Creative Writing for Social Media to Build Your Brand

and Business

Creative Writing for Social Media to Build Your Brand

and BusinessSusan Gunelius

President & CEO, KeySplash Creative, Inc.www.keysplashcreative.com

Featuring concepts from some of Susan’s popular books, including:

HOW to create content that people want to read, discuss, and share.

HOW to get started the right way.

What You’ll Learn Today

HOW social media and content can build your brand and business.

Why Are We Here?

HOW social media and content can build your brand and business. What? This isn’t What? This isn’t

the Justin Bieber the Justin Bieber concert?concert?

How ALL Businesses Can Benefit from Social Media

1. Get entry points!2. Get found!3. Get traffic!

What Social Media and Content Marketing Can Do

for You

INCREASEINCREASE

• Audience engagement• Media coverage• Relationships• Brand loyalty• Long-term, sustainable,

organic growth

• Awareness • Recognition• Website traffic• Sales• Word-of-mouth

marketing

What Social Media and Content Marketing Can Do

for You

DECREASEDECREASE

• Rumors• Inaccuracies• Distrust and uncertainty• Brand confusion• Misaligned brand perceptions

Gary Vaynerchuk of WineLibrary.tv

New Jersey Wine Store

Social Media

$70 million in sales per yearand

50% of sales from the Web.

Strategic Planning

HOW to get started the right way.

Shift from Marketer to Publisher

• Media and publishers provide content readers want and need.

• Marketers provide sales copy.• It’s not about you!

Give something useful, valuable, or entertaining that’s NOT about your products or business!

Step 1: Set Your Goals

• If you just want to sell more stuff, you’ll fail.

• Why are you on the social web?• What do you want to get from it?

GoalsGoals• Raise awareness• Customer service• Feedback• Publicity • Marketing• Reach younger demographic

Social MediaSocial Media• Blog• Facebook• Foursquare• Twitter• Flickr• YouTube• Livestream events• E-newsletter

Avoid Excessive Selling

Ski.com

Image via: Facebook.com/skivacations

1 Facebook Page Photo Upload with Comments

Step 2: Research and Benchmarking

• Customers and competitors• Look outside your

industry

Step 3: Brand Yourself

• Promise: unique value proposition

• Position: differentiators• Message: customer

perceptions and expectations

Find your niche and focus on it!

3 Steps of Brand Building

1. Consistency2. Persistence3. Restraint

Meet customer expectations for your brand in every interaction, and don’t give up!

Step 4: Find Your Best Audience

• Listen• Join• Engage• Share

Develop relationships that lead to loyalty and trust and build your band of brand advocates!

Example: Cakes for Occasions

• Pictures• Real-time promotions • Picked up by Boston Media• Testimonials• Business grew 25% and

saved $10,000 in marketing expenses in 1 year thanks to social media.

“We learned our audience was on Facebook, so

that’s where we went.”- Kelly Delaney, Owner Cakes for Occasions

Step 5: Find the Influencers

• Find the people online who already have the eyes and ears of your target audience.

• They’re trusted.• They’re shared.• They’re powerful sources of word-of-

mouth.

Example: Roger Smith Hotel

• Connected and engaged with influencers

• Special Twitter discounts• Twitter kiosk in hotel• Special hotel welcome to guests who

come from social web

Step 6: Establish Your Core Branded Online Destination

BlogFacebook LinkedIn

YouTube

TwitterFlickr

SlideShare

ExecTweets

Page

YourGroup

Ads

OtherGroups

YourGroup

OtherGroups

Answers

Twellow

Profile

Sample Business Social Media Presence

Social Media and Content Touch All Areas of a

Business

MarketingCreate Content• Blogs• Twitter• YouTube• Digg• StumbleUpon• Facebook• Google+• You name it!

Customer ServiceDirect Dialogue• Blogs• Twitter• YouTube• Google+• Facebook

Public RelationsCommenting• Blogs• Twitter• YouTube• Digg• StumbleUpon• Forums• Other social bookmarking sites• Review sites like Yelp and Epinions

ExecutiveThought Leadership• Blogs• LinkedIn Answers• Twitter• Quora

Human ResourcesNetworking• Facebook• LinkedIn• Google+• Niche networking sites• Blogs• Twitter• YouTube

Time to Create Content

HOW to create content that people want to read, discuss, and share.

