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You're Social - Now What?
The document provides guidelines on how businesses can effectively utilize social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, and Pinterest to enhance their online presence. It outlines best practices for content creation, engagement strategies, and how to measure success on each platform. Additionally, the document highlights the level of usage these platforms have in different business sectors and offers actionable next steps for users to implement.
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You're Social - Now What?
- 1. © Constant Contact2014 Making Social Media Work for You You’re Social, Now What?
- 2. 2013 Constant ContactAll Star Award Winner Kim Butler, The URL Dr. KimButler@TheURLdr.com facebook.com/theurldr @theurldr #theurldrwebinar
- 3. Agenda Is it rightfor my business? How to create content How others are using it Next steps Etiquette How do I know if it’s working?
- 4. Facebook | Twitter| LinkedIn | Google+ | Pinterest | Next steps
- 5. Facebook Is it rightfor my business? Nonprofit 91%use Facebook Source: Nonprofit Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends 89%use Facebook B2C Source: B2C Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends 81%use Facebook B2B Source: B2B Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends
- 6. If you havethe resources (time, staff) If you have content to share If you need to be found Facebook Is it right for my business?
- 7. Low volume/high value Minimum:3 X per week Maximum: 10 X per week Quality vs. quantity Facebook Facebook content
- 8. Facebook Content best practices Getlikes, shares, comments Entertain, invite conversation, ask questions, images & video 50% Be useful & informative Industry info, hints + tips, curate content 30% About your business Calls to action, not “buy now” 20%
- 9. Facebook Content types: Textupdates Fill-in-the-blank Question Fun fact or tip
- 10. Facebook Content types: Visual DigitalContentPhotos Videos
- 11. Facebook content exercise Getlikes, shares, comments Entertain, invite conversation, ask questions, images & video Industry info, hints & tips, curate content Calls to action, not “buy now” 50% Be useful & informative About your business30% 20% 1 50% Fill-in-the-blank: 2 50% Question: 3 50% Photos: 4 30% Tip, stat or fact: 5 30% Link to a blog post: 6 20% Sale, event or product/service info:
- 12. Plan weekly Take timeon Friday to think about the next week Be flexible Leave 1 or 2 posts open for something that comes up Facebook Create an editorial calendar
- 13. Asks questions Shares multimedia Ishelpful Involves fans Facebook How others are using it Boloco
- 14. Facebook What do Ido next? 1. Try a fill-in-the- blank or question post 2. Create and share visual content 3. Monitor your page. Is your content engaging?
- 15. Facebook | Twitter| LinkedIn | Google+ | Pinterest | Next steps
- 16. Twitter Is it rightfor my business? Nonprofit 69%use Twitter Source: Nonprofit Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends 80%use Twitter B2C Source: B2C Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends 85%use Twitter B2B Source: B2B Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends
- 17. If you havethe resources (time, staff) For content creation and curation For monitoring If you are (or want to be) a thought leader Twitter Is it right for my business?
- 18. High volume/low value Minimum:5 X per day Maximum: none Quantity is key Twitter Twitter content
- 19. Create vs. curate Retweets = sharingthe love Hashtags Twitter Content best practices Create = our blog post Curate = blog post from AllTwitter
- 20. What is ahashtag? Used across social networks What’s the point? How to create a hashtag Hashtag abuse Twitter Let’s talk about hashtags
- 21. Twitter Content types: Textupdates Post with a link Stats, facts or tips Quotes
- 22.
- 23. Twitter content exercise Tweetat least 5 X per day Plan 4 tweets, leave 1 open for something that happens during the day Tips: 1 Planned Blog post (created or curated): 2 Planned Question: 3 Planned Photo: 4 Planned Tip, stat or fact: 5 Open Something new you discovered or saw today:
- 24. Posts news and events Sharesfun facts Retweets others Curates content Twitter How others are using it Currier Museum of Art
- 25. Twitter What do Ido next? 1. Tweet at least 5 X per day 2. Share curated content 3. Retweet or thank a follower
- 26. Facebook | Twitter| LinkedIn | Google+ | Pinterest | Next steps
- 27. LinkedIn Is it rightfor my business? Nonprofit 53%use LinkedIn Source: Nonprofit Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends 71%use LinkedIn B2C Source: B2C Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends 91%use LinkedIn B2B Source: B2B Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends
- 28. If you area B2B If you are (or want to be) a thought leader LinkedIn Is it right for my business?
- 29. Low volume/high value Minimum:2 X per week Maximum: 5 X per week More formal and technical LinkedIn LinkedIn content
- 30. What’s the difference? Fillout all of the information Add content to Company culture Products & services Recommendations LinkedIn Page vs. profile
- 31. LinkedIn Content types: Aboutyou Product updates Recruiting Behind the scenes
- 32. LinkedIn Content types: Usefulinfo Blog posts Industry newsGuides/ebooks
- 33. LinkedIn content exercise Postat least 2 X per week Share content that’s about you Post something useful for your audience Tips: 1 About you Product updates, behind the scenes or recruiting: 2 Useful info Blog posts, guides or ebooks, or industry news :
- 34. Asks questions Shares multimedia Ishelpful LinkedIn How others are using it MarketMeSuite
- 35. LinkedIn What do Ido next? 1. Fill out everything on your page 2. Be active – post at least 2 X per week 3. Try sharing something about your industry
- 36. Facebook | Twitter| LinkedIn | Google+ | Pinterest | Next steps
- 37. Google+ Is it rightfor my business? Nonprofit 23%use Google+ Source: Nonprofit Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends 55%use Google+ B2C Source: B2C Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends 55%use Google+ B2B Source: B2B Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends
- 38. Google+ Is it rightfor my business? If you are a content creator If you have the time If you want more SEO value
- 39. Google uses analgorithm You need to create fresh content regularly Use the right keywords Google ♥ Google Google+ Let’s talk about SEO
- 40. Medium volume/high value Minimum:3 X per week Maximum: 10 X per week Keywords = searchability Google+ Google+ content
- 41. Google+ Content types: Usefulinfo Blog posts Industry newsEvents
- 42. Google+ Content types: Multimedia Photos Graphicsor e-publications Videos
- 43. Google+ content exercise Postat least 3 X per week Share content your audience will find useful Try sharing multimedia Tips: 1 Useful info Blog post (created or curated): 2 Useful info Link to industry news: 3 Multimedia Photo or video:
- 44. Shares blog posts Providesindustry news Posts events Shares photos Uses humor Google+ How others are using it Geek Girl
- 45. Google+ What do Ido next? 1. Share your blog posts 2. Post a photo or a video 3. Use keywords that will get you found
- 46. Facebook | Twitter| LinkedIn | Google+ | Pinterest | Next steps
- 47. Pinterest Is it rightfor my business? Nonprofit 24%use Pinterest Source: Nonprofit Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends 53%use Pinterest B2C Source: B2C Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends 34%use Pinterest B2B Source: B2B Content Marketing 2014 Benchmarks, Budgets and Trends
- 48. If you haveproducts to sell If you have images to share If you want to build awareness of your brand Pinterest Is it right for my business?
