The SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK

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1 The SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK Written by Thad Cox

2 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK Introduction People are spending more and more of their time consuming content on their phones and less of their time watching TV, listening to the radio or reading newspapers. They want to consume content on their terms - This means what they want, when they want, wherever they are. Social media can no longer be overlooked as something people use for catching up with friends, it s a very effective tool that can be used to grow your business. Your audience is already out there ready to consume what you have to offer, but unless what you have to offer is authentic, speaks to them in a way that resonates and has a style and tone that is appealing, it won t make an impact. Over the next few pages I will be summarising the key social media platforms to focus on and providing a simple to follow tips and check-lists to help make sure that you are getting the most out of each one. I have also included strategies that can be applied in order to maximise the impact of your social media on your business. Thad Cox 2016

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4 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK SOCIAL STRATEGIES Before you start, you need a plan of action. Without this there is the danger of wasting valuable time creating social media content that will have little or no effect on your business. Building an audience isn t easy. It takes time, but if done properly the end result is a highly engaged and responsive group of fans, who not only will support you and endorse what you do to others, but they will give you priceless insights into your industry and how you can continue to grow. This is the ultimate goal, but we have to be realistic and understand that it is a journey of cumulative gains. Small steps taken everyday that will have a huge pay off at the end. Over the next few pages I will be sharing my most effective tried and tested methods that I have successfully implemented for numerous clients. Since using these techniques, they have experienced significant growth, both financially and emotionally as not only have they made more sales, but their relationships with their customers have deepened substantially. Thad Cox 2016

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6 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK Deliver Value Offering value is the most effective way to grow your audience. Many businesses often make the mistake of not delivering enough value, instead they think that simply posting content is enough, it isn t. Think of your brand as a TV Channel. Nobody will want to watch your programmes if they aren t any good. You can be broadcasting all day long but you ll never get and keep viewers unless your shows are worth watching. When TV shows are good, everyone wants to watch - think Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad, The Walking Dead. You have to be the HBO or Netflix of your industry, putting out compelling, insightful and valuable content that people can t and won t ignore. By valuable content I mean, is has to be at least one of the following: 1) INFORMATIVE Educating others about your industry, imparting your knowledge and sharing your experiences is a great way to build your reputation. This could be done by teaching others what you know and/or being available to answer questions. 2) USEFUL Relevant information that your audience can use immediately to improve something in their personal or professional lives. How To Guides, specially curated lists and helpful tips are all examples of useful content that is popular and very easy to compile. 3) ENTERTAINING The best form of entertaining content always provokes emotion, making us feel happy, sad, shocked, astonished etc. By injecting emotion into content, not only will it resonate, but it is far more likely to get shared organically amongst your audience, which will in turn increase awareness of who you are and what you do. Thad Cox 2016

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8 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK Engage with your audience Your fans want to know that you are the one who is posting your content. People have become sceptical of businesses that use apps to schedule their output. If you want to gain trust and loyalty form your audience, make sure you are available to answer comments immediately after you post. It only has to be for 10 minutes, but once you establish a reputation for interacting with your audience, they will start asking questions. These questions will give you an opportunity to demonstrate your expertise, show your knowledge and to start forming genuine friendships. However, I know that it s not always easy to find the time needed to do this. So an alternative way to do this is to go back and check the post an hour later and reply to every comment. Yes, that's right, every comment. This level of commitment and appreciation for your audience won t go unnoticed. Many people can't be bothered to do this, so if you are doing it, you will really stand out from the crowd. Be yourself You will need to create content that is authentic, speaks to your audience in a way that resonates and has a style and tone that appeals to them. Remember to curate what you share, be consistent with your frequency of posting and always make sure your content is valuable. Substance over style People often over-think what content to put out, but in reality nobody cares if what you put out, as long as it is value to them. Concentrate on what you are saying, not how you are saying it. After a while you ll feel less self conscious and those nerves will disappear. Don t worry about being good, just focus on being helpful. Thad Cox 2016

