1.
Social Media Basic Platform Playbook
February 2015

2.
Questions We’ll Answer During This Lunch & Lear n
WHAT DOES THE CURRENT SOCIAL LANDSCAPE LOOK LIKE?
WHAT IS THE ROLE OF EACH KEY PLATFORM?
WHAT DRIVES ENGAGEMENT?
HOW CAN YOU MAXIMIZE LIMITED ASSETS ACROSS MULTIPLE PLATFORMS?
WHERE IS SOCIAL GOING?
Resource List Included After Content.

3.
Current Social Landscape
and Key Platform Roles

4.
What is Social Media

5.
What is Social Media

6.
Social Media is Huge and Still Growing
Source: Pixlee, Januar y 2015
0
350
700
1,050
1,400
Facebook
G
oogle+
Instagram
Tw
itter
Tum
blr
Snapchat
Pinterest
Worldwide Active Social Media Users (Millions)

7.
How the Key Platfor ms are Operating
Family
Dinner
Everyone’s
An Artist
The New
CNN
The Dream
Catcher
A Gym
Membership
Cable TV
Comic
Con
Networking
Happy Hour/
Career Fair
Etch-A-Sketch

8.
What Drives Engagement?

9.
Factors Affecting Perfor mance
CONTENT TIMING
TARGETING FUNCTIONALITY

10.
Factors Affecting Perfor mance
CONTENT TIMING
TARGETING FUNCTIONALITY

11.
Platfor m Nuances
FACEBOOK TWITTER PINTEREST INSTAGRAM YOUTUBE/GOOGLE+
USAGE
Typically viewed as the main
focus of all social efforts;
Most widely adopted
platform
Timely updates and joining
new conversations
Visual discovery platform Visual sharing platform
• Video hosting (YT)
• Adds a social element to
Google Search (G+)
CONTENT
SUPPORT
Plain text, links, photos,
videos, tagging (locations +
users/pages), events
Plain text, links, hashtags,
photos, videos/Vines, tagging
(locations + users/pages),
animated gifs
Photos, videos, animated
gifs, rich pins
Photos, videos, hashtags,
tagging (locations + users)
• Video (both)
• Photos, plain text, links,
events, polls, animated gifs
(Google+ only)

12.
General Content Best Practices
General Best Practices to Keep in Mind
• Visuals tend to drive the highest engagement since they take up more
real estate in the newsfeed and are more digestible
• Utilizing 2-3 hashtags when posting on hashtag compatible platforms
helps increases chances of being discovered and joining relevant
conversations (Twitter, Instagram, Google+)
• Imagery styles to avoid include borders, hard to read images, heavy
copy, and heavy branding

13.
Platfor m-Specific Best Practices
FACEBOOK
• Sharing content specific to trending topics/pages helps increase reach as Facebook
will show these more often than content unrelated to a trend
• ‘Like baiting’ or asking for engagements hurts your chances of appearing organically
as these are seen as artificial engagements by Facebook
TWITTER • The shorter the tweet, the higher the engagement rate some studies have shown
INSTAGRAM
• Mostly mobile, so emojis are encouraged when they fit the tone
• Adding additional hashtags in the first comment in a post can help search ability
without hindering engagement rates
• Do not include links in post descriptions as these are not clickable. Links should be
included at the profile level and updated based on objectives
PINTEREST
• Longer images tend to drive the highest engagement
• Long, keyword-rich descriptions help aid in discovery for both pins and boards
• Descriptions should not be time sensitive. Instead, they should provide ongoing value
(i.e. a ‘How To’, Recipe instructions, etc.)
• All pins should link to a relevant page to ensure the user has the opportunity to take
the desired action based on the pin’s content
YOUTUBE
• Keyword-rich titles and descriptions help aid in discovery
• Always include a relevant category and tag(s)
• Use a high quality frame as the thumbnail to drive click throughs
* These are ever evolving, so if you have a question about a platform, please ask.

