SETTING UP, RAISING AWARENESS FOR AND MONITORING SOCIAL MEDIA

SETTING UP, RAISING AWARENESS FOR AND MONITORING SOCIAL MEDIA

WHY DO I NEED SOCIAL MEDIA? Facebook and Twi/er are not just places for social interac8ons and fun, but they are also powerful inbound marke8ng tools. Social media sites can have a huge poten8al impact on your companies traffic, leads, and sales. 4.6! 4.4! 3.7! 2.3! 2.9! 2.7! 1.8! Shopping! Browsing! Gaming! Multimedia! Social! News! Email! AVG HOURS/WEEK SPENT ON THIS ONLINE ACTIVITY, WORLDWIDE 2

93% of US adult Internet users are on Facebook. 2 1 out of every 8 minutes online is spent on Facebook. 3 49% of people use Facebook to share content. 4 More than ½ of ac8ve Twi/er users follow companies, brands or products on social networks. 5 79% of US Twi/er users are more likely to recommend brands they follow. 5 67% of US Twi/er users are more likely to buy brands they follow. 5 3

Social media has become a major part of consumer culture. Social media amplifies your content, your website and your brand. It allows you to establish and foster a more personal rela8onship with your poten8al customers, and when done correctly, can generate website traffic, inbound links, and leads for you. Social media has become a major part of consumer culture, and it is 8me for you to capitalize on it. 4

SETTING UP YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE On Facebook, people have profiles and brands have pages. Even though Facebook has made it easier to make a business page, there are s8ll some necessary steps you can overlook. You want to create and treat your welcome page like a landing page by pushing for a like. Create and treat your welcome page like a landing page. Ø Push for a like or an email address. Set up Custom Tabs for resources (email newsle/ers, blogs, etc.) using the FBML applica8on. Ø Shares company info in a more compelling way. If you are a single loca8on business, set up a places page. Ø Can use place page deal feature. Add useful applica8ons such as Discussions Boards and YouTube Video Box. Ø More interac8ve and engaging. Facebook is not only a great plaaorm for engaging with your customers and prospects but can also be a great place to generate leads. 5

Facebook pages must be as invi8ng as possible. The format of your page should first be focused on crea8ng an engaging environment for your fans, which when executed properly, will result in genera8ng and collec8ng more informa8on about your leads. Be as crea8ve as possible, and determine which ac8vi8es or apps would best supplement your company s brand. 6

GAINING EXPOSURE AND AWARENESS FOR YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE You cannot only set up your Facebook page and then leave your fans to their own devices. It is essen8al for you to distribute remarkable content that your fans will want to share, which in turn will a/ract more visitors to your Facebook page. To increase your Facebook exposure, you need to design offers and content that will mo9vate people to like or share your page. 7

Posts with the word video in them are shared 30% more on Facebook than posts that do not. 7 Posts that use buzzwords or business jargon like op8mize significantly decrease the number of fans for a Facebook page. Ø These pages have 100 fans, as opposed to the average page with 624 fans. 7 Posts with digits in the 8tle tend to be shared more oden. Lists using words like top make tremendously successful Facebook posts. For your customers and prospects to find your Facebook page engaging, they will need en8cing materials and regular posts. 8

MONITORING YOUR FACEBOOK PAGE Your Facebook page should strengthen exis8ng rela8onships, and also forge new ones. To do this, you need to perfect the 8ming and composi8on of pos8ng original content, and learn how to best cater to the needs of each market segment. You will need to closely monitor your Facebook page to understand what your fans want. 9

The most frequently used ac8vity for young Facebook users is wall posts. 7 Ø Focus on social aspect (invites, graffi8, etc.) The older Facebook demographic is more interested in using Facebook for themselves. Ø Most frequent ac8vi8es: liking pages, using apps, etc. 7 Share original content Ø 60% of links shared on Facebook are published content. 8 Ø Addi8onal 36% of shares were embedded content. 8 Put like or recommend bu/ons at the top of the blog ar8cle. Ø Community will build up a reputa8on for the ar8cle by liking the content. Post ar8cles on the weekend. Ø 51% of American companies block Facebook at work. 7 10

Your Facebook page should be the launching point to your home website, blog, and conversion offers. By encouraging discussions on your Facebook wall, you will be fostering a community in which your newest visitors interact with your most dedicated and loyal customers. In doing so, your exis8ng customer s excitement to share and interact with your material and page could impact your more casual fans decision to purchase your product or service. 11

