1. Taking Maximum Advantage of Social Media Marketing
Social Media Marketing Made Simple
A Best Practices and Strategy Overview
for Small Business and Nonprofits
2. Our Agenda
What Is Social Media Marketing?
Why Market Using Social Media?
Doing It Well: Best Practices for Social Media Marketing
for Small Business
Connections
Engaging Content
Conversations
Managing Your Activity and Time
Next Steps
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3. Why Do We “Market”?
More…
Customers
Clients
We Want
More! Volunteers
Donors/Members
Brand Awareness
Sales
Time in the day!
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4. Social Media Marketing Is a relatively inexpensive
process for growing one of your most important assets –
YOUR DATABASE
Integrating the best in Social Media Technologies . . .
to Build a social network . . . of fans, followers, and
connections,
using relevant and interesting content that is shared,
allowing you to reach and engage more people and
drive more business.
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6. Concerns? You Are Not Alone
Social media marketing looks interesting, but …
I will never have a million customers or even 5,000.
Using new, inbound marketing tools sound great,
but …
I will never write leadership articles.
Paying attention to what’s being said on social
media sounds useful, but …
I’ll never have a dedicated staff to do it right.
I hear about new tools and networks everyday,
but …
I just don’t have the time to stay current.
6
7. Doing It Well:
Best Practices for Small Business
Social Media Marketing
Define Your Objectives:
Examine Your Strengths:
Study the Alternatives:
Evaluate How to Get the Job Done
Make Decision on Approach
7
8. Set Reasonable Goals and Expectations
Leverage your excellent
customer experience for social
media success
Drive engagement (action)
Encourage repeat business
Encourage referrals
Get online endorsements
Reach new customers through
online, word-of-mouth marketing
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9. Doing It Well:
Best Practices for Small Business
Social Media Marketing
Connections:
Kickstarting your following, and using
content that inspires engagement
Engaging Content:
Creating a presence
Conversations:
Practical monitoring and measurement
9
10. Delivering important information
…delivering professional email
communications…
…to an interested audience…
…containing information they
find valuable.
10
11. Looking Professional
Email Service Providers automate
best practices
Provide easy-to-use templates
Reinforce brand identity
Email addressed to recipient
only
Manage lists – adding new
subscribers, handling bounce-
backs, removing unsubscribes
Improves email delivery, tracks
results and obeys
the law
11
12. In A Pickle: Increase Sales, Build Community
In A Pickle is a local favorite
restaurant in Waltham, MA. They are
everywhere on the Web.
In A Pickle sends a weekly
eNewsletter to update customers of
special deals, new menu items, and
events.
They use social media to
experiment, push on-the-fly specials,
get feedback from customers & build
community.
They credit eNewsletters as the
hub that brings everything together.
12
14. Be Where Your Customers Are
Social Networks Content Sharing Reviews & Ratings Location Based
The sites that your customers and members are using
The sites that your partners & suppliers are using
The sites that your competitors are using
14
15. Discover Preferred Channels
Add social icons to email
Your contacts want to campaigns to define your
keep in touch, but on audience’s preferred channels
their terms
Email
Facebook
Twitter
15
15
16. Kickstart Growth: Use Email Blasts
Announce your presence
in an Email blast with a clear call
to action.
Include standard links in every
email so subscribers can share
your content.
Include social media signup
icons in every email so subscribers
can join you on your social sites.
16
17. Look Professional
Complete your business
profile
Description
Contact information
Website URL
Join My Mailing List
Brand your presence
Logo, pictures, backgroun
d
Add starter content
17
18. Focus Your Presence
Make your social presence a reflection
of your business/organization.
Don’t blur personal and professional use.
Be transparent.
New users should immediately identify what you do.
“Stick to Your Knitting.”
Deliberately choose your expertise and areas
of engagement.
Put the social in the social media.
Be broad and informal … and have fun!