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10 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK Give, give and give some more Many businesses make the mistake of using their content as a way of selling their products & services to people before they are ready to be sold to. This results in people switching off, blocking their messages and unfollowing their business. The key is to rely on the law of reciprocity. To give so much so that when you do ask for a sale, you can go all in and your fans will feel obliged to buy from you because you have given them so much value beforehand. This is how and why you should keep giving away great content. 1) NOBODY ELSE DOES IT Other business won't feel comfortable creating content that isn't selling something. They will compromise on quality because they are overly keen to sell. Use this an as opportunity to differentiate yourself from your competition by selflessly creating great content without the hard sell. Your generosity won't go unnoticed and it will be very much appreciated by your audience. 2) GIVE AWAY YOUR BEST CONTENT Again, this is something that your rivals will be uncomfortable doing. Take advantage of this and establish your reputation as the best source for valuable information about your industry. The best content is the most shared and endorsed, so no only will this scare your rivals, but it will also organically raise awareness of who you are and what you do. People will naturally assume you know even more than you are giving away, do always give away your best 10%. 3) STAY TOP OF MIND Not everyone is ready to purchase from you at the moment, but their circumstances or the circumstances of someone they know might change. When they do change (and they will) and they will need what you are offering, how are they going to remember you? By putting out valuable content, you maintain a connection. They are still following you and so therefore you stay top of mind. But this will only happen if your content is genuinely great and not 'salesy'. Thad Cox 2016

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12 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK Social Media Cycle These are the 4 main principles that you will need to apply to increase your audience, which will in turn grow your business. Simply repeat and refine as you go, doubling down on what is working. 1 - CREATE VALUABLE CONTENT 2 - CURATE WHAT YOU SHARE 3 -POST CONSISTENTLY 4 -ENGAGE WITH YOUR AUDIENCE Thad Cox 2016

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14 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK PLATFORM OVERVIEW Each social media platform performs in a particular way, so it is important to understand what makes each one different. Instagram is all about images, Twitter is for news and information, Facebook is suited to sharing stories and Snapchat is all about short bursts of video content. Not only this, but they all work in different ways. They all have particular strengths and weaknesses. So it is vital that your content is optimised to work on the specific platform it is going on. Too often content designed for one platform is then shared on another platform but comes out wrong. The message gets lost in translation and therefore doesn t have the impact that it should. The final consideration is the for people who are using a particular platform. Different demographics use different platforms, so your content has to appeal to the people who will be consuming it on that specific platform. I have outlined the most influential ones that are currently on the market, but this does not mean you have to have a presence on each one. Consider who you are talking to and where they are most likely to be consuming content, before going all out creating something for them. Thad Cox 2016

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16 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK Twitter Despite being a 140 character dominated form of communication, images are they most engaging form of content. Due to the nature of how people interact with Twitter (by scrolling on a phone) it is key to use visuals to grab attention. In conjunction with Twitter I would recommend writing blog articles abut your business and industry and then searching for people talking about that topic on Twitter and chatting with them about it before offering helpful advice and a link to your article. The more you listen to what people are talking about, the more useful Twitter is. Don t join in creating noise, use it as an engagement tool and offer value through insightful advice and allowing fans to connect with you. TWITTER CHECKLIST Is it concise to gets to the point? Are the hashtags relevant If you ve attached an image, is it high quality? Does it sound authentic? Is it valuable to the audience? - Is it useful, entertaining or informative? Does it provoke emotion? - Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Inspiration, Pride, Love Thad Cox 2016

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18 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK Facebook Although it has lost it s cool in recent years, Facebook is still hugely important. Mainly because of the sheer volume of users make it the number one place for sales and building awareness. By using the combination of topic specific blog posts and competitions with highly targeted Dark Posts you are able to target very specific groups of people. It also lends itself to longer form content, discussions and online word of mouth promotion which isn t always offered in Instagram or Twitter. This will allow you to share more of your story and have discussion with fans and customers. The emergence of Facebook Live as a streaming platform is very exciting. I believe that the reach that using Facebook Live gives you to potential fans and customers is phenomenal and shouldn t be underestimated. FACEBOOK CHECKLIST Is the photo of good enough quality? - Composition, cropping and resolution. Can we see the logo? Have we included the call to action? Is the call to action easy to see? Is it valuable to the audience? - Is it useful, entertaining or informative? Does it provoke emotion? - Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Inspiration, Pride, Love Thad Cox 2016