- 49. High volume/high value Minimum:5 X per day Maximum: 10 X per day Quality images = important Pinterest Pinterest content
- 50. 90% of information transmittedto the brain is visual Photos are liked 2X more than text updates 67% say images are very important in selecting and purchasing a product Pinterest Why visual content is important
- 51. Pinterest Content types: Aboutyou Products Photos and videos Digital assets
- 52. Pinterest Content types: Usefuland interesting Curated content Quotes or tipsBlog posts
- 53. Pinterest content exercise Pinat least 5 X per day Pin content that’s about you Share useful and interesting content Tips: 1 About you Products or services: 2 About you Digital assets (guides or ebooks): 3 Useful/interesting Curated pins: 4 Useful/interesting Blog post with tips or how-to: 5 Useful/interesting Inspirational quote:
- 54. Pins its products Providesuseful pins Curates Tries how-to pins Pinterest How others are using it The Unique Sheep
- 55. Pinterest What do Ido next? 1. Create 3-4 boards to start 2. Install the Pin It button about.pinterest.com /goodies 3. Provide a description and link in your product pins
- 56. Facebook | Twitter| LinkedIn | Google+ | Pinterest | Next steps
- 57. Delete negative comments Next steps Etiquette Behelpful, create a positive experience Ignore your fans Say thank you, answer questions Talk about yourself all the time Balance self-promotion with helpful and entertaining content Not completing your page Fill out all the information about your business, add your logo and photos Forget to provide context Infrequent posting or posting too much Be active, but don’t overdo it Include a comment when sharing
- 58. Engagement = content andfrequency your audience wants Likes, shares, comments, retweets, repins, +1s More followers It takes time Next Steps How do I know it’s working?
- 59. Choose the networksthat are right for you Use the worksheets to help with content ideas Try the next steps we suggested for each network Keep track of audience engagement Next Steps Go do it!
- 60. Halfmoon YogaHalfmoon Yoga B•B•Q ©2014 Next Steps Want help? www.TheURLdr.com The URL Dr. is your partner in online marketing & web design
- 61. Halfmoon YogaHalfmoon Yoga B•B•Q ©2014 email survey promos events www.TheURLdr.com
- 62.
- 63.
- 64. Halfmoon YogaHalfmoon Yoga B•B•Q Winthe chance for your small business to be on the radio To Enter: Like The URL Dr.’s Facebook page
- 65. © Constant Contact2014 Join us today at our Twitter Chat after this webinar! 2 pm Eastern Standard Time To participate, use the hashtag #theurldrwebinar twitter.com/theurldr
- 66. Halfmoon YogaHalfmoon Yoga B•B•Q Getstarted today… www.TheURLdr.com Constant Contact Toolkit Win a Radio Spot www.facebook.com/theurldr for your small business © 2014 Want help? 301-363-2710 The URL Dr. is your partner… KimButler@TheURLdr.com TheURLdr @TheURLdr
Editor's Notes
- #2 Welcome everyone!! I’m Kim Butler, The URL Dr., and I thank you for joining me for today’s webinar “How to Market Your Small Business in 2014… Before we get started, I want to give you little direction on our MeetingBurner webinar. On the left side of your screen you should have a Chat tab where you can ask questions during the presentation. I’m going to do my best to answer your questions in the Q&A session at the end of the presentation. We’ll also be continuing the conversation on Twitter after the presentation, using the hashtag #theurldrwebinar. So if you think of a question after the presentation you can Tweet it later this afternoon or tomorrow. At the bottom of your screen there is a meeting temperature gauge. You can slide that towards hot or cold depending on how you are liking the presentation at any given time. I’d like to thank the Western Maryland Regional SBTDC – the Small Business Technology and Development Center for sponsoring our webinar today and the follow up webinars taking place tomorrow and Thursday at 1:00. If you are a small business and need assistance or counseling, the SBTDC offers a variety of services to small business at no charge. I’ve used the SBTDC’s services for all 3 of my businesses, starting way back in the 80’s and I highly recommend them. Let’s talk about our agenda for today.
- #3 I am Kim Butler, The URL Dr., and I am a Constant Contact Platinum Level Solution Provider, a Constant Contact Authorized Local Expert, and winner of the 2013 Constant Contact All Star Award. Our presentation today is provided by Constant Contact but the information provided here is based on best practices and can be utilized by any small business or nonprofit, regardless of whether or not you are using Constant Contact. If you have questions during or after the presentation, you can use the hashtag #theurldrwebinar on Twitter to ask your questions. I’ll be responding to questions from all the webinars this month at that hashtag.
- #4 If you’re not familiar with Constant Contact, we offer engagement marketing tools to help you create newsletters and announcements, offers and promotions, feedback and surveys, and events and registration. You’ll also get free coaching for your small business or nonprofit. For more information, visit our website at ConstantContact.com.