18
20. Starter Content
Information, tips, and practical advice
Questions asked by your customers
Links to:
– Archived email marketing newsletters
– Polls and surveys
– Event homepages and registration pages
– Websites (yours and others in your area of expertise)
– Product or service reviews
– Thought-provoking discussions that inspire dialogue
– Relevant videos, photos, podcasts
20
21. Content is King!
Content is the feeder
of social networks
Write great content
once, then broadcast it.
Create sound bites for shorter
media.
The best content inspires
sharing:
a word of advice or one
sentence can go a long way!
Original, personalized content
is important
Less is more! Short content is
best, one idea at a time. You
can always share links to
more. 21
22. More than 800 million active users
Facebook Statistics, 2011
More than 50% of Facebook users
log on any given day
Facebook Statistics, 2011
________________________________
Create a Business Page
Recruit fans
Fill with content that is relevant to them –
comments, photos, videos
Make settings public so your customers
and prospects can find you
Use as an alternate landing page for your
email
Add a Join My Mailing List form to invite
people to join your list
22
23. Basic Anatomy of a Facebook Business Page
Cover photo & profile picture
Recent photos and images
Public List of Friends/Fans
Join my List
Shop Now
Posts by You and Others
23
24. Twitter
160 million registered
users
100 million active users
Mashable.com, 2011
60% of users follow
companies, brands, and
products
Mediabistro.com, 2011
_______________________
Engagement Through
Sharing
Share links to interesting
content & ask for feedback
Tweet a survey or poll
Send direct messages (DMs)
Retweet content from people
you are following
24
25. Basic Anatomy of a Twitter Feed
Basic Info, Link, Description
Avatar – Logo or Photo
Your Handle
Most Recent & Past Tweets
Followers and Following
Recent Images
25
26. 86% of B2B marketers use LinkedIn
Chief Marketer. “Social Marketing Goes Mainstream: Chief Marketer
Annual Survey Find Marketers Believe in Power of Social.” 2011.
There are over 75,000 Nonprofit
groups using LinkedIn
Nonprofit LinkedIn Learning Center, 2011
________________________________
Manage your professional contacts and
relationships
Find individuals you know
in a professional capacity
Join networks or groups
by industry, geography, or work history
Participate in discussions
Recruit attendees to your events
Invite people to join your mailing list
26
27. Basic Anatomy of a LinkedIn Profile
Name, Location, Basic Stats
Your Photo or Your Logo
Logo
Work Experience, Now & Then
Information You Share
Communication Options
Your Network and Other Info,
Twitter, Websites,
Recommendations,
etc.
27
28. Pinterest is a Virtual Pinboard.
Pinterest lets you organize and share all the beautiful things you find on
the web. People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their
homes, and organize their favorite recipes.
Best of all, you can browse pinboards created by other people. Browsing
pinboards is a fun way to discover new things and get inspiration from
people who share your interests.
Pin
Pinboard
28
30. Building Your Network
Use a variety of ways to expand
your network:
1. Send an invitation to your email list
2. Add interactive social icons to your
Website
Email campaigns (in a sidebar, in the
footer)
Outgoing email signature
Business Card
Printed collateral:
mailers, flyers, invoices, etc.
3. Put a sign in your storefront window
4. Add a message to your voicemail
5. Include a note on point-of-sale receipts
and house coupons
30
32. Social Media Dos: Be the Expert
Focus on the content:
share knowledge so people care
It’s not about you.
It’s about what you know.
Trade useful information for attention
Will people talk about it when out with friends?
Will people look forward to your next
communication?
Will they be inspired to share/tweet/comment
on this information?
Inspire trust by filtering the noise
Be an expert.
Clearly convey your area of expertise.
32
35. Social Media Don’ts
What NOT to include in your
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn
updates
Don’t pitch.
Don’t overtly self-promote.
Don’t offer incentives to get
reviews or sharing.
Don’t stray from your areas of
business into: personal
information, politics, sports, religi
on, etc.
35
36. Turning Negativity into a
Great Customer Experience
Negative comments are inevitable:
Social networks can be a convenient
way for people to vent frustrations.