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20 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK Instagram Due to it s functionality and the fact that you can t link out from your posts, only your profile bio, it s better to use Instagram as a tool help to build your brand rather than for pushing traffic to your site. The great thing about Instagram is that people stay on the app for longer than other platforms, the community appreciates aesthetically pleasing content and are very friendly. Your Instagram photos & videos should show unexpected moments that feel authentic and immediate. Whether your picture/video is of a person or an object, it should be in context with your identity, values and point of view. Your posts should give users a sense of evolution and consistency, showcasing your development over time. Try and keep your content exclusive. If users can find the same content on Facebook & Twitter why should they follow you on Instagram? INSTAGRAM CHECKLIST Is the image stylish enough to stand out? Is the story interesting? Have you included a call to action? - Leave a comment, tag a friend, double tap Did you refer to the link in your bio? - To drive traffic to your website Make sure you ve used industry relevant hashtags Is it valuable to the audience? - Is it useful, entertaining or informative? Does it provoke emotion? - Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Inspiration, Pride, Love Thad Cox 2016

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22 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK Pinterest Pinterest is a valuable sales platform because unlike Instagram you can link straight from your pictures to your website. Not only that, but if you create engaging content it will be pinned and shared not only within the platform, but also online on Facebook and Twitter. Make sure your content is visually compelling and easy to share - think infographics, product shots and tips and before posting make sure everything links back to your site. PINTEREST CHECKLIST Is the image striking enough to grab people s attention? Did I give my boards clever titles? Did I include a compelling proposition? Does every photo include a hyper-link? Could this pin double as an ad or be a photo from a magazine article? Is this image easily categorised so people don t have to think? Thad Cox 2016

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24 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK Snapchat Snapchat is the fastest growing social media platform at the moment. The reason why it is so important for your business is because of the amount intention of attention its users give to it. When you post content, it is only available for 24 hours, so in order for fans to stay up-to-date with the people they are following, they have to be checking in multiple times a day. This means the users are highly engaged compared to those who use Facebook and Twitter. They are really paying attention to what s happening on the platform and actively consuming the content that people putting out. When using Snapchat, the key is to be authentic and post little and often. People want to see the real you, not an over polished version of you. If you think you have the stamina to be posting multiple times today, this could be the platform for you. SNAPCHAT CHECKLIST Is it valuable to the audience? - Is it useful, entertaining or informative? Does it provoke emotion? - Happiness, Sadness, Anger, Inspiration, Pride, Love Is it concise to gets to the point? Is the story interesting? Is it visually appealing Am I offering something unique that isn t available elsewhere? Have you included a call to action? - Snap me back. Thad Cox 2016

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26 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK To sum up The key to being successful on social media is to first pick the platforms that will work best for you and your business. Choose ones that you enjoy using and are used by your target audience. Embrace that this is a long term commitment, but make it part of your business, not something that is optional. For anything to become a habit, start slowly and just be consistent. Create fun and engaging content that you would enjoy. If you get excited making it, then you are more likely to keep making it and your enthusiasm will come across in the content, making it more appealing to your audience. Try to work in some sort of analysis if what you are posting. What is getting the best response and why? When is the best time to post? What platform works best for you? Look for engagement - comments first, then shares and finally likes. Don't make the mistake of guessing what your audience wants, actually find out by asking them. When you know, double down on what works and keep giving. Behind this guide is a passionate designer/entrepreneur working hard to make your life easier. That means, you have my expertise and time at your disposal. So, if you ever need any type of assistance, or just want to share some feedback or ideas, please don't hesitate to send me an directly. I'd love to chat. thad@thadcox.co.uk. +44 (0) Thad Cox 2016

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28 SOCIAL MEDIA PLAYBOOK About Thad After graduating from Kingston University with a bachelors degree in Graphic Design, Thad pursued a career in Advertising as an Art Director working at numerous high profile agencies in London including Saatchi & Saatchi, Karmarama and Leo Burnett. During his time in the industry he worked for global clients including IKEA, McDonald's and Vh1, creating a variety of award winning work across all medias including film, television, radio, print, poster, online and social. Thad is passionate about helping people increase revenue, get more clients and grow their business through the use of dynamic branding and engaging social media content. Thad Cox 2016

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