- #5 If you’ve attended our beginners’ social media webinar, Basics of Social Media, we briefly overviewed each of the big 5 social networks – Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest – so you could get a better idea of what each channel was about. If you missed this presentation and would still like to see it, the recorded version is available on our PrescriptionsForOnlineSuccess.com website. Today’s webinar is going to go more in-depth into each of these social networks. And that’s why we’re here today. You want to make sure that you’re using the right social media network to promote your business or nonprofit. Each of these channels is a little bit different. Some may be a good fit for you, and some may not. And that’s OK. You don’t need to use every social network. We’re going to help you find out what’s right for your business so you can focus your time on the social networks that matter for you, your business and your audience. Within each network, we’ll look at the following: We’re going to help you answer the question “Is this right for my business?” We’ll show you how to create content specifically for each social network. You’ll see an example of how other organizations are using these channels After a look at the networks, we’ll give you some next steps to move forward, including specific recommendations and The also dos and don’ts of social media marketing. You’ll learn the etiquette so you can make a good impression online. We’ll also discuss how to know if the channels you’re using and the content you’re creating is working.
- #6 Let’s start with Facebook – the most popular of the social media networks. It has 1.1 billion users, and many small businesses and nonprofits are already using it in their marketing. If you have prospects and customers, chances are they’re already on Facebook.
- #7 But is it right for your business? [click to build] If you are a B2C – business to consumer – Facebook can be a good fit for you. 89% of your peers are using it for marketing, and many of them are finding success with Facebook. [click to build] If you are a B2B – business to business – many of your peers are using it to reach out to customers and clients. [click to build] If you are with a nonprofit, just about all nonprofit organizations are using Facebook – 91%. So this is one way to help figure out if Facebook is a good fit – is it working for a business or nonprofit like yours? And let’s think about how to make Facebook effective. It can work for you if you use best practices to grow your audience and keep them engaged with the content you’re sharing.
- #8 Here’s some realities about Facebook marketing – there are some practical things to consider. You need to be visible and active to reach your fans, and you have keep up with the conversations happening on Facebook. [click to build] You need resources for Facebook marketing. You do need to make some time for it during your week. The amount of time is up to you. With Facebook marketing – or really all social media marketing – you get out of it what you put into it. Who is going to run your page? Is it you or someone on your staff? You need a person who is dedicated and focused on your page. [click to build] Do you have things to say about your business? Can you share news, photos, events, tips? If you deal with sensitive, private or competitive information, can you share things about your corporate culture, industry or local area instead? [click to build] Facebook is playing a big role in search right now. Not only are people searching through search engines like Google, they are using mobile search and the Facebook mobile app to find businesses and check in to them. The more people talk about you and check in, the more you’ll come up in a search.
- #9 Facebook is a [click to build] low volume, high value network, which means that your frequency should be low – fans get frustrated if they see that a business or brand is dominating their news feed. But every piece of content you post should be valuable to your audience. In other words – you do need to plan ahead. Don’t post just to post. You need to be strategic about your content – and we’ll show you how to do that later. [click to build] We suggest that you post at least 3 times a week to keep your relationship with your fans going and be visible to them. [click to build] But DON’T go overboard. 10 times a week/2 times a day is plenty to keep top of mind with your fans. [click to build] When you are sharing content on Facebook, don’t post just to post. Focus on quality content. And what is that quality content? Let’s talk about some best practices to keep in mind for when you’re creating Facebook content.
- #10 Fortunately, we have a rule of thumb at Constant Contact that will help you come up with the right things to talk about on social media. If you’ve taken our Getting Started with Social Media webinar, you’ve seen this before so this is a refresher for you: [click to build] 50% of the content you post should be aimed at getting likes, shares, and comments. This means that it needs to be entertaining and invite conversation. Asking questions, asking for opinions, using images and video, as well as being timely (is there an event or holiday coming up?) [click to build] 30% of your content should be useful/informative. Provide information about your industry that your customers will find interesting. Become known as a source of important information and tips---whether that content is from your own blog or from other blogs you trust. [click to build] If you do that stuff correctly, then you’ve earned the right for 20% of your content to be direct CTAs for your business. This doesn’t necessarily have to be BUY NOW! Let’s look at some different types of content, and keep these best practices in mind when you see the examples. And – even though these examples are all about Facebook – you can apply them to any social media network you use.
- #11 Text updates are a really quick and easy way to update your Facebook fans and you can get some great interaction if you do them right. Here’s some examples: [click to build] A fill-in-the-blank post is a really easy post that you can do that will spark conversation – part of your 50% of content. Here’s one we did about Pinterest: You tell us: What I don’t understand about Pinterest is ___. We’re asking our fans to share their opinion, and let us know how we can help them. You can see that there was a lot of back-and-forth on this post – more than 40 comments from people who needed Pinterest help. [click to build] Try asking your audience a question – another way to allow them to share an opinion and start conversation. This question is one we were posting about multiple user login functionality that we were adding to our email marketing product. So this is one of the 20% of posts about our business, but it’s not “buy now.” We thought we’d ask the customers what they thought this function should be called. We’re giving them an easy way to provide us with input and it shows that we are building products with them in mind. [click to build] Share a fun fact or tip. People love trivia and they love insider tips they might not have heard before. This is something you can do for the 30% of content that’s useful and informative. So these text updates are all easy ways to generate conversation and sharing on Facebook, but it’s important to also share multimedia on Facebook. Let’s talk about ideas for visual content.