1. Always reach out to the customer.
Pick up the phone if possible
Use a private message, email, or DM
2. Let your network know that you are
addressing the issue.
Respond! Show that you are listening
and respond positively, publically
3. Always seek to satisfy and delight,
not defend.
36
38. Do It Daily, But Don’t Overdo It
A word of advice from Gail
Goodman,
CEO of Constant Contact:
“Keep your time spent in check;
doing social media right
does not mean doing it a lot.”
It is important to stay active!
15 minutes a day, 3 times per 2011 Small Business Attitudes
& Outlook Survey
week is more than most small
businesses.
38
39. What Should I Monitor?
1. Your Brand. Think about all its possible spellings/configurations.
For example: Far and Away Bicycles, Far & Away, bicycles, bikes, etc.
2. 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?
3. Categories, topics, and keywords of your business.
For example: pets, dog day care, cat, dog, pet
sitting, animals, rescue, etc.
4. The experts and influencers in your business.
39
40. Popular Tools Used to Monitor and
Manage your Time
Popular time management and monitoring tools include:
Google Alerts
HootSuite
TweetDeck
RSS
NutshellMail
40
42. Measuring the Impact of Social Media
To begin, look at:
What is being said about you?
Are you seen as an expert?
How well are you engaging with
existing experts?
Are you reaching new customers en
masse?
How are you reaching specific
customers?
42
47. Take the Next Step
Email + Social = Webinars Social Media Quickstarter
Success, Guaranteed.
Sign up for a free Email Register for our free Get a Social Media
Marketing trial. webinars: Quickstart!
Satisfaction guaranteed.
Learn more about how Get started building
Arm yourself with the
social media marketing connections through
tools, playbook, and coaching to can help small business
and nonprofits optimize
social media
get your first campaign in front of
your email subscribers and social marketing efforts. marketing, today!
networks. Watch your business
grow!
Toll-free: 866-876-8464 constantcontact.com/
constantcontact.com learning-center socialquickstarter.com
47
48. Contact Information
Ron Bill
Premier Consulting Innovations
Email: ron@consultprem.com
Phone: 317-752-6201
Facebook Premier Consulting Innovations
Website www.consultprem.com
48
Editor's Notes
Seminar description:This seminar will review the essential strategies and best practices a business or organization should understand in order to successfully implement social media marketing. We will talk about: What social media marketing really is and why it’s important;Various social media networks and tools: how they interact, ways to leverage their strengths, and how to evaluate them for best use for your business or organization;How other businesses are using these low-cost tools to gain visibility, develop relationships, and drive sales and engagement;How to incorporate it into your business life without losing productivity.
In today’s seminar, we will learn:READ FROM SLIDE
Everyone markets for the same reason: they want more of something: more customers, more volunteers, more donors and members, but most of all, more time in the day.
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
The first message I have for you is that once you decide to make Social Media Marketing part of your Business Plan you have some issues to attend to.Talk from experience on these five points. Stress this is important for your success.Mention that once you have decided to pursue a path of Social Media Marketing your entire staff must be on board and supportive of the plan.Make no mistake, Social Media Marketing, is the advertising vehicle of today and into the future. But, you must work it to your advantage and I will try to give you as many tips today as time allows.
Set reasonable goals and expectations.As a small business owner, set reasonable goals that match expectations and investments of resources and time. The more time and resources you devote to Social Media Marketing, the greater your yield! Realistically, accept that Social Media Marketing is not instantaneous. You do need to invest some time and resources before you reap rewards, and not all of your customers will engage. However, you can:Drive engagement (action/commentary/feedback/sharing) with your base of passionate customersEncourage repeat businessEncourage referralsGet online endorsementsReach new customers through online, word-of-mouth marketing.