Step 7: Content is Key

• What you say: Publish content your audience needs and

wants.

• How you say it: Be human, be honest, be transparent, and

be you! Tell stories. Give something extra or exclusive. Leave jargon and corporate rhetoric out.

• Quality trumps quantity.

Traditional vs. New Media Marketing

• One-to-many

• Interrupt• Repeat• Push

• One-to-one• Enhance• Engage• Pull

TraditionalTraditional New MediaNew Mediavs.vs.

The 80-20 Rule

For every 20% of self-promotional content you produce,

create 80% that is not self-promotional.

Engage 80%

Me, Me, Me!20%

Example: NakedPizza

• Twitter discounts lead to direct sales.

• 68% of single-day sales have come from Twitter.

• Twitter integrated into point-of-sale system.

• Twitter kiosks set up in stores.

• Previous direct mail newsletter content is now fed into Twitter.

“Direct mail is sent to a single address but there are multiple

people in those houses. We want to maximize and extend our marketing reach, and Twitter helps us do this

in leaps and bounds.”

-- Jeff Roach, NakedPizza co-founder

10 Social Media Writing Tips

1. Short2. Lists3. Headlines and subheadings4. Diversify5. Link6. Voice7. Consistent8. Relevant9. 20% or less self-promotion10.No silo marketing

Types of Content

• News• Interviews• Research• Promotions• Warnings• Images and video

• Tips• How To• Lists• Commentary and

opinion• Step-by-step

instruction• And so much more!If content isn’t useful or

relevant to your audience, don’t publish it. No clutter!

Writing Headlines that Get Noticed

• Promise something• Be plausible• Answer “what’s in it for me?”• Be intriguing• Be relevant• Be useful• Be specific

Headline Samples

• 10 Mistakes to Avoid …• The Secrets of …• 5 Ways to …• Tips for _____ the Pros Don’t Want You to Know• Why I Never …• 10 Lessons from …• What You Need to Know About …• Top 10 Best/Funniest/Weirdest/Worst …• 5 Reasons …• 20 Things You Might Be Missing …

How to Write Content People Want to Read

• Start strong• Benefits• Emotional

triggers• You not me• How and why• Promise reward

and deliver on it

“I grew up hearing about mistresses from my mother. She would tell us about the ‘fancy women’ her grandfather, Stephen

Adelbert Griggs, an affluent Detroit brewer and municipal politician,

maintained in what she disdainfully referred to as a ‘love nest.’ Why did Great-grandmother Minnie

tolerate this? “By Elizabeth Abbott, 9/2/11

Writing for an Audience that Scans

Conclusion (most important point)

Most important supporting info

Less important supporting info

Background info

Inverted Pyramid

Starting Strong Tips

• Share a personal story• Ask a question• Offer immediately actionable help• Cite a relevant piece of research data• Evoke emotions• Tap into nostalgia• Offer reassurance or a sense of

belonging Be useful or entertaining from the start or delete until the most important content is first.

Formatting Your Content

• White space• Headings and subheadings - 8 words or

less• Short paragraphs - 3 sentences or less• Bullets and numbered lists• Useful links - 1 link every 250 words• Legible font - 14 pt., Georgia or Verdana• Use imagesPeople should know what

your content is about by quickly skimming it.

Monitor Your Content Performance

• Use tools to track traffic, sharing and conversations.

• Publish more content that’s working and tweak underperforming content.

• Find your most engaged audience and acknowledge them.

Most Important – Get Started

• Every minute you’re not on the social web is a missed opportunity that your competitors are happy to seize.

• Every additional minute you spend on the social web can only benefit your business.

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Contact Susan Gunelius

Books by Susan Gunelius

Website: www.KeySplashCreative.com

Twitter: www.Twitter.com/susangunelius

Facebook:www.Facebook.com/susanguneliuswww.Facebook.com/keysplashcreative

LinkedIn:www.Linkedin.com/in/susangunelius

Email: susan@keysplashcreative.com

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