SETTING UP YOUR TWITTER PAGE There is a certain nuance to Twi/er, it is much different from Facebook, and tends to a/ract a more diverse mix of ac8ve consumers wai8ng to learn about the newest products and latest trends. It its pivotal for you to understand these nuances so they can crad an effec8ve and interes8ng Twi/er presence. 12

Use your twi/er handle to promote your brand. Twi/er users who fill out their bio have over 6x 8mes as many followers than those that do not. 9 Use non- diminu8ve words such as expert or guru that show your authority and exper8se for your job descrip8on. Ø People who use these kinds of words for their job descrip8on average 100 more followers than those people that use business jargon for job descrip8on. 9 Set up a page that lists all twi/er handles of employees in your company. Those who put links to their blog, company website, and other social networks on their twi/er have 6x more followers than those that don t. 9 13

It is important for you to establish a rela8vely casual atmosphere on your twi/er account; it will create a more informal, yet personable and comfortable rela8onship with poten8al customers that encourage them to engage with you oden. 14

GAINING EXPOSURE AND AWARENESS FOR YOUR TWITTER PAGE Folks on Twi/er follow influencers and key experts in the industries they are interested in. It is vital for you to establish rela8onships with your industry leaders so that their followers, your poten8al customers, can learn about your brand through a resource they trust. 15

Connect with journalists and bloggers who cover your industry. Ø Use technora8 to iden8fy and start following influencers. Pitch to influencers on Twi/er. Ø Do not pester; be subtle. Ø Be brief and concise in your personalized pitch. Ø Leave comments on influencer s ar8cles. Ø Use your original content as an outreach tool. Ø Help influencers with their research by pos8ng useful content on their twi/er page. Do not follow too many people at once. Ø Your following: follower ra8o will look imbalanced. Other useful Tools: Ø Tweet Grader Ø Muck Rack Ø Journalist Tweets Twi/er has a strong presence of early adopter who tend to be the first to purchase the newest products. Ø They depend on these industry experts to make that purchasing decision Following these thought leaders will help you find the inspira8on for your own content crea8on, while also providing you with the chance to get in touch with ac8ve consumers in your industry. 16

MONITORING YOUR TWITTER PAGE Your followers will share whatever thoughts they have about you through Twi/er. It is your job to highlight good behavior, address problems up front, and con8nue to promote their content. Your twi/er presence should be all about transparency and convenience. Your followers should be able to easily share whatever reac8ons they have about your blog posts, offers, and company news so more hype and traffic start to buzz around these materials. 17

Star your customer s best tes8monials and put them on your favorites tab. Ø Direct people who have ques8ons about your company or product to your favorites page. By answering ques8ons about your industry directly, you increase your credibility. Ø By answering their ques8ons, they are 59% more likely to follow you. 10 Any requests or complaints for support should be responded to promptly and accordingly. You can generate 4x more retweets simply by reques8ng for them. 9 Ø 50% of retweets contain links. 9 Set up a separate event sign- up pages for any events that you want people to tweet- up for. The average twi/er user sends out 22 tweets per day. 9 Tweet links to: Ø Landing pages. Ø Blog posts. Ø Promote new tools and apps 18

CONCLUSION Social media is one of your most powerful content distribu8on channels. By crea8ng an interac8ve and entertaining social environment, your social media pages will drive engagement with your current and future customers. Social media amplifies your reach, improving your Internet presence and reputa8on. When set up properly, your Twi/er and Facebook pages can become effec8ve pieces of your lead genera8on strategy. Ar8llery can help you put in place all of these social media 8ps and much more! Click here for a Free Online Marke8ng Consulta8on that will help your company enhance its online marke8ng presence. FREE ONLINE MARKETING CONSULTATION ARTILLERY 1709 Colley Avenue, Suite 308, Norfolk, Virginia 23517 757-627- 4800 h/p://www.ar8llerymarke8ng.com 19

SOURCES 1 The Nielsen Company, November 2010 2 Blogher, April 2011 3 Comscore, February 2011 4 Chadwick Mar8n Bailey, September 2010 5 Edison Research, 2010 6 Eric Qualman, Social Media Sta8s8cs 2011, 2011 7 HubSpot, The Science of Facebook, 2011 8 emarketer, Online Content Format Shared Most Oden by US Internet Users, Feb 2011 9 HubSpot, The Science of Twi/er, 2011 10 InboxQ, Social Media s Loaded Ques8ons, 2010 PHOTO CREDITS Cover Illustra8on by Nick Bilton/The New York Times Page 2 h/p://www.flickr.com/photos/topgold/3341034811/ h/p://www.flickr.com/photos/marcopako/2391747442/ Page 6 h/p://www.joelburman.com/ Page 7 h/p://www.flickr.com/photos/smemon/5684115572/ 20