Topic: Doing it Well – Best Practices for Social Media MarketingBasically, it boils down into 3 “C”s –Connections, Content, and ConversationsConnections: Kick start your following, and use content that inspires engagementEngaging Content: Creating a presenceConversations: Practical monitoring and measurement
Here is an example of a jeweler, The Gem Collection. The email is designed to be in harmony with the company’s website to sustain brand identity. The eNewsletter must look professional, and it is being sent it to an interested audience, people who have come into your store or have been enticed to be on your email list because of a Facebook campaign that created interest in getting your eNewsletter..The information you provide must be valuable in interesting.
Again, I cannot stress enough, your eNewsletter must look professional, be free of traps like misspelled words, bad grammar and poor graphics. It can contain video links but they too should be professional in nature.The key here with Danwerke is that it utilizes a easy-to-use template and note the emails are addressed to a recipient.Talk about the other points from experience.
In a Pickle’s objective was to increase sales, get customer feedback, and build community.In A Pickle is a local favorite restaurant in Waltham, MA They are everywhere on the social web: Facebook, Yelp, Twitter, YouTube, etc.In A Pickle sends a weekly email newsletter to update customers of special deals, new menu items, and eventsThey use social media to experiment, push on-the-fly specials, get feedback from customers & build communityThey credit email as the hub that brings everything togetherYelp is the fun and easy way to find, review and talk about what's great - and not so great - in your local area. It's about real people giving their honest and personal opinions on everything from restaurants and spas to coffee shops and bars.EveryScapelets businesses and organizations build engaging, immersive relationships with consumers through three-dimensional, photo-realistic experiences of cities & towns, streets & sidewalks, and building exteriors & interiorsFoursquare is a free app that helps you and your friends make the most of where you are. When you're out and about, use foursquare to share and save the places you visit.
Section Break: Connections
Intro: “Raise your hands: how many people here already using Facebook? LinkedIn? Twitter? Etc.” (Effect should be: several using Facebook, less using LinkedIn and Twitter.)Let’s talk a little but about some best practices surrounding creating a presence using Social Media Marketing. First, decide where you should be. There are hundreds of social media tools and networks. Popular social media networks make it easy for small businesses and organizations get started in the social media marketing work in cost-efficient (often free!) and resourceful way. Today we will focus on the “big three” – Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. For the small business or organization just getting started, (click) it makes sense to start on Facebook. After that, the most important thing to do is ask your customers. We’ll speak to ways to do that later in the presentation…Today’s seminar will mention several of these popular tools. To get more comprehensive information about specific tools or social media in general, I encourage you to visit the Social Media page/tab on Constant Contact’s website: http://search.constantcontact.com/social mediaThere, you can find everything from: blogs, guides, Hints & Tips, podcasts, Frequently Asked Questions, and webinars that will answer all your tool-specific questions.WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website or blog. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.Flickr is the best online management and sharing application in the world. Let us show you why!SlideShare is a Web 2.0 based slide hosting service. Users can upload files privately or publicly in the following file formats: PowerPoint, PDF, Keynote or OpenOffice presentations. Slide decks can then be viewed on the site itself, on hand held devices or embedded on other sites.[2] Launched on October 4, 2006, the website is considered to be similar to YouTube, but for slideshows.TripAdvisor is a free travel guide and research website that offers reviews and informationHome Stars Here you can ask questions and share your knowledge with fellow homeowners to make your next home improvement project better.
There are easy ways to discover which social media channels are your customers’ preferred channels. (Click) Remember: your contacts, customers, and prospective customers want to keep in touch with you on their terms, so dive in and learn the nuances of the more popular social media tools like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Your audience, marketing objectives, and available resources will dictate which social media is right for your business or organization. Another easy idea? (Click) Add social media icons to your next email marketing campaign or website and measure the number of new fans, followers, comments, etc. You will quickly be able to assess which channels are the most popular using click-through information available within Email Marketing reports or website analytics .
Announce 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
Now let’s take a look at being professional on Facebook.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.
