social media for business 2014
TRANSCRIPT
– Anonymous
“Social media is more about sociology and psychology than it is
about technology.”
Know your business
Who are your customers?
What are your core values?
What are your goals?
What kind of media do your customers consume?
What kind of marketing do you currently use?
Make a plan
Taking the brand identity you form from analyzing your core values, customers and goals, start making a plan…
Pick your toolkit – what social media platforms are you going to use?
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+, etc. They are just channels, what matters is what’s on them…
Create a goodie bag – a pile of stuff you can giveaway, like gift cards, customer perks, etc. to use for contests.
Create a schedule
Using a calendar (analog or digital) brainstorm ideas for content to fill a month. You want to post at least five days a week.
Write one idea for each day. Content can be based on reoccurring themes, like Motivational Monday, Throwback Thursday, Wine Wednesday, etc.
Make sure to vary the types of content you post. You’re like a pitcher, you want to keep them guessing about what’s coming up next.
Some examples of a content marketing schedule
This one was created for a local Realtor
Here’s an example template
A few good resources
Employ the use of a scheduling service, here are a few options:
Sprout Social
Hootsuite
Falcon Social
These services charge a nominal fee, but allow you to create posts and schedule them far in advance.
They also help you track and record the impact your efforts are making, so you duplicate what works and prove ROI
Content is still KING
This golden rule of communication is truer now than ever.
But the medium is the Queen.
In a media-soaked landscape, where consumers encounter thousands of advertising messages each day, how do you stand out?
Be a storyteller, not a salesman.
– Seth Godin
“Marketing is no longer about the stuff you make, but about the
stories you tell.”
The Relationship Era
Marketing and advertising has been pretty much the same since the late 50s. Think Mad Men…
Ads espoused the merits of the product: makes teeth whiter, cleans floors better, you get 10% more, etc.
But now demand a relationship with the companies they support. They want to know where their product came from, did they harm others in the process?
People vote for the companies and products they like with their hard-earned dollars…
The channels
Like we discussed earlier, the individual sites are just channels through which you can reach your audience. What matters is the content you create for those channels.
But let’s discuss each channel and their strengths (and weaknesses).
The first to address is most certainly…
Rapidly becoming the social media site with the worst user experience.
The new model is pay to play. If you really want to reach people, you’ve got to pony up the dough.
Research has shown that with their new algorithm, posts are reaching between 12% to 4% of your network.
Yet it’s still the most used social site in the US. So you can’t afford to completely ignore it…
A micro-blogging social media site that limits messages to 140 characters, famously.
Twitter has brought about the rise of the hashtag, which we will address in just a moment.
Twitter is a great resource for reaching consumers outside the area. It’s about the topic, not “real life” relationships.
#hashtags
A hashtag is a word or a phrase preceded with the number symbol (#). It is a form of metadata symbol on social media sites and helps build a community stream of consciousness around a certain topic.
For instance, if I wanted to express my thoughts about Angelina Jolies’ dress at the 2014 Oscars I could write: “Angelina’s dress was utterly droll and lifeless, not befitting a queen of the screen. #oscars2014”
A photo-centric social media platform that primarily works through the app, which Facebook bought last year.
It’s used by a younger, more active demographic.
Becoming very popular in the Wenatchee Valley, and is a good way to catch the attention of media…
Hashtags are very important on this platform.
Google+
Although no one uses it, Google has spend millions and continue to pour money into their social media efforts.
They’re not going to quit, and sooner or later they’ll find a formula that works.
The SEO perks alone are enough to make Google+ a viable resource for businesses. If you have a plus page, Google will give you great search engine rankings.
A business-oriented social networking site, not very useful for business to consumer marketing, but for business to business marketing it’s great.
It’s an essential personal branding resource.
Some of the perks include the online resume function and the ability to write and receive recommendations.
Reviews are important mm’kay?
Communication is no longer top-down broadcast style, it’s a two way street. Every customer is also a published critic thanks to Yelp! and TripAdvisor.
TripAdvisor is primarily for travelers, people looking to review a hotel.
Yelp! is primarily for restaurant reviews.
According to a 2013 study by Dimensional Research, 90% of consumers say online reviews impact their buying decisions.
Angie’s list…
– Brian Solis
“In the digital space, attention is currency. We earn it. We spend it.”
Video content
• 95% of people retain a message
communicated in a video,
compared to just 10% for a
message communicated in text.
• 64% of consumers are more likely
to buy a product once they have
seen a video about it.
There’s an app for that
VSCO
Pro Cam
TyPic
PicStitch
PicLab
Waterlogue
Flipagram
Cameo