14.
Maximizing Assets Across Platforms

15.
USING ONE PRODUCT WELL ACROSS PLATFORMS
Burt’s Bees Coconut and Pear Lip Balm
Instagram
Facebook
Twitter

16.
Facebook | Using One Product Well Across Platfor ms
WHY IT WORKS
• Includes a visual (as opposed to sharing a plain text update) allowing it
to see more real estate in the newsfeed
• The copy provides value by being humorous and does not “like bait” in
anyway that would cause it to be penalized by the Facebook algorithm
• Takes advantage of the seasonality (winter)

17.
Instagram | Using One Product Well Across Platfor ms
WHY IT WORKS
• A link is not included in the unclickable area (description or comments)
• High volume and relevant hashtags are included
• Hashtag use is limited to <3 in the image description - optimal for
engagement

18.
Twitter | Using One Product Well Across Platfor ms
WHY THESE WORK
• Tweet copy is short and to the point
• High volume and relevant hashtags are
included
• Hashtag use is limited to <3 - optimal for
engagement
• A visual is included in both tweets and is
sized to show an optimal preview in the
newsfeed

19.
SHOWCASING SIMILAR CONTENT ACROSS MULTIPLE PLATFORMS
Benefit Cosmetics – ‘They’re Real’ Collection Focus
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram

20.
Facebook | Sharing Similar Content Cross Platfor m
WHY IT WORKS
• Includes a strong visual as videos now
autoplay in the newsfeed (without sound)
• The CTA does not ‘like bait’ and the
description provides value by being
humorous
• Takes advantage of a key life event (the
16th birthday)

21.
Facebook | Sharing Similar Content Cross Platfor m
WHY IT WORKS
• Includes a strong visual step by step how-
to
• The CTA does not ‘like bait’ and the
description provides helpful information

22.
Pinterest | Sharing Similar Content Cross Platfor m
WHY IT WORKS
• The posted visual is long
allowing it to have more real
estate in the Pinterest feed
• The description includes
keywords (i.e. lashline, liner)
that would be natural for
users to search for on
Pinterest
• No time sensitive information
is included in the pin or
description
• Hashtags #benefitcosmetics
so users will see where the
pin originated from even when
it is repinned
• Links to a relevant landing
page

23.
Instagram | Sharing Similar Content Cross Platfor m
WHY IT WORKS
• The visual does not
contain a text overlay
and features a high-
quality image
• High volume hashtags
are included in the
description to help aid
in discovery
• No links are included
in the description,
preventing any
frustration from not
being able to click
through

24.
Social in 2015 + Beyond

25.
Where Is Social Going in 2015?
MOBILE VIDEO PAY TO PLAY CHAT APPS
SUMMARY
Smartphone adoption
continues to grow and has
caused an increase in
accessing social networks
via mobile apps. 25MM
inter net users in the US
alone used a social
networking app in October
2014.
We can expect to see an
increase in native video
support and capabilities
across social. Already,
native video on Facebook
is poised to surpass
YouTube in terms of
uploads, and Twitter
recently launched video
cards publicly.
Organic reach on social
continues to diminish -
specifically on Facebook.
As other platforms
continue to see growth
and release ad products,
we can expect a decline in
organic reach across
social networks.
Chat adoption continues to
grow despite privacy
concer ns due to the
intuitive mobile use of
these platforms. 3 of the
top 10 most active global
platforms are chat/
messenger apps.
IMPLICATION
Social requires a mobile
first approach. Assets
should be mobile
optimized and
consideration for where
users are when seeing
your content is crucial to
success.
YouTube is not going away
as it is vital to organic
search and discovery.
Testing native uploads v.
linking to YouTube and
seeing which drives
stronger performance will
be necessary as brands
increasingly use this
medium.
A paid media budget for
social is necessary to
effectively reach users and
drive engagement with
content you have invested
time and resources into
creating.
Although growth metrics
make chat and messenger
apps seem like a prime
place to focus, the
opportunities for brands
are limited at this point.

26.
Resources

27.
Resources
Pinterest Guides
LinkedIn Company Resources
Twitter for Business Resource Center
Facebook Business Resources
YouTube Playbook
Instagram for Business Blog
Instagram for Business
The resources below offer up to date best practices and research directly from the individual platforms.
In addition to checking these for product updates and educational materials, we recommend subscribing
to their respective newsletter to have important information sent to you directly.

28.
Appendix

29.
Communication Role
OWNED
MEDIA
PAID
MEDIA
EARNED
MEDIA
SOCIAL
MEDIA