Focus your social presence. Make your social presence a reflection of your business / organization. Don’t blur personal and professional use.Be transparent. New users should immediately identify what you do“Stick to Your Knitting”. Deliberately choose your expertise and areas of engagement. Be firm and clear about who you are and what distinguished you before you dive into social media marketing.Put the social in the media. Be more broad and informal… and have fun! Social media is a much less formal communication type than, for example, standard Email Marketing content. RDD Note: Often at this point the question arises: Q: I made the mistake of blurring my personal profile with my business profile. What should I do? A: The best course of action is to go ahead and create a Facebook Business Page, and begin to direct all business-related activity to this page, only. Unfortunately, there is no pushbutton solution for this, you will need to spend the time to create the page. One idea? Send an email to your contacts on Facebook, and ask those business contacts to offically “Like” your business page. Constant Contact actually offers specific email templates for this purpose: to get the word out about your newfound Business Page and/or social presences.
Section Break: Engaging 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
Write great content once, then broadcast it. Create “sound byte” for shorter media.The best content inspires sharing: a word of advice or one sentence can go a long way! Original, personalized content is important (but you don’t need too much). Reuse your great content. When you add one or more social media networks or a blog to your marketing mix, you do not necessarily have to come up with exclusive content for each network. Reuse articles from your newsletters to prime the social media pump. In turn, your blog or others’ blogs content can be used to feed your email newsletter and social network channels.Less is more! Short content is best, one idea at a time. You can always include a links to more in-depth information.Examples: “Stay Cool this Summer at Jack’s Ice Cream (URL)!
Create a Business PageRecruit fansFill with content that is relevant to them – comments, photos, videosMake 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 – lets the Business Page administrator know that you are a fan of their business, association, or brand. Upon “Liking”, a user will receive business page updates in their news feedPost – 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 its source. ‘Share’ also gives you the ability to send content as an inter-Facebook message to a unique user(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’ JMML Application to your Business Page on Facebook. As you learn more about applications, you can search for and add those that are right for your business.
A personal page is different from a Facebook Business Page. On Facebook, you should have two identities: one for you and one for your business or organization. You can establish a page that promotes your business, where friends and fans may “Like” you.The Wall is “the conversation”.
51% of active Twitter users follow companies, brands or products on social networks - Edison Research, February 2010If 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
Let’s talk a little bit about the basic anatomy of a Twitter Feed. Twitter acts as a dynamic “feed” which update you in real-time.Basic Info, Link, Description: again, be sure to write a clear, concise description of your business and expertiseAvatar – Logo or Photo: Brand your profile with your logo or personal photoHandle: this is your Twitter “username”. As a best practice, make your handle short yet recognizable (since “tweets” are character-limited to 140 characters).Feed: Most recent or past tweets by you;Followers and Following: a listing of folks who’ve “subscribed” to read your tweets, and those who you have decided to “follow”Recent Images: You can post images through Twitter; this shows the 4 most recent ones you’ve posted
Point out key elements on the slide.
Let’s take a look at how to establish a profile on LinkedIn. Your name, location, and basic statistics - simple contact information and geographical locationYour Photo or Your Logo – Like a Facebook or Twitter, include a professional photo or headshotWork Experience, Now and Then – Think of this as your online resume and be as descriptive as possible.Information you Share – This can be about your business, non-profit, or personal expertise. It is customizable to your business objectivesCommunications Options – Using these functions, you can connect with other users, send an in-network email, write or request a professional recommendation, etc.Network Information: This section displays the degree of connection to others, quick links to your recommendations, etc.
Point out elements on the slide.
Here is another Jeweler and here we show how to link to a Pinterest board from an eNewsletter.(Click to have the Pinterest board come up.)
You can build your social network in a variety of ways – both online and offline. In short: be creative and visible everywhere your customers are!Send an invitation to your Email ListAdd interactive Social Icons to YourWebsiteEmail Campaigns (in a sidebar, in the footer)Outgoing Email SignatureBusiness CardPrinted Collateral: mailers, flyers, invoices, etc.Put a sign in your storefront windowAdd a message to your voicemailInclude a note on Point of Sale receipts and house coupons
Section break: Conversations.
