f you are serious writer, having an online social media presence is something that can work to your advantage. You can use social media to market a book, yourself, or an organization. Social media is one of the most important tools we can use for marketing and communication. Learn about popular social media tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, Instagram, and blogging. This workshop will explore best practices for engagement and getting the conversation going. Other issues covered will include managing risk, analytics, picking the best tools for your strategy, and privacy.
Whether you’re building a community or a personal brand, this workshop will provide you with tips and tools to get you started on developing an effective social media plan.
12. top tips
• Have a website? Create posts with links to drive traffic to your website.
• Videos and photos get more attention.
• Try sharing images of your product or images of your customers engaging
with your product.
• Shorter is better. Posts should be a maximum of 250 characters.
• Aim for conversation. Ask for feedback and listen.
• Be timely. Think about holidays or current events.
• Make sure to include the link in your post (try using a link shortener like
bitly)
13. challenges + opportunities
• Facebook is beginning to use Search Engine Optimization.
• People don’t want to see posts that just promote a product or service.
• Cross post to other social media networks (i.e. Instagram)
• Pay Per Click
14.
15. top tips
• Make sure your profile photo clearly associates you with your brand or the
online persona you want to develop
• Include a bio
• Post a couple of tweets before you start to follow people
• Follow people
• People Search (search for specific people)
• Use a directory (wefollow, twello)
• Browse who other people follow
• Try not to use more than 2 hashtags per tweet
• #It #Can #Be #Annoying #When #Your #Tweet #Looks #Like #This
16. challenges + opportunities
• Engage with people
• Help others
• Tweetup (meet up / conversation on Twitter)
• Twitter can be overwhelming
17.
18. top tips
• Engage with commenters
• Optimize images
• Name images strategically
• Promote your boards on other social media sites
• Use keywords for board titles
• Think seasonally / thematically
24. top tips
• You need a mobile device (smart phone, tablet) to upload to Instagram.
The desktop site is only for browsing
• Tell a story
• Take advantage of both video (up to 9 seconds) and photos
• Connect with people’s emotions
• Images an make people happy and sad, etc.
• Share with other networks (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
• Follow other users
• Respond to comments
• Use hashtags (#)
• Check out complementary apps (Photo collages, etc.)
27. top tips
• Have a voice
• Inspire conversation
• Don’t be a promotion pretending to be a post
• Use a variety of content types
• Text, interviews, podcasts, videos, infographics
• Choose a blogging tool that works for you
• WordPress.com, WordPress.org, Typepad, Blogger, etc.
28. challenges + opportunities
• Needs to be built into your content strategy / schedule
• Interlinking content
• Gain influence
• Drive more traffic to your website
• Take control of your online identity
• The Internet lives forever
31. Methods for Engagement
Focus on
your
audience
Be visual
Share
interesting
content
Be current
Be human Shout-outs
Ask
questions
Crowd
source
Hashtags
Be ready to
react
51. Optimize Content
• Image size
• Optimize your profile photo, header/cover photos, shared images and
more
• Try: Always Up-to-Date Guide to Social Media Image Sizes
• Character count
• Media Length
57. Accessibility Best Practices
• Complete detailed profiles including other ways of contacting
you to provide easy access to more information
• Provide captions for any photos you post
• Provide access to full video transcripts and use captioning
• Aim for good colour contrast
• Put hashtags and @mentions at the end of posts to make it
easier on screen readers
60. Further Reading / Sources
• The Top 10 Benefits Of Social Media Marketing (Forbes)
• Canadian Digital, Social and Mobile Statistics on a Global Scale 2014
• Facebook Terminology
• 10 tips to creating engaging Page posts
• Create your Twitter Content Strategy
• 26 Creative Ways to Publish Social Media Updates
• All About Pinterest
• Infographic: The optimal length for social media updates and more
• Canadian Internet Registration Authority: The Canadian Internet Fact Book
• YouTube Glossary
• Douglas Coupland, Slogans for the Twenty-First Century
• Golden Rules of Social Media Accessibility
• Top 10 Social Media Blogs
• 7 Tips for Upping Your Social Media Game in 2015 (Time Magazine)
• The Minimalist Guide to Personal Branding on Social Media
• Conversation Prism
61. Photo/Video Credits
• hipster office desktop 3.0 - Photo: Markus Spiske / raumrot.com
• Lights - Photo: Markus Spiske / raumrot.com
• Video: The Social Media Revolution 2015
• Facebook
• Twitter
• Pinterest
• YouTube
• Instagram
• Blogging Gideon Burton Blogging Street Cred
• Office desk - Photo: Markus Spiske / raumrot.com
• polaroid 635 supercolor - Photo: Markus Spiske / raumrot.com
• Closed doors - Photo: Markus Spiske / raumrot.com
• Conversation Prism
62. Editorial Calendars
• Scraps of My Geek Life - 2015 Editorial Calendar Template Download
• Early Bird Strategy: 2015 EDITORIAL CALENDAR TEMPLATE
• CoSchedule (online/paid)
Editor's Notes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUeL3n7fDs
82% of Canadians use a social network (Compared to 75% of Americans).