- #12 Visual content is an important part of not only your Facebook marketing, but any social media marketing you do. 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. We see before we read. On Facebook, visual content gets the best engagement. Photos are liked 2 times more than text updates. [click to build] You need to be sharing photos on Facebook. The easiest way to do this is with the Instagram app – which Facebook owns. You can share photos individually and you can add an Instagram app to your Facebook page. Your fans can go to the app anytime to check out your Instagram stream. [click to build] Try combining images and text to make a text update more visually appealing. When we share tips, we often use a royalty free stock image or a graphic and add text to it using a free photo editing app called PicMonkey. [click to build] Videos are another great way to bring your content to life. Keep them short and provide a clear description. [click to build] If you produce digital content like blog posts, guides or ebooks, it’s easy to create a visual post. Just link to your digital content in the Facebook post. It will pull any images that are on the webpage, and you can choose which one you want to appear with the link in the newsfeed. So visual content and text updates are something you should be sharing on a regular basis. There are some other best practices to keep in mind as well. Let’s look at Facebook etiquette – some dos and don’ts.
- #13 Here’s a great worksheet to help you get some ideas on what to post on Facebook. This is available as a PDF download that I posted to our Facebook page this morning, so be sure and go to The URL Dr’s Facebook page to get the this worksheet.
- #14 Something that can help a lot is an editorial calendar. And this can be as simple as a blank calendar you print out and keep at your desk or scheduling Facebook posts in your Outlook calendar. Having a calendar helps you figure out what to post, that your important messages are getting out there, and that you’re consistent and interacting with your fans. [click to build] You don’t need to plan far in advance. Plan for the upcoming week – you know what’s coming up as far as events or sales, products or anything happening at your business that has been planned. [click to build] At the end of the week, start scheduling some content ideas for the next week. [click to build] But also be flexible. Save some spaces for something that comes up at the last minute, or to share something interesting you found.
- #15 So who is doing this right? Who is successful with their Facebook marketing? A great example is Boloco, a chain of burrito restaurants in New England. They use a lot of the best practices we talked about today. [click to build] They ask questions of their fans to get them talking and sharing their opinions. [click to build] They share multimedia. They take lots of photos and videos about what they do, information about their products, a look behind the scenes, charity and community outreach. [click to build] They are helpful to their fans and answer their questions, address concerns, and provides information about their menu items. [click to build] They also get their fans involved in their content, and regularly share fans’ Instagram photos on the page or they’ll make them the Boloco page cover photo. We’ve talked about best practices for Facebook. We’ve looked at what kinds of content you should share, an example of a business that’s doing a great job with Facebook marketing. So what can YOU do next?
- #16 If you are using Facebook for your business, what are some things you can try next? We have 3 suggestions for you: Try a fill-in-the-blank or question post Create and share visual content Monitor your page. Is your content engaging?
- #17 Our next social network is Twitter. What makes Twitter stand out from the other social networks? It’s the fastest moving. When you check out twitter you’ll see tweets posted in real time, and there’s a lot being posted at a rapid pace. It’s become a place to catch breaking news. Twitter has 500 million users, and 400 million tweets are posted daily through Twitter.
- #18 But should you use Twitter for your business? [click to build] There are a lot of B2C – business to consumer – on Twitter at 80%. [click to build] As for B2B – business to business – slightly more are using it, 85. [click to build] Lastly, nonprofits are using Twitter as well, but at a smaller rate. So this is the landscape for your peers. But is Twitter right for you?
- #19 Twitter is a fast paced network. It’s a real-time feed of conversations. It’s a hungry beast. So you need the resources to feed it. [click to build] The first of those – just like Facebook – is resources to dedicate to Twitter: time and staff. [click to build] You need someone to spend time finding and sharing content. On Twitter it’s important to share content you created, but it’s also important to curate content. Curating means sharing content you’ve found on others’ websites or blogs. That’s one of the things that can help you form relationships through Twitter. People love it when you share their content, and they’ll be more willing to have a public conversation with you on Twitter, thank you and share YOUR stuff. [click to build] You need resources for monitoring Twitter, to keep track of what’s being said about you and to address questions or comments. [click to build] You can really build your brand and reputation on Twitter. The more content you share that you create, and the more interesting and useful content you share that’s being created by others, you’ll show that you’re an expert in your industry. You’re tuned in to what’s happening, and people will turn to you when they’re looking for information or advice.
- #20 Twitter is a [click to build] high volume low value network – different from Facebook. This means – because of the high volume of conversations happening on Twitter – you need to tweet several times a day. The tweets don’t have to have that high value, like Facebook posts. Your tweets need to be interesting to your audience, but they don’t have to be as carefully crafted as a Facebook post. [click to build] We suggest that you post at least 5 times a day to be visible in that high volume stream of content that’s happening on Twitter [click to build] There’s no maximum recommendation for tweets, but make sure you are spacing them out over time. Don’t send all of your tweets at once. Your content will dominate the feed, and people will get frustrated. [click to build] When you are sharing content on Twitter, quantity really is important. Remember, the pace of information being shared on Twitter is fast. There’s a lot happening at once. Be visible, watch your timing, and your tweets will get noticed as part of the Twitter conversation. Let’s talk about some best practices to keep in mind for when you’re creating and sharing content on Twitter.
- #21 When you’re sharing content on Twitter, [click to build] it’s either going to be content you’ve created or content you’ve found on others’ websites or blogs, which is known as curated content. It’s important to strike a good balance of content. Definitely share your blog posts, news, information about your business, sales, etc. But it’s also OK to share something that someone else wrote. It doesn’t matter that you didn’t create it, all that matters is that it’s interesting to your followers. [click to build] Here’s a blog post that Constant Contact shared on Twitter – it was written by someone on our staff. [click to build] And here’s one we shared from a blog called AllTwitter. The key is both these tweets contain links to something our audience would find interesting. One thing to note about sharing someone else’s content – make sure you tag them in the tweet. They will get a notification that someone tweeted about them, and they will be thankful that you’re sharing their work. [click to build] It’s a good idea to also retweet other people – which basically just means to re-share their tweets. It means that you thought their tweet was important or interesting enough to share to your followers. They’ll get notified when you retweet them too. [click to build] It’s also important to think about using hashtags in your tweets. A hashtag is putting the pound symbol in front of a word or phrase. It’s like bolding those words and calling attention to certain topics in a tweet. There’s some tips to keep in mind when using hashtags so let’s explore that a bit.
