Workshop held at the Business & IP Centre at the British Library.

1. Business & IP Centre
Start using social media for small business
Seema Rampersad – 2023
seema.rampersad@bl.uk
Blog - britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/business

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The British Library is for who wants to do research – entrepreneurs, academic,
creatives, commercial or personal. Space for small business meetings.

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Our Research Service
We offer a range of paid services including; priced research and training.
Through these services the expertise and experience of our specialists can be
used to:
• Help inventors and designers to check on their ideas’ novelty when
considering applying for a patent, registered design, or registered trade mark
• Help entrepreneurs to find the information they need to develop a business
idea
• Support legal professionals in the patent litigation process
The service is charged at a rate of £103.20 (+VAT) per hour of
staff time with a minimum one hour research.

6. •I can’t cover everything
•A canter through key areas
•Start on your Social Media Strategy
•My top tips for success
•Question Time
1.5 hours to cover all of Social Media?

7. Source - http://www.sxc.hu/profile/garwee
What is Social Media?
•A fun interactive way of connecting people to
people and people to business
•Free – almost Free or Freemium
•Simple technology on web and mobile
•All the help you need is online…

8. What is Social Media really?

9. Source: https://aofund.org/resource/choosing-right-social-media-platform-your-business/

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Have a Social Media Plan and Schedule!

11. Why all the fuss?

12. Social Media Statistics – Active Users
• 7.6 billion population in the World
• 4 billion – 60% using the internet
• 3 billion active on social media
• Average of 7.6 social media accounts
• New user every 15 seconds
• 100 billion Google searches a month

14. Slideshare – a form of social media for presentations.
“Discover, Share, and Present presentations and infographics
with the world's largest professional content sharing
community”.

15. Why all the fuss about Social Media?

16. What will Social Media do for you?
•Find out what your
• Customers
• Critics
• Fans
…are saying about you online
•Spot trends in your market - industry
•Monitor your competitors

17. What will Social Media do for you?
•Allow you to engage with your
• Customers
• Critics
• Fans
…in a transparent manner
•Measure your impact
•Crowdsource your products and services

18. Developing your Social Media strategy
What are your business goals?
• Increase brand awareness
• Develop brand credibility
• Build a relationship with your audience
• Grow an online community
• Brand Ambassadors & Influencers

19. Social Media Marketing is Content Marketing
Content Marketing is king because:
• Leads are eight times more likely to
convert than outbound leads (Hubspot)
• Dramatically lower cost per lead than
outbound marketing for start ups
• Build a trusting relationship with your
customers - no hard-sell

20. Content Marketing via Storytelling
We all respond to a good story:
• Your brand story is not a sales pitch
• What makes you and your staff special
• What makes your customers special
• What makes your product-service special

21. Content Marketing via Storytelling
• Keep the story simple
• Mistakes you made along the way
• Lessons learned
• Success stories you are proud of

22. Blogging for Small Business

23. Why you should blog
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/34209/93-of-Companies-Using-Inbound-Marketing-Increase-Lead-Generation-New-ROI-Data.aspx

24. Why you should blog
•To build trust in your brand
– ‘real’ people vs anonymous business
•To build an audience of regular readers
•To be found
– Google search loves blogs –indexed terms

25. Multi-Platforms - Avoid putting all your
eggs in one basket

26. To drive traffic to your
website
To act as your social
media hub
To be seen as an
expert in your field
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/Kurhan
Why you should blog

27. How you should blog
• With passion… and patience
• For your audience
• On your own, or in a team
• Always about things related to your business
• Include a ‘call to action’ if possible
• Always include links to other content

28. Always
Ronseal
your
blog
titles

29. Put the
‘good stuff’
in the first
paragraph

30. In combination with your other social media
channels
Using your web domain
E.G. www.yourwebsite/blog
Measuring using built in tools or Google Analytics
Using this information to guide your future
content
How you should blog?

31. Always publicise your blog posts

32. Regularly
Content must be engaging /
surprising / intriguing / even
controversial (but not too much)
Include images and videos
Length must be right for your
readers
How you should blog
http://www.sxc.hu/profile/dspruitt

33. But does it really work?
Yes it does!

34. Shares…

35. Loom Bands stories

36. Advert! Check BIPC webinars

38. “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

40. Daily status updates – but no hard sell
• Peeks ‘behind the scene’
• Photos and videos of your company at work
• Show a keenness to interact – polls, quizzes
• You are allowed to have a point of view
e.g. yoga trainer on diet and exercise
What content should you post?

41. Branding, Product and Services, eCommerce, Customer Info

42. Persuade your customers to do your
social media marketing for you

43. Use tools to save you time
- Buffer or Hootsuite
Use Facebook Insights to measure
Shares are most important
• Followed by comments
• Least useful are Likes
Manage and keep track

44. What content has the biggest impact?
- do more of the same
Are people actually spending money
on your website?
Vanity metrics aren’t good for business
- only your ego
Manage and keep track

45. • Facebook for Business gives you the latest news, tips, and
best practices to help meet your business goals
www.facebook.com/business
• How to set up your business page:
https://www.facebook.com/business/learn/set-up-
facebook-page
• How to post to your page:
https://www.facebook.com/business/learn/facebook-
page-create-posts/
Facebook tips

46. I can resist everything except temptation.
Oscar Wilde (41 chars)
Please accept my resignation.
I don't want to belong to any club that will accept
people like me as a member.
Groucho Marx(109 chars)
Aim for the sky and you’ll reach the ceiling. Aim for
the ceiling and you’ll stay on the floor.
Bill Shankly (95 chars)

47. What can you fit into
240 characters?

48. • Micro blogging – 240 character limit
• A technology without a purpose or vision
• The ‘Marmite’ of Social Media services
• Love it or loath it – it works
• But will it last? …Maybe.
What is Twitter?

