cim social media kendal jan 11
DESCRIPTION
Presentation by Andrew Armitage to Cumbria Branch CIMTRANSCRIPT
Getting the most out of social media
Getting the most out ofsocial media
Andrew Armitage
Armitage Online Limited
Kendal College
26th January 2011
Getting the most out of social media
Andrew Armitage
• Armitage Online Limited• Digital consultancy
– Website design– Web applications– Online marketing– Social media
• Clients include– Zeffirellis Ambleside– Windermere Lake Cruises– Various hotels
Getting the most out of social media
Getting the most out of social media
• Do we know what social media is?• Why social media?• What do we want to get out of social media?• How can we achieve ‘it’?• How will we know when we’ve achieved it?
The answers may not be clear cut – and will almost certainly be different for everyone in the room.
Getting the most out of social media
What are social networks?
• Forums• Blogs• Multi-media sharing• Feeds• Bookmarking• Comment platforms
Getting the most out of social media
Any place that real people are engaging online
Getting the most out of social media
Getting the most out of social media
Getting the most out of social media
The impacts of social media
• Fundamental shift in online communication• All major sites now have a social influence• Social networks and blogs now account for 20 per cent of
the total time spent online.
Getting the most out of social media
Getting the most out of social media
Getting the most out of social media
Getting the most out of social media
Is it all good news?
• Roughly 1% of users are responsible for 34% of all visits on Linked In
• 41% of users haven’t tweeted since signing up• Only 20% of Twitter users have tweeted 10 times or more• 24% of twitter users have no followers• Only 1.5m local business pages on Facebook• Major privacy concerns on Facebook
Getting the most out of social media
“Companies can now communicate with their markets directly. If they blow it, it could be their last chance”
Getting the most out of social media
“Consumers can now influence the market directly. If companies blow it, they may never get their chance”
Getting the most out of social media
“we don’t have a choice whether we do social media, the question is how well we do it”
Erik Qualmansocialnomics.net
Getting the most out of social media
• Micro-blog• 140 characters to share your message (tweet)• People follow each other• Use ‘#hashtags’ tags to categorise your posts or emotion• Re-tweet (RT) to share posts you like and support your
peers• Informal conversation
Getting the most out of social media
• Join networks organised by city/workplace/school• Engage with interest groups• Set up a business page or pay per click advertising• Add ‘social connectors’ to your website• Most effective for B2C businesses• Can business audiences even get to Facebook?• The “noticeboard”
Getting the most out of social media
Linked In
• Business oriented• Join groups and engage in discussion with peers• Link to your blog and twitter feed• Add presentations about your company• My CV
Getting the most out of social media
Slideshare
• upload presentations• add to your linked in profile• easy to upload and share content in word, powerpoint, pdf
and more• add pre-recorded audio – slide casting
Getting the most out of social media
Rules of participation
• Participate in conversation• Make new connections• Help people• Listen to your audience• Don’t block the competition!• Gently ‘feed’ your other online spaces
Getting the most out of social media
Rules of engagement
• Users aren’t necessarily engaged• Allow customers and followers to engage in their own time• Review individual behaviour and respond accordingly• Don’t get too bogged down with broad metrics• Engagement could be more valuable than conversion
Getting the most out of social media
What should I say?
• Reference interesting statistics• Share your followers posts• Link to your other online profiles• Occasional special offers• Add value to your followers• Don’t bore people – say something remarkable!• Develop a content strategy
Getting the most out of social media
What about the impact of mobile?
Getting the most out of social media
What about the impact of mobile?
• 50% of the mobile Internet traffic in the UK is for Facebook
• Social apps• Location based services with GPS positioning• The ability to quickly upload photos and links• The ability to share anything instantly
Getting the most out of social media
Location based services
Getting the most out of social media
What social media is not!
• A sales pitch• PR• Search engine optimisation
…but it does support the above
Getting the most out of social media
What goes online stays online!