- #22 So you know what a hashtag looks like, but what exactly is it? [click to build] To get more specific – a hashtag consists of words or phrases (with no spaces), preceded by a # sign that is used to tie various social media posts together and relate them to a topic. [click to build] Originally, hashtags were created on Twitter, but today they can be used on Pinterest, Facebook, Google+, Instagram, LinkedIn, and other networks. [click to build] What’s the point of using a hashtag? It’s to help group tweets that are part of a conversation – around a live event or a certain topic. By clicking on a hashtag in a social post, that social network will automatically curate and display a feed of other messages also incorporating the same hashtag. Hashtags let you add context to a post and show that it’s a part of a larger discussion. [click to build] To create a hashtag, simply include a # in front of a word or phrase, without spaces. Before you create one that’s just for your business, do a search for it first just to make sure no one else is using it and your conversation doesn’t get lost in something that’s already been established. You never know what people may be using hashtags to discuss. You wouldn’t want to accidentally connect your business to a negative, controversial or embarrassing topic. [click to build] Don’t abuse the hashtag, save it for when you need it. Too many hashtags looks spammy, and research has shown that engagement drops when a tweet has two or more hashtags. #DontCreateAHashtagThatsTooLong: Keep your hashtag short and sweet, easy to spell, and easy to remember. If you want to incorporate your hashtag across multiple channels, you need to consider the character restrictions of those social networks. QUESTION: While we’re on the subject of hashtags, I’d like to know what are the hashtags you use the most on Twitter. Let us know by typing them into the chat window. Fake answers: Several people have used things like #infographic #photo or #video to show people there’s a link to multimedia content in the tweet. Or they’re using #Facebook when they’re promoting something happening on their Facebook page.
- #23 So what should you be posting on Twitter? Your tweets can be just text tweets – a simple statement, sentence or question that starts or contributes to a conversation, [click to build] a tweet with a link back to resources like your blog posts, [click to build] a fact, a stat, or tips [click to build] or even a quote.
- #24 You can share multimedia on Twitter – photos and videos now show up in the Twitter stream. [click to build] So make sure to post photos about your company culture, your products or services and your events. [click to build] Share videos you’ve created. [click to build] Remember when I mentioned PicMonkey earlier in the Facebook section? You can use that free tool to create graphics or word images and post them on Twitter. Whenever you are sharing visual content, make sure you call attention to what you’re sharing in the text of the tweet to get people’s attention. Use the words photo, video, tip, image or guide in the tweet.
- #25 Here is another great worksheet to help you plan out your Twitter content. This PDF has also been shared on The URL Dr’s Facebook page, so be sure and get this one too.
- #26 The Currier Museum of Art is a nonprofit art museum in New Hampshire, and they’ve built a successful Twitter following. How do they use Twitter? [click to build] They inform their followers about news at the art museum – new exhibits, classes and events like this image of their NewYear’s Eve party. [click to build] They educate by sharing fun facts about the art and artists they exhibit. This tweet shares the term for African symbols in an exhibit. [click to build] They retweet other people, museums, artists and news sources about art in general and they retweet people who mention them. [click to build] And they curate content – tweet and share content from other sources. This tweet links to a video about one of their artists.
- #27 What can you do today for your small business or nonprofit on Twitter? [click to build] Try tweeting the minimum amount – at least 5 times per day to be present in the Twitter feed of your followers. [click to build] Share others’ content and don’t forget to tag them in the tweet so they’ll know you shared their stuff. This is also helping establish yourself as an industry expert because you share useful content from others. [click to build] Retweet someone you follow or thank someone who mentioned you. This will help to grow your relationship with other followers on Twitter, who could start sharing your tweets!
- #28 LinkedIn is our next social network. It has more than 238 million members. If you haven’t spent too much time on LinkedIn or haven’t started using it, LinkedIn is strictly a professional network focused on sharing industry news, tips and stats, as well as jobs, resumes and businesses.
- #29 So who is using LinkedIn to market their organization? [click to build] There are many B2Cs – business to consumer organizations – using LinkedIn at 71%. [click to build] As for B2Bs, this is probably not a surprise, a majority – 91% - are using LinkedIn to promote their business. [click to build] There are fewer nonprofits on LinkedIn. A little more than half have been using it. So would LinkedIn be a good fit for your business?
- #30 If you are a [click to build] B2B – business to business – and you sell products or services to other businesses, you really should be on LinkedIn. But there are plenty of B2Cs there, and nonprofits do have a presence as well. [click to build] Another reason to use LinkedIn is because it’s a great place to show your expertise by being helpful – share your blog posts, answer questions, participate in discussions, and posting links to useful information created by you or others, including digital assets like slide decks, ebooks, studies and guides.
- #31 Let’s talk about content on LinkedIn - what to post and when. [click to build] LinkedIn is a low volume/high value network. This is similar to Facebook. Make sure you’re not taking over the news feed on LinkedIn with a lot of posts on a daily basis. Plan them out, and make sure each one is a valuable post to your audience. [click to build] You should be posting at least twice a week on LinkedIn to help maintain a presence. [click to build] And not more than five times per week. [click to build] The content you post should be more formal and technical – it should be about your industry and your business. But not everything has to be completely serious. You can talk about your company’s culture or your industry’s culture too so you can show your personality.
- #32 One thing I want to note about LinkedIn – there are 2 kinds of accounts you can have. One is a business page, and the other is a personal profile. [CLICK TO BUILD] This is a business page. [CLICK TO BUILD] This is a personal profile. You can use both for business purposes, but for the sake of today’s talk we’re concentrating on what you can do with a business page. It’s important for nearly all businesses to have a business page, but for B2Bs, it’s really quite critical. One of the reasons for using the business page is that someone’s personal profile sticks with them. So if you have someone at your organization that’s been really vocal, and engaging people on LinkedIn on behalf of your business, those relationships will follow that employee if they move on. With business pages, your content and interactions belong to your business.