Canadian individuals spend an average of 2 hours 19 minutes on social networks each day
85% have a Facebook account and 57% have used Facebook in the past month.
46% have a Twitter account and 22% have used Twitter in the past month.
Recognition
Owning your online identity
Increase traffic / Search engine rankings (SEO)
Social listening
Deeper customer experiences
World’s largest social network
Connect with friends, family and fans
Post updates, share photos and videos, share information
Create groups and events
Create a brand / business page
Connect with businesses
Facebook is beginning to use Search Engine Optimization.
Factors to consider: mentions, likes, shares will contribute to how pages show up in results.
People don’t want to see posts that just promote a product or service.
Make sure to balance promotional posts with “general interest” posts.
Cross post to other social media networks (i.e. Instagram)
Pay Per Click
Highly targeted advertising.
Microblogging social networking tool
Read and write messages up to 140 characters
Connect with clients / colleagues
Get feedback / engage
Develop your online brand
Keep of with the latest . . . News, trends and more
Make sure your profile photo clearly associates you with your brand or the online persona you want to develop
Include a bio – people want to know something about who they are following
Post a couple of tweets before you start to follow people
Follow people
People Search (search for specific people)
Use a directory (wefollow, twello)
Browse who other people follow
Try not to use more than 2 hashtags per tweet
#It #Can #Be #Annoying #When #Your #Tweet #Looks #Like #This
Engage with people
Ask for help
Ask for input
As questions
Help others
Answer questions
Provide feedback
Tweetup (meet up / conversation on Twitter)
Have a designated hashtag
Twitter can be overwhelming
Set goals for original tweets / retweets
Visual discovery, collecting, sharing and storage tool
Brand strengthening
Comment on pins relevant to you / your brand
Content curation
Share your content / content relevant to you / your brand
Market research
Find one of your customers on Pinterest. What are they interested in?
Storage
Visual thinker? Need a way to brainstorm? Try using a themed Pinterest board.
Engage with commenters
Optimize images
Name images strategically
Use keywords and hyphens (rather than underscores) – helps search engines recognize the name
Promote your boards on other social media sites
Use keywords for board titles
Make your boards findable
Think seasonally / thematically
Holidays and seasons can way to reach out through curated content
Brand authority
Useful, relevant or educational information
Expand your reach
Group boards
Drive traffic to your site
Combine great images with content
Tool to discover, watch and share videos
Canadians are heavy consumers of online video (ranking second behind the UK)
Average monthly hours per viewer: 24.8
Average monthly videos per viewer: 291
Videos and images improve the quality of your site (Google and other search engines look for a variety of content)
Power branding opportunity
Bring emotion / lasting impression
Doesn’t have to be expensive
Customize your channel
Branding and other relevant information
Subtitles
Use captions to make sure your videos are accessible
Engage with users
Subscribe to channels, comment, keep up to date
Be organized
Create playlists and group your content with appropriate title and descriptions
Tags
Add tags to help users find your videos
Cross promote / Build mini-campaigns
How will you promote / share your video?
Will it complement a blog post? Will you share it on Twitter? Building a campaign around videos you create will help it have a broader reach.
YouTube Analytics
Get view stats and demographics
Get feedback / demo
Share content and get feedback/reviews
What is your product / service? Let your customers / clients know exactly what you are all about.
Share knowledge / skills
Educational videos, build expertise
Budget / Skills
There are lots of ways to create low budget (free!) videos, it still will take commitment
Viral Videos
Only a small percentage of videos ever go viral, there’s no one answer as to what will be a hit
Photo sharing app that allows you to apply “filters” to photos and share them with followers
Opportunity to personalize your social media
Behind-the-scenes
Timely
Quick photo or video can be created in less than 5 minutes
Hashtags – you can use more hashtags on Instagram, experiment with a variety and observe other users to see what works
Develop a brand identity
What is your aesthetic?
Putting a face to the brand
Building community
Regularly updated website that is less formal and more conversational
Consists of individual entries or “posts”
May exist as a part of a more formal website
Build a reputation
Provide a voice for your company
Share expertise
Have a voice
What will the tone be of the blog?