• Messages should be consistent• Always be transparent• The professional/personal divide• Dissatisfied customers now have a very public voice• It’s now more expensive to remove content than create it
Getting the most out of social media
Be ‘on brand’
• Support your brand in all you say/do• Use corporate and personal accounts• Add value to your followers• Who will be ‘the voice’?
Getting the most out of social media
Setting your strategy
• Driving traffic alone is not effective lead generation• Define a success metric
- visits- followers- number of conversations about you- new leads
• Go where your audience is• Use tools that are relevant for that audience
Getting the most out of social media
Social media barriers
• High risk• Bad press• Not saying the right things• Not enough time
However…• There’s a risk to take by not engaging• People can still say bad things about you• Is saying nothing the right answer?• Speculate to accumulate
Getting the most out of social media
Managing the commitment to social media
Expectations Commitment
Engagement
Getting the most out of social media
Making the most of Twitter
• Join in conversations• Offer your opinions• RT tweets by leading industry thinkers• Acknowledge the value offered by others• Context and content is vital• Use #hashtags to link to your subject• Set searches for your subject area
Getting the most out of social media
Making the most of Facebook
• Secure your custom URL eg. facebook.com/armitageonline
• Facebook.com/usernames• Customise your profile page• Add some glue!• Encourage participation and sharing• Don’t make unreasonable demands on people’s downtime• Add a ‘Like’ button to your website
Getting the most out of social media
Getting the most out of social media
Tools of the trade
• Make use of a social media ‘client’– Tweetdeck– Hootsuite
• Add all your profiles• Update from a single place• Check and update regularly• Monitor
– Google Analytics– Raven Tools
Getting the most out of social media
Measuring your success
• Google analytics• Number of ‘likes’, ‘views’ and ‘followers’• Social media ‘sentiment’ tracking• Direct campaign analysis
Getting the most out of social media
“social media is visible to everyone. A small mistake can soon go ‘viral’ causing huge damage to your brand”
Getting the most out of social media
Getting the most out of social media
Getting the most out of social media
Getting the most out of social media
“Don’t forget about your website”
Getting the most out of social media
Your own website
• Make sure the content is up to date• Use landing pages – how strong is the funnel?• Do the links work?• Does it support your digital strategy?• Is your website optimised for the search engines• Your website will be the ultimate authority on your
business
Getting the most out of social media
Getting started
• http://twitter.com• http://facebook.com• http://linkedin.com• http://slideshare.net• http://wordpress.com
and for those looking for more information…• http://socialnomics.com• http://mashable.com
Getting the most out of social media
Summary
• Linked In for business discussion• Twitter for customer/peer engagement and conversation• Facebook is the notice board
Use these to feed other channels such as• Your website• Online video• Email signups• Blog posts
Getting the most out of social media
What we now know
• Social media affects us all whether we like it or not• Social media has unrivalled power and reach• We should have some ideas of why we want to use social
media and therefore some idea of what we want to achieve
• We know this is a marathon, not a sprint• Find your audience, and engage with them.
Getting the most out of social media
“Don’t miss out on the conversation……even if you just mostly listen in”
Getting the most out of social media
Where to follow me…
http://uk.linkedin.com/in/andrewarmitage
http://www.flickr.com/photos/andrewarmitage
http://www.slideshare.net/aarmita
@aarmitage and @armitageonline on twitter
awarmitage on facebook
www.armitageonline.co.uk
015395 61956
Getting the most out of social media
Sources and references
• Socialnomics.net• http://mashable.com/2010/03/10/twitter-follow-stats• http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/2011/jan/25/tripadvisor-duncan-bannatyne/• http://www.globalrecruitingroundtable.com/2010/05/05/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-linkedin-statistics-and-
trends-2010/• http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/facebook-statistics-facts-figures-for-2010/• http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/4402-20+-more-mind-blowing-social-media-statistics• http://www.jeffbullas.com/2010/06/21/15-essential-social-media-facts-and-figures-for-b2b-marketing/• http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/infographic-twitter-statistics-facts-figures/