- #33 Some of the content on LinkedIn is going to be about your business. You can be a little more vocal on LinkedIn about your business because of the culture here. [click to build] Share news or announcements about your business. This Constant Contact post is an update of new features to our event marketing tools. [click to build] Give people a look at your personality and your business’ personality with information on what’s going on beyond your products. Share some behind the scenes information or photos and videos of your employees. [click to build] Finally, you can share recruiting posts on LinkedIn. Here’s a video we created that talks about what happens behind the scenes at Constant Contact and highlights some of our employees and what they think about working here.
- #34 There’s a lot of educational/informative posts on LinkedIn, including [click to build] blog posts [click to build] electronic publications such as guides or ebooks [click to build] Or industry news, tips or information. We often share blog posts, guides, facts or tips on LinkedIn as well. These kinds of posts show off your expertise to your followers. QUESTION: For those of you who have been using LinkedIn, what kind of content has worked best for you and why? Let us know by telling us in the chat window. Fake answers: We have a few people saying that the recruiting content has worked the best. One of our audience members said that their audience primarily uses LinkedIn to look for jobs. Industry news and education are working for some in our audience. They said they do get some thank yous and likes when they share tips.
- #35 Here’s the LinkedIn Content worksheet. Also available on The URL Dr.’s Facebook page.
- #36 A good example of a business using LinkedIn well is MarketMeSuite. MarketMeSuite is a marketing company and their product is a social media dashboard. They’re a B2B – business to business – so LinkedIn is a perfect way for them to start conversations with other businesses and share their expertise. How does MarketMeSuite use LinkedIn? [click to build] They share blog posts they’ve written, which educate their customers and establishes their expertise. [click to build] They’re helpful – they post guides and other digital assets that customers can use. [click to build] They also use LinkedIn to ask for customer input to make their services even better. [click to build] And they have some fun and show their personalities by talking about the industry and office culture – this post is about coffee and how the kind of coffee you drink says something about you.
- #37 So what should you be doing if you’re using LinkedIn? [click to build] Make sure you’ve completed everything on your LinkedIn business page. [click to build] Then, be active. You should be post at least twice a day so your business stays top of mind. [click to build] When you post, try sharing something about your industry. It could be a blog post, guide, ebook, or news article – it can either be something you’ve created or curated content from another source.
- #38 Moving on to Google+. This network hasn’t been around as long as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn, but it is experiencing an increase in users and traffic, so let’s talk about how you might use Google+ for your business or organization. Although G+ has been criticized for being a ghost town, it actually has 343 million monthly active members. The most important reason for considering G+ is your findability. It’s Google’s own social network, it’s just smart to play on their field.
- #39 Are your peers on Google+? [click to build] There’s a little over half of B2C – business to consumer companies on Google+ [click to build] and a little over half of B2Bs – business to business. [click to build] Nonprofits have a small presence there – 23% are on Google+ So there are some businesses and organizations like yours using Google+ for marketing.
- #40 Is Google+ a good fit for your business? [click to build] If you create content, Google+ is a good place to share it. Google+ is similar to Facebook in many ways. You can post a lot of the same things you share on Facebook. [click to build] Make sure you have the time to nurture your Google+ page. Do you have the time to add another network to your marketing? [click to build] The biggest reason to use Google+ is for SEO value – Search Engine Optimization. A lot of people use search engines like Google to search for businesses and organizations. If you have another social network that you’re posting to, that’s more content out there that’s linked to you and your business. Before we go any further, let’s talk a little about search engine marketing/SEO.
- #41 Google uses [click to build] complex (and somewhat secretive) algorithms that determine what shows up when a person searches on your business name or brand terms [click to build] So – to get found on Google, you want to produce quality content on a regular basis that includes information about you and your business and the keywords you want to be associated with in a Google search. Share that content on Google+ so you can get found Google loves fresh content, so it’s important to update regularly. One important difference between Facebook and Google+ content is that Google (the search engine) indexes both G+ Pages and Posts, while on Facebook Pages (not posts) are indexed. [click to build] Also remember that Google is a robot, so be as descriptive as possible. Don’t over-keyword everything you post there, but do make sure your content is keyword rich. [click to build] Which brings me to the final point, which is Google loves Google. This is the main reason you should be on Google+. You can use search engine optimization to a much greater advantage and increase your digital footprint if you utilize Google’s own social network. When someone does a search on Google, it’s going to look at its own resources first, right? So a presence on Google+ will help to push you further to the top of a search.
- #42 As far as content goes … [click to build] Google+ is a higher volume, high value network, just like Facebook. So you should be posting more frequently there, and you should be offering higher value content. [click to build] Post at least 3 times a week [click to build] At most – 10 times a week [click to build] Remember this is about increasing your findability in a Google search, so the topics and keywords in your content are important. Use the keywords you’ve already been using on your business’ website and in your blog to get you found.
- #43 Let’s look at some types of content you could share on Google+. The content you share here can be useful information for your followers. [click to build] Try sharing blog posts – we’ve talked about this already – for searchability – and this can help build your credibility as an expert. [click to build] You can also create events on Google+ - promote your events there and link to your registration page. [click to build] Similar to other social networks, think about sharing interesting information about your industry.
- #44 Google+ is also a great place to post multimedia. It displays [click to build] photos and [click to build] videos beautifully, as well as word images or e-publications like guides or e-books. Google+ displays multimedia in a large format in its newsfeed, so anything visual you share there will get noticed by your followers.
- #45 The Google+ content worksheet is available on The URL Dr.’s Facebook page.