Inspire conversation
Blog posts are often opinion based, be open to debate (within reason)
Don’t be a promotion pretending to be a post
Be interesting and useful
Use a variety of content types
Text, interviews, podcasts, videos, infographics
Choose a blogging tool that works for you
WordPress.com, WordPress.org, Typepad, Blogger, etc.
Needs to be built into your content strategy / schedule
Posts should be regular (once a week, once a month, etc.)
Interlinking content
Refer to videos, Pinterest boards, etc.
Gain influence
Become a source that people trust
Drive more traffic to your website
More opportunities to get traffic
Take control of your online identity
Who are you? Build that complete picture.
The Internet lives forever
Juggling multiple social media accounts can be tricky and time-consuming
Get help understanding what works and what doesn’t
Consider some of the useful tools available to help you:
Embedded Tools (Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics, etc.)
Crowdbooster (no free option, $9/month)
Easy to use and real time metrics
Makes recommendations and help scheduling and timing
Bitly (free)
Link shortener and track clicks
Hootsuite (free option, paid = more features)
Schedule posts and easy reporting
Manage social profiles in one place (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest and more)
Google Analytics (free)
Limited but free! Track how your website is doing and interactions with Like and Share buttons
Likes and Shares
Comparison to other Pages / Profiles
Reputation
Content
Reporting
Understanding value
Who is your audience?
What do they do?
What activities do they enjoy?
What problems can you help them solve?
How can you provide enjoyment?
Create a Content Calendar.
Plan your conversations.
App like co-schedule ($10/month)
Google Calendar
Holidays, themes, “National popcorn day”
Link to free one (available at the end of presentation)
Crunched for time?
Schedule your posts
Many social media tools allow you to do it directly or use a content manager like HootSuite
Review your performance.
Use analytics to get to know your audience.
Be a good listener.
Notifications
Collect updates
Track mentions
Listen to conversations
Have a schedule
80/20
80% about interactions / general interest and 20% about promotion
Have a personality
Be authentic and friendly. Try not to be too formal. Wit and humour welcome.
Learn.
Manage expectations and learn from what works and doesn’t work.
Have a promotion day
Behind the scenes
Helpful tips
Customer spotlight
Industry news
Your People
Quotes
Recommendations
Milestones
Unexpected Holidays
Re-usable content
Giveaways / contests
Interviews / meet the staff
Hashtag events (i.e. #FollowFriday, #MotivationMonday, #ThrowbackThursday/#TBT, #WednesdayWisdom)
Ask questions / Answer questions
Jokes / memes
Link out to other content
Lists
Infographics / Visual content
X vs. Y – (i.e. Are you a mac or a pc?)
Have a promotion day
Behind the scenes
Helpful tips
Customer spotlight
Industry news
Your People
Quotes
Recommendations
Milestones
Unexpected Holidays
Re-usable content
Giveaways / contests
Interviews / meet the staff
Hashtag events (i.e. #FollowFriday, #MotivationMonday, #ThrowbackThursday/#TBT, #WednesdayWisdom)
Ask questions / Answer questions
Jokes / memes
Link out to other content
Lists
Infographics / Visual content
X vs. Y – (i.e. Are you a mac or a pc?)
Have a promotion day
Behind the scenes
Helpful tips
Customer spotlight
Industry news
Your People
Quotes
Recommendations
Milestones
Unexpected Holidays
Re-usable content
Giveaways / contests
Interviews / meet the staff
Hashtag events (i.e. #FollowFriday, #MotivationMonday, #ThrowbackThursday/#TBT, #WednesdayWisdom)
Ask questions / Answer questions
Jokes / memes
Link out to other content
Lists
Infographics / Visual content
X vs. Y – (i.e. Are you a mac or a pc?)
Recite.com
Image size
Optimize your profile photo, header/cover photos, shared images and more
Try: Always Up-to-Date Guide to Social Media Image Sizes
Character count
Not a science, but there are recommendations.
71-100 characters (Twitter)
40 characters (Facebook)
Media Length
YouTube (3 minutes)
Podcasts (22 minutes)
Damage to reputation
Don’t just delete your profiles, that will not solve the problem
Confidential information
Identity theft / hacking
Regularly login / change passwords
Policies and procedures
Be clear about boundaries and expectations
Be open and honest
Respond to complaints – don’t delete the negative
Be timely
Regular check-ins and quick responses
Policies
Get permission to share photos and names
Too Much Information (TMI)
Some things aren’t meant to be shared
Consider what is too personal
Customize your privacy options
Plug-ins and applications
Be aware of what permissions you are granting.
How will they use your information?