49. • Smaller numbers than Facebook
– but bigger spenders
• Unparalleled access to celebrities and decision
makers
• An opportunity to ‘go’ viral, e.g.KiKi Challenge
• The current reigning champion of social media
for business
• 0 to 10,000 followers in one week is possible
Why Tweet?

50. Consistent Branding, Trends, Hashtags, Engagement

51. • Short term promotions and special offers
• Invite feedback / market research
• Enhance your reputation
• Improve your customer responsiveness
• Build good relations
• Remember to protect your profile name
How to use Twitter

53. Good Customer Services

54. • Find trending topics and experts
• Find evangelists for your brand
• Make sure you separate work and play
• Be careful when re-tweeting (libel laws apply)
• BBC advice:
“Never tweet when you're pissed… or pissed off”
How to use Twitter

55. •Tweet weekly
•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

57. • The ‘grown-up’
Social Media channel
• Your virtual CV
• Professional Network
• Job Hunting
• Hubspot survey showed LinkedIn is 3 times
more effective than Twitter or Facebook for
converting website visitors into leads
LinkedIn for Small Business

58. Personal with a Business, Groups or Companies Profiles

59. Is Foluke a reliable contact, an industry expert
or trustworthy business?

60. Create a community, group or company profile…

61. • Good for consultants, trainers and
professions
• Use for Groups, Communities and Company
News
• Research and engage with potential
customers
• Check out your competitors
• Get recommendations
• Link to your other social media activities
LinkedIn for Small Business

62. • Twitter for photo sharing
• No pushy sales messages
• Use it to showcase your brand and
customers
• Stories with videos
Instagram for small business

63. • Research
- then use the best hashtags
• But don’t overdo it
- 10 to 15 hashtags max
• Aim to get the best quality photos you can
• Encourage your customers to share their photos
Instagram for small business

66. Instagram pros and cons
Pros
• Lots of users
• Lots of millennials
• Lots of engagement
• Created for mobile devices,
Live & IGTV videos
• Does integrate well with
other social media
platforms
Cons
•Links in biographies
•Advertising (too much or
too little, depends)
•Younger users

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Tik Tok overtakes Google as most popular
site

68. Tik Tok…
Photo Source: Ofcom - https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2020/uk-internet-use-surges

70. • Used to create and curate theme-based
image collections
• Browse other pinboards for inspiration
• 're-pin' images, or 'like' photos, ‘Buy it’
• Young upstart… but very rapid growth
e.g. Fashion, Homes etc
Pinterest for Small Business

71. Product Placement

72. Pinterest pros and cons
Pros
•Images can be linked to
your web pages
•Users can ‘repin’ your
images, share links, Use for
Shopping, Buy it
•‘Pin It’ button makes it easy
for your fans to share content
Cons
• 80% are women
• So only 20% are
men
• Not very
conversational

73. • People love moving images
• Google loves videos
• Demonstrate how things work
• Share your knowledge
YouTube for Small Business

74. Video is taking over social media - Sales
increased by 700% due to YouTube videos

75. YouTube for Small Business

76. Other social media players - WhatsApp

77. Snapchat – Customers Increasing Usage

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Curate content as in other platforms but with shorter life-spans (text,
video, snap messages)
Encourage Participation and Interaction with shares
Get Creative – Share Snaps, Pictures
Call to Action – Project group, Teams, Launches, Events
Build a Following
Encrypted Communication
Source - https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-use-snapchat-for-business/
Remember to...
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80. Buffer for scheduling content

81. Share good stuff with

82. e.g.Hootsuite for monitoring & curating content

83. Use Analytics

84. The new standard for websites and apps...
e.g. Dorothy Perkins, Chatty Feet

85. The new standard for websites… build-in integration, data
and user experience with your social media. Website hub to
social media channels.

86. Influencers – little and large
Source: https://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/how-to-find-social-media-micro-influencers-for-your-small-business/
#1: Find Micro-influencers Among
Your Fans
#2: Research Hashtags to Find
Influential Users
#3: Do a ‘Google’ Search for Local
Bloggers
#4: Use Third-party Tools to Find
People in Your Niche e.g. Twitter
Followerwonk, BuzzSumo, etc.

87. Author Neil Gaiman tweets support for The Peterfield Bookshop

88. Join or create a community of interest

89. • Aim to limit to 30 minutes a day
• Keep it professional – no bad virals
• Look out for new services
• Measure results and cull
• Posts with photos are viewed 75% more
• Posts with videos are viewed 57% more
My top tips for Social Media success

90. Stay
focussed
Keep
away
from the
lolcats &
coffee
cups

91. Source: https://aofund.org/resource/choosing-right-social-media-platform-your-business/

92. • Have a consistent brand / name
across your social media platforms
• Don’t just lurk on social media
My top tips for Social Media success
• Make sure you contribute valuable content

93. • Be a person online
- but not too personal
• Aim to be ‘marketing lite’
- avoid spamming
• Have fun with it!
My top tips for Social Media success

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Link to Slides –
please email me at
seema.rampersad@bl.uk
Thank you!