences they are creating for themselves.
With the right targeting, participation on sites like Facebook,
Twitter, and Instagram can help support your business
objectives.
Then
Pretty Website
Easy Checkout Experience
Search Engine Optimization
Now
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Easy Checkout Experience
Search Engine Optimization
Social Media Presence
Digital Advertising
3. 10 ways social media can work for
your business
1. Promote your business – but not too much
2. Post job openings where talented people are looking
3. Add value to your follower’s interactions with you
4. Increase the number of ways potential customers can learn
about your business
5. Network with others in your industry and within the
communities you serve
4. 10 ways social media can work for
your business
6. Facilitate referrals and reviews of your business
7. Quickly implement promotions
8. Check up on your competition
9. Help drive online traffic to your website
10. Track industry news and trends
5. Tip #1 – Promote your business – but not
too much
Use the 80/20 rule - Only 20% of your content should be self-
promotional. The remaining 80% should be informational and
engaging, giving followers a reason to look for your posts.
Post Ideas
• Quotes
• Behind-the-scenes photos
• Product photos
• Ask for input
• Share a helpful resource
• Fan photos
• A day in the life
• Random tips and hints
• Take a trip down memory lane
• Profile an employee
6. Resource – Forbes article 100 Killer Ideas For Your Social Media Content
7. Tip #2 – Post job openings where talented
people are looking
Newspaper ads are a thing of the past. Job seekers are now
looking online, in a multitude of places, and for a number of
reasons.
Using social media to find employees:
1. Find where potential employees are
A. Join targeted groups
B. Advertise
2. Use your personal social media accounts, and enlist your
workforce
3. Use #hashtags to filter searches - #jobpost, #employment,
#recruiting, #hiring, #career
4. Social media is a two-way street
9. Tip #3 – Add value to your follower’s
interactions with you
People will not return to your social pages unless they feel you
add value to their lives. You can accomplish this in a number of
ways.
Remember the 3 E’s!
1. Education
A. Teach your followers how to use your products/services
B. Direct them to resources outside of your business
2. Entertainment
A. Well executed humor that is consistent with your brand
strategy
3. Emotion
A. “I’m cutting onions.”
10.
11. Use your connections to your advantage. Utilize your online
network to spread the word about your business, products,
and services.
1. Cultivate your connections by creating engaging, shareable
content
2. Respond to questions and comments posted to your social
sites in a timely manner
3. Consider advertising where your customers spend their
time
A. Targeted Facebook ads won’t break the bank
4. Join a referral community
Tip #4 – Increase the ways potential
customer can learn about your business
12.
13. The digital world is full of great ways to interact with people
like you, and businesses like yours. Be a part of your
community by participating in online groups and forums.
1. Facebook groups - Connect with customers on an individual
basis
A. Become a contributor and subtly promote your business by
sharing engaging content, pictures, videos, and links
B. Allows you to email members easily, unlike Facebook pages
C. Utilize the Events function to drive traffic to your business
2. LinkedIn groups - Connect with other professionals in your
industry
A. Choose your groups wisely and actively contribute
Tip #5 – Network with others in your
industry and community
16. Tip #6 – Facilitate referrals and
reviews of your business
Today’s consumer relies heavily on online recommendations
from connections and trusted online communities. People look
to their social networks for advice on what to buy.
1. Add Review/Recommend options to your website and
social pages
2. Ask customers to review your products and services on well
known consumer lists
3. Promote your business by highlighting positive customer
reviews
4. Use an email tool like Constant Contact or MailChimp to
send out requests for reviews to past customers
5. Reward your customers for referrals and reviews
17.
18. Tip #7 – Quickly implement promotions
Social media is quicker and cheaper than traditional marketing.
Social promotions appear in your followers feeds immediately
and are less intrusive than email.
1. Anything that you would normally email, direct mail, or
promote on your website can be translated in to a social
post
2. Give your promotional posts on Facebook a boost
19.
20. Tip #8 – Check up on your competition
What better way to see what your competition is doing than to
stalk them on social media? You can also follow businesses you
aspire to be like.
1. Follow your competition’s pages on Twitter, Facebook,
Instagram…anywhere they have a presence
2. Watch for things like:
A. Sales and promotions
B. Staff advancements/changes
C. Aesthetic updates to their online presence
D. Job announcements
E. Press releases
21. Tip #9 – Help drive traffic to your website
Use social media to point customers to all of the great
information that is on your website. Social media also helps
with Search Engine Optimization (SEO).
1. Your website is more likely to be found if you have social
accounts that link back to it
2. Many businesses are choosing to only have a presence on
Facebook. Use caution in choosing this route because
Facebook won’t ask for your input when they make
interface and functionality changes
22.
23. Tip #10 – Track industry news and trends
Use social media dashboards and Really Simple Syndication
(RSS) to stay informed of industry news and trends.
Hootsuite
• Multiple users for
multiple accounts
• Single post creation
for multiple accounts
• Post scheduling
• Manage business
and personal
accounts in one
dashboard
Resource – Social Media Examiner article 5 Social Media Management Tools to Save Time
24. RSS feed readers, like Feedly, help organize all your
online points of interest into one digestible dashboard.
Resource – Zapier article The 10 Best Feed Reader Apps for RSS, News, and More
25. Choosing the right social platform for
your business
You can create the best, most engaging content in the world
but, if your target market isn’t seeing it, then it’s wasted time.
How do you figure out where to be online?
1. Customer demographics
A. Know who your customer is and where they spend their
time online
B. Conduct a survey
2. Google Analytics will tell you who has been visiting your
website
3. Research where your competitors are
4. What are you most comfortable with?
26. Resource – Pew Research article Men Catch Up With Women On Overall Social Media Use and
The Demographics of Social Media Users
29. How to get started
Do not create your social media accounts without a content
plan. You need to know how social media will supplement
your current marketing efforts first.
1. In what areas can social media support your current
marketing efforts?
2. Do you have enough content to post at least once per
week, or the resources to create it?
3. Plan a social media strategy and calendar
A. Do you have recurring events, or seasonal business?
B. CoSchedule blog - Step-by-step article outlining how to
create a comprehensive social media plan
4. Not ready? Try creating accounts to “lurk” and see how
other people do it.
30. Once you get started, don’t give up!
Once you have established your social media accounts, cross
promote them in all of your marketing efforts and don’t give
up too soon.
Building an audience takes time. And patience.