- #46 This is the Google+ page for Geek Girl Camp, which is an organization that trains women on technology and marketing. [click to build] They’re an educational organization, so they do write a lot of blog posts to help their clients solve problems, and they share those on Google+. [click to build] They also talk about what’s going on in the industry and share the latest reports. [click to build] They have lots of events, and use Google+ to announce events, post reminders, and [click to build] They share photos of what goes on at and behind the scenes of the events. [click to build] Geek Girl also shows off their personality by sharing funny pictures and quotes – their audience is a lot like them, and they share the same kind of humor.
- #47 Now that you know a bit more about Google+, what can you do next with it? [click to build] Share blog posts you’ve written to help your searchability. [click to build] Try sharing multimedia – a photo or video on Google+. [click to build] And make sure you use keywords in the blog posts or text updates or multimedia descriptions to help get you found in a search.
- #48 Our last network today is Pinterest. Pinterest is the third largest social network in the US. 15% of all American Internet users are on Pinterest. It drives more website traffic than G+, YouTube, and LinkedIn combined. And that’s because a lot of people come to Pinterest with a shopping mindset. They’re looking for items they want to buy. Pinterest referrals spend twice as much money as referrals from Facebook. If you haven’t you already jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon, now is a good time to take that step.
- #49 Are your peers on Pinterest? Let’s take a look: [click to build] More than half of B2C – business to consumer are on Pinterest. [click to build] As far as B2Bs – business to business – a smaller number, 34 percent. [click to build] And fewer nonprofits, almost a quarter are using Pinterest.
- #50 Pinterest can be utilized for different purposes depending on if you’re a retail business or not. [click to build] But, if you are a retail business, you can definitely use Pinterest to sell products. Make sure that’s not the only thing you’re doing, but Pinterest is certainly a network where you can do that. [click to build] If you have great visuals – photos, multimedia or graphics – or e-publications, Pinterest is a great way to show them off. [click to build] If you aren’t a retail business, you can still use Pinterest, but you’re going to be focused on using Pinterest for search performance, branding, and awareness to promote your business or organization.
- #51 Pinterest is a [click to build] high volume, high value network. So you need to make sure you have a frequent amount of posts during the week – not too many in a row, but make sure you are visible. The posts need to be valuable and interesting to your followers. [click to build] So try at least 5 pins per day, [click to build] but try not to go on a pinning spree and dominate your followers’ feed with more than 10 times a day. [click to build] When you are pinning, make sure you use quality images. Anything that’s too small, stretched, or fuzzy will stand out in a bad way.
- #52 If you’re already using social media marketing for your organization, you know that visual content is huge. People engage more with photos than a text update. If you use visuals in your marketing, you should be on Pinterest because: [click to build] It’s how we process information. 90% of information transmitted to the brain is visual. [click to build] Social media users are drawn to visual content – they interact and engage more with photos than text, and – this is a Facebook statistic that I mentioned earlier, but it shows that people value visual content more. People like photos twice as much as text updates. [click to build] People use images to research purchases – 67% believe that images are a very important factor when selecting and purchasing a product. Remember – people are coming to Pinterest with a shopping mindset, so those images are part of the research they’re doing on purchases.
- #53 If you‘re not sure what to share on Pinterest, here are a few ideas: [click to build] Of course, if you have products or services to sell, definitely pin those so potential customers know what’s available. [click to build] If you do not sell products, share your digital assets – this is a board of Constant Contact guides and ebooks. [click to build] Any photos or videos you have of your staff or customers or what goes on behind the scenes are also great content to share on Pinterest.
- #54 Try sharing content on Pinterest that will be entertaining and useful for your followers. [click to build] Some of the Constant Contact boards are curated content – helpful blog posts, guides, stats and infographics we’ve found on other sites, but organized by theme for people who are looking for help or advice on those topics. [click to build] If you have a blog, create a board that links to all your posts. [click to build] You can also use tools like PicMonkey to create graphical images. Try creating inspirational quote images or interesting quotes about your industry.
- #55 Even though Pinterest is a visual network, you can still plan out your posts. Go to The URL Dr.’s Facebook page for this PDF download.
- #56 One business that has found success with Pinterest is The Unique Sheep, a craft store specializing in yarn and patterns. [click to build] They pin their products and show the finished product – there’s a whole board of photos of socks knitted using their patterns and yarn. [click to build] The Unique Sheep also pins helpful resources for followers like seasonal color schemes, inspiration and project ideas. [click to build] They also curate content and share related pins that their audience is interested in, like this sheep pillow. [click to build] The Unique Sheep’s staff is also active on Pinterest. They have a whole board of craft projects, recipes and how-to tips that staff members have found on other Pinterest boards. They try them out and report back on what worked and what didn’t.
- #57 What can you try today on Pinterest? [click to build] Create 3 to 4 boards to start and focus on topics your audience is interested in. [click to build] Make it easy for your audience to pin content from your website. Make sure you install the Pin It button, and you can find that on Pinterest’s website at about.pinterest.com/goodies. [click to build] As you pin, make sure you are using the right keywords in your description so your pins are easy to find, and provide a link directly to where people can purchase something or access content on your website.
- #58 We’ve covered a lot today! You now know more about Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and Pinterest. You know if your peers are using these networks, and what you can do with each of them to promote your business or nonprofit. What are your next steps for social media marketing with these channels?
