SOCIAL MEDIA BASICSBy Anna Harper-Hess Twitter- @aharperhessFacebook- www.facebook.com/aharperhessLinkedIn- http://www.linkedin.com/in/aharperhess

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT ME…

Social Media & Marketing Specialist with Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

BA in Sociology Graduate student – thesis on Social Media In the process of building my own website

www.aharperhess.com

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT CRIMSON CUP… Founded in 1991 by Columbus native Greg Ubert We roast coffee and teach others how to be successful

in the specialty coffee industry We have one company owned coffee house on High

Street in Clintonville Social Media has been an integral part of our

marketing plan since November of 2008.

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA?

According to Erik Qualman, author of Socialnomics,

“In less then three years, [social media] has become the most popular activity on the Web.”

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA?

Social Media technology has allowed us to connect quickly and stay connected to our various networks, which means: Closer relationships Quicker access to new opportunities

It’s also allows users to meet new people. Similar to a networking event, social media

applications like Twitter allow users to find and meet new people, which means new opportunities for you and your business.

GETTING STARTED

Start Out Slow

It’s easy to get started in social media, but often people feel overwhelmed by the options.

You don’t need to be on every social media site ever invented. Pick and choose which you plan to check out and eventually want to be a part of.

GETTING STARTED

Research, Reasearch, Research

To determine which sites are the best for you do some research: What are your competitors doing? What are the sites you hear about the most? What are your friends and family using?

GETTING STARTED

Creating a Username

After you have determined which sites you are interested in using, you will create a username.

Use your real name when possible Make your username simple to remember Try to keep your username consistent across

multiple sites

GETTING STARTED

Creating a Profile

After you have determined your username, create a profile

Use a real picture of you or your company logo so people know you are not SPAM

Include a short bio with a link to your website or blog

GETTING STARTED…

After You Sign Up, Be a Voyeur.

To learn the social norms on any social media site it’s helpful to observe how people interact. Watch the conversations taking place Check out profiles of influential people See how people communicate and learn what the

signs meanExample: Crimson Cup

FORMULATING A PLAN

It’s important to have defined business goals so you aren’t wasting your time (or anyone else's).

What do you hope to achieve? How will this program impact your overall

goals? How much time do you have to devote to this

plan?

BUILD YOUR NETWORK

You have a plan, now it’s time to start building a network around your plan.

A few tips: Be authentic Listen, listen, listen Participate – have conversations When possible, meet your followers/fans/friends

in real life Go to tweet ups and networking event

*Remember: social media takes time and effort and you will need to be consistent and have

organizational support*

MEASURING SUCCESS

Now your social media program is up and running it’s important to know how to measure your

success

This is dependent on your program, but some common ways to track are: Analytics – url tracking, Google Analytics, etc. Coupon codes Sites like http://websitegrader.com will give you a wealth

of info, which you can track

KEEP GROWING YOUR PROGRAM

Be Curious & Try New Things!

Watch for trends to ensure you are maximizing your social media program.

Check out new social media services Read articles and attend seminars

Set up saved searches to see what people are saying about you or your organization

Send messages at different times of day and see what’s most successful

Try unique promotions and track their results Example: Romeothecat

IN SUMMARY

Developing a social media program is easy and useful, but it does take time,

research, and dedication Make sure you:

Do the research to determine which sites will work best for you.

Establish an easy to remember username for each site and build a profile with picture

Watch what others are doing to learn social norms

Develop a plan and build a network Measure your success Try new things

THINGS TO AVOID

Here are some things you definitely shouldn’t do on your social media site.

Constant self promotion Profanity or acting in a way which will turn off a

portion of your followers Attacking your company, co-workers, etc. Ignoring your friends/followers/fans Putting your program on auto-pilot all the time Avoiding those who have had a negative

experience with your organization Excessively talking about the minor things in your

life On Twitter, try to keep more followers then you

are following

REFERENCES

Here are some excellent resources to help you get started:

Books: Inbound Marketing by Brian Halligan and

Dharmesh Shah Socialnomics by Erik Qualman

Websites: www.socialmediatoday.com http://mashable.com

SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS

Hootsuite or Tweetdeck are great Twitter clients with built in url shortners (bit.ly and ow.ly)

TheTwitcleaner will help you clean out the spam from your followers

Google Alerts – this service will send you various links to information which lists your company

Google Analytics Facebook, LinkedIn both have ways to install blog

and twitter applications on your page Mobile applications for Facebook, twitter, blogs,

etc.

CONTACT ME!ANNA HARPER-HESS

@aharperhess

www.facebook.com/aharperhess

www.linkedin.com/in/aharperhess