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
You know what conversations to start – they’re the same conversations that you have when you speak with a new customer, member or prospective client. Draw from your experience and expertise to facilitate conversations and exchanges amongst peers. Starting informal conversations will help you learn what is meaningful to your customers – what engages them!A simple way to begin? We’ve said it before: just say “thank you” - online, publically - to anyone who says something nice about you.
Make online conversations a part of your presence. You can invite direction and feedback from your customers, and really listen to what they have to say. In this example, Boloco jumped at the chance to correct a poor customer experience. They offered a promotion on Superbowl Sunday, but a went to one of their locations and the restaurant didn’t offer the special. In a little over an hour, they offered to put a free meal on the customer’s Boloco membership card.A little later, another customer was charged for their meal through their membership card instead of getting the promotion. The CEO responded to this one, apologized and offered to replace the free items on the customer’s membership card.
Negative comments are inevitable: social networks can be a convenient way for people to vent any frustrations. Remember that social media marketing is about creating positive relationships through many-to-many (not one-to-one or one-to-many) engagements. Rather than fear negative comments and a tarnished reputation, look at every negative review as an opportunity to engage with the dissatisfied customer, resolve their problem, and further delight them with an excellent customer experience. Study after study shows that if you can resolve a problem, a customer will be more likely to buy again and recommend you than someone who had a pleasant experience the first time around. And since most content that is shared on social networks can be seen by others, your engagement with both positive and negative commentary will inspire credibility and trust with both old – and new customers. [Note: see in-slide example. Boloco asks both complaintive customers to Direct Message them his Boloco member card number so that they can remedy a poor experience, a.k.a., give them a free burrito on-the-house. Notice that the interaction took place on Twitter, offline, in a Direct Message (DM), but Boloco publicly and graciously responded so that Boloco’s quick action to satisfy their customer is transparent to all Followers).1. Always reach out to the customer, ideally offline!Pick up the phone if possibleUse a private message, email, or DM2. Let your network know that you are addressing the issue. [See Boloco example above]Don’t be afraid of publically addressing a negative comment on social networks. Delight the customer to turn a negative experience into a positive one they’ll tell their friends about!
Section Break: Managing your Time and activities
Do you need to spend a lot of time doing social media? Good Advice from Gail Goodman, CEO of Constant Contact:“Keep your time spent in-check; doing social media right does not mean doing it a lot.”It is important to stay active: 15 minutes a day, 3 times a week is more than most small business. Probably the biggest mistake those new to social media can make it to be inconsistent with engagement. Schedule and commit time to engage with customers and prospects.If you tweet too much; people might not think you are serious about your business Note the statistics on the right contradicts the best practice we mention – explain this by mentioning that we at Constant Contact are anxious to dispel this myth that social media marketing done right means spending more and more time. Doing it right means NOT spending a lot of time doing it. For larger companies, the former may be true, aggregating various departmental objectives and efforts. However, for small businesses and nonprofits, we believe it can be done in significantly less time, especially when using time-saving tools like NutShellMail.
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: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.HootSuite: a social media dashboard for teams used to gather intelligence, search, etc.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. Last but note least: NutshellMail:
Section Break: Measuring SuccessDefining Social Media Marketing Success for Small Businesses
It can be tricky to add up the value of relationships. As you begin to establish your measure the impact of your efforts, look at:What is being said about you? Are you seen as an expert?How well are you engaging with existing experts?Are you reaching new customers en masse? How are you reaching specific customers?Depending on your business or organization’s unique objectives, you can also look at specific growth measurements such as:Overall growth in your network, i.e. # of new fans, friends, connections, followersEmail List growth, i.e., # of new subscribersEmail Campaign click-through, open rates# of mentions# of retweets# of reviews (positive and negative)# of customers who’ve utilized social promotions# of questions answered by your network# of #mentions on Twitter Aggregate ratings scores SEO rankings…
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