- #59 It’s important to keep these do’s and don’ts in mind as you use social media to market your organization: [click to build] Don’t leave your social media pages or profiles empty. [click to build] Having an incomplete page not only looks bad, it may look like you’re not active or interested in connecting with customers online. [click to build] It’s important to talk about your business on social media, but don’t just talk about yourself every time you post. [click to build] The best way to use social media is to help people solve problems and share interesting, entertaining content. You don’t want to come off as an “it’s-all-about-me” kind of person. Find a nice balance between promoting your business and offering your audience relevant content and solutions. [click to build] Infrequent posting are posting too much are things you want to avoid. [click to build] Be active – follow our suggestions for the minimum amount to post on each channel – so people know you’re serious about your social channels and getting your business out there. But don’t dominate the stream or news feed of your followers. [click to build] This sounds like a small thing, but it’s important – when someone interacts with your page, don’t ignore it. It’s important to respond. [click to build] Say thank you to someone who shares something on your page, or offers a compliment or a nice review. They’ll know you’re listening and they’ll remember it. [click to build] This might be a difficult one to follow, but you should not delete negative comments. I know it’s frustrating. But you should leave them up. [click to build] Here’s why: you can turn this negative comment into a positive response, and your reaction is what’s going to stick with the commenter AND any of the fans who see it. Address the commenter’s issue. Apologize. Then, move the conversation to a private space. By addressing the negative comment publicly, it shows your fans that you care about their concerns and opinions, and you have great customer service. [click to build] If you share a link, a photo or a video on social media, don’t just post the content and walk away. [click to build] Tell people why you’re posting this link. What’s interesting or helpful on this page you want them to click on? If there’s no context, people might not click because they don’t know what they’re clicking and why they should care.
- #60 So beyond the content and etiquette, how do you know if you’re doing social media right? How do you know it’s working? You do need to monitor your networks – each of the social networks has its own analytics, and you do need to check those. But if you are newer to this, just starting out, I just want you to focus on two things: [click to build] The first is engagement. Be mindful of the frequency, days of the week and times you’re posting. Consider the type – text updates, photos, videos or links. Think about the 50-30-20 rule. Are you sharing engaging, useful content and balancing that with content about your business? What’s your audience’s response to that content? Look at your content on a regular basis, think about when you posted, and [click to build] see what kind of results you got. Did you get Likes, comments and shares? And don’t worry if you got Likes but no comments or shares. Any activity is good and it shows that people are paying attention to what you’re sharing. Focus on the content that your audience engages with, and don’t post things they haven’t or don’t react to. [click to build] Another benefit of that engagement– when someone Likes, comments or shares your content, that activity is seen by THEIR networks. This is digital word of mouth, and those actions are a way of endorsing you to their friends, which could get you more fans and followers. Monitor your Facebook page’s likes. As you continue to post while focusing on what your audience wants and when they want it, you will see your fan count go up. [click to build] Keep in mind – this does take time. Your page is not going to explode overnight. This is about building relationships – building relationships with actual people does not happen overnight, and that’s what you’re doing with these social networks. You’re sharing and having conversations and getting to know each other. Stick with it and you’ll build those relationships and get great results.
- #61 Now, go do it! [click to build] If you want to start new social channels for your business, use what you’ve learned today to pick the networks that will work best for your business. I just want you to know that it is OK if you‘re not doing EVERYTHING. You don’t have to be on every network. Just focus on what’s going to work for your business and your audience. [click to build] We’ve included worksheets in the slides you’ll be getting today that will provide space for you to think about what to post. Use the best practices and the 50-30-20 rule we talked about to create content, and write down your ideas. [click to build] At the end of each social network section, we’ve got 3 ideas for you to try. Start using those suggestions if you haven’t taken those steps already. [click to build] It’s important to keep tabs on what’s working and what’s not. Look for audience engagement with your content. What topics and content types do they like? Are you posting at the right times and frequency? Sit down and check on a regular basis. Do more of the marketing they like, and less of what they don’t, and you will build on the relationships of your followers and gain new ones.
- #62 I want to thank you for joining me today…I’m going to take questions in the last minutes of our webinar, but first, I have a few suggestions for next steps you might take next if you’re interested more in what The URL Dr. and Constant Contact has to offer. The URL Dr. is online marketing and web design firm that specializes in small business marketing. You can visit our website to view our services and pricing at www.TheURLdr.com
- #63 All of the various marketing techniques I discussed today including mobile marketing can all be done with Constant Contact’s new all in one Toolkit product. I am an authorized Platinum Level Constant Contact Solution Provider, so maybe I’m biased, but I truly believe that this product is the most cost effective way for small businesses to use [Click to Build] Email [Click to Build] Online Surveys & Feedback [Click to Build] Online promotions, coupons, and deals [Click to Build] And Events with Online registration When you sign up for Constant Contact through The URL Dr. (for the same great low price)
- #64 You also get our new online training for Constant Contact Toolkit, absolutely free. I developed this online learning system especially for Toolkit customers. To get it you can visit theurldr.com and from our home page [Click to Build] Click on this orange button that says “Get Online Training for Toolkit Free”
- #65 Then you’ll have the opportunity to [Click to Build] sign up for Toolkit and the learning tool, if you don’t have it yet and you’re ready to get started on your new online marketing campaign [Click to Build] If you already have Toolkit, you can still get the online training by clicking on this button and filling out the form. This system is designed to walk you through the set up of Toolkit, all the best practices in email, social media, online promotions, event marketing, and using online surveys, and then it walks you through how to implement these different marketing efforts in your business with Toolkit.
- #66 I have one more fun announcement. For all of our attendees today, you have the opportunity to win a featured spot on my new radio show, “Prescriptions for Online Success.” My new show will premiere on Saturday, June 7th at 1:30 PM on AM1450 The Source out of Frederick, MD, but we’ll also be streaming audio and video of every show to The URL Dr.’s website and our new Prescriptions for Online Success website. Each show will have a segment where we bring on real small businesses who have a problem with their online marketing or their website. They’ll get a free exam and a prescription from The URL Dr. Then they’ll be invited on the show to talk about the results they got. It should be a lot of fun, but we really need you to help make this a success, so go to The URL Dr.’s Facebook page and like us to enter. You’ll get a follow-up email that will ask you a couple of questions about what you are struggling with. We’ll go through all the entries and pick a winner to work with on the air.
- #67 Join us today at our Twitter Chat after this webinar. 2pm EST. To participate, use the hashtag #theurldrwebinar. Bring your questions and comments and tweet with The URL Dr. for 30 minutes after the presentation.
- #68 So here’s all the contact information once again. Now let’s take some questions from our audience.