top 20 kent orgs social media audit

deeson-creative.co.uk • @deesoncreative 1

deeson-creative.co.uk @deesoncreativeAuthored by Emily Turner and Jordan Hammond © Copyright 2014 Deeson Group

The BIG Social Media Audit

We evaluate 20 Kent organisations to see how they are using the main key platforms


About Deeson CreativeDeeson Creative is part of the Deeson Group, established in 1959.

We’re known for our practical, innovative and strategic approach and our team has worked with blue chip companies, major media brands and some of the public sector’s largest organisations.

All work is in-house and our experienced team includes social media strategists, communications specialists, marketers, magazine editors, designers and web developers. Our culture builds long-term client relationships.

Our services include social media and content strategy, social media training, PR, content, design and branding, infographics, video production and reputation management.

We work with: Robbie Williams, Shepherd Neame, ITV, Brit Awards, Porchlight, Canterbury City Council, Lounge on the Farm and Geek 2013.


Who can we look to in Kent for inspiration across the main platforms, as well as emerging ones?

The Deeson Creative team has completed a big audit of 20 local organisations, both in the public and private sector.

We’ve been using our benchmarking tool to look at performance across nine platforms, including Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Vine, Instagram, Flickr and Google+.

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA?We know social media is a burning issue from our monthly Socialbury knowledge sharing events, which brings together senior representatives from the county’s leading organisations.

Organisations have told us they are finding social media useful and exciting, but also a resource drain, tricky to keep up with, difficult to measure, and hard to integrate in an organisation’s culture.

THE BENCHMARKING PROCESSWe examined brand consistency, page set up, post frequency, response rate, engagement levels, design customisation, community management, social etiquette and use of rich content. There was a maximum score of 30 points per platform.

THE ORGANISATIONS UNDER THE MICROSCOPEWe audited: Visit Kent, Dover Castle, Canterbury Cathedral, Chatham Dockyard, The Aspinall Foundation, Saga Holidays, Port of Dover, Manston Airport, P&O Ferries, DFDS Seaways, Kent Police, Kent Fire & Rescue Service, Kent Community Health Trust, South East Coast Ambulance Service, Kent County Council, University Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury College, K College and Midkent College.

The big Deeson audit – how are Kent organisations using social media?


The Big Deeson Audit

HIGHEST FACEBOOK SCORESaga Holidays scored the most points for its wide variety of content and use of video to create an interesting fan page. Posts have clear calls to action, such as ‘share’, ‘like’ or ‘comment on this post’, which prompt fan interaction.

The organisation has developed a vibrant community with an above average engagement rate of around 13%. They are experienced community managers, responding quickly to all comments, questions and third-party posts.

They keep their page looking contemporary and fresh by regularly changing the cover image to match campaigns and using images in their updates. See their page here.

We also liked Dover Castle’s personal touch of naming the page manager and clearly setting out community rules.

TIPS AND CONSIDERATIONSOut of the 20 organisations, four do not use Facebook. A few things leapt out at us during our monitoring:

• Branding – cover images can have 20% text and can be used to support campaigns but few are changed regularly

• Community engagement – some pages had slow response times, or no response at all. There was

Who’s getting the thumbs up?

also a lack of likes, comments and shares on posts for some organisations and analysis is needed to determine the right content and times to post

• Content – engagement will be improved by an increased use of dynamic visuals and shareable video

• Etiquette – there needs to be a relaxation of the tight corporate voice into a ‘human’ tone. Greater third-party content sharing will lead to wider reach

HIGHEST SCOREFAB FACEBOOKERS: Saga Holidays, Dover Castle, P&O Ferries and Kent Police

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NOT ON FACEBOOK

HOW MANY ARE ON FACEBOOK?


HIGHEST TWITTER SCOREThe highest score was achieved by K College. Their use of a striking background, header and avatar fits perfectly with their audience and made them stand out.

Of all the feeds we looked at, they are one of the few using Vine shared via Twitter. They retweet, reply, even to negative tweets, and @mention frequently. When you scroll through their feed, it looks interesting and lively. Read their Tweets here.

TIPS AND CONSIDERATIONSTwitter is the only social media platform used by all the organisations we analysed. During our audit we noticed:

• Branding – background and header images aren’t being exploited to their full potential

• Community engagement – some are finding it difficult to deal with the flood of @mentions and this means positive mentions are being overlooked. Retweeting advocacy builds confidence among your online community

• Content – organisations rely heavily on text posts. Twitter feeds need images and videos to make Tweets stand out and achieve higher engagement

Who’s talking the most?

• Resource – most feeds are operating a 9-5pm, weekday model and this means the opportunity to be part of a real-time conversation is sometimes lost. This is having a specific impact on engagement in the leisure and tourism sector

HIGHEST SCORETOP TWEETERS: K College, DFDS Seaways, Saga Holidays and Chatham Dockyard


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WHO’S ON TWITTER?


HIGHEST YOUTUBE SCOREThe internet was made for animals and nothing is more shareable than animals doing funny things in videos. The Aspinall Foundation proves this theory with more than 8.5 million views on their YouTube channel.

This organisation knows what people want to see and they deliver extremely shareable video content. An 18-second video of a gorilla walking like a human notched up 3.5 million views alone. The foundation is using the videos to prompt donations with a call to action, helping them broaden their audience.

Watch their videos here.

TIPS AND CONSIDERATIONSFive organisations out of the 20 we reviewed aren’t using YouTube as a channel. For those that are, subscribers and views could grow through:

• Branding – some channels look unofficial as logos haven’t been uploaded and header images lack engaging visuals

• SEO – YouTube is the second biggest search engine and many organisations aren’t thinking of search terms when tagging or writing titles and intro copy for videos

Who’s being watched?

• Content – as we move to mobile internet, the move towards shorter videos for faster download will be key. Many videos are longer than two minutes

• Community management – comments need moderation to filter spam and respond to those showing their appreciation

HIGHEST SCORECHANNEL CHAMPIONS: Aspinall Foundation, Saga Holidays, DFDS Seasways and K College


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NOT ON YOUTUBE

WHO'S ON YOUTUBE?


HIGHEST LINKEDIN SCOREDFDS Seaways obtained the highest score and was one of the few organisations using the updates function of LinkedIn to share content.

DFDS uses a photo in each post to make sure its posts stand out in busy newsfeeds. Not many organisations have completed their ‘about us’ section, but DFDS has. You can have a look here.

TIPS AND CONSIDERATIONSNearly a third of organisations we audited aren’t using LinkedIn and many of those that are using it have incomplete profiles. Pages can be improved by:

• Branding – make the most of that cover image and take a look at the University of Kent’s attractive page

• Community management – If someone has taken the trouble to like a post, acknowledge them and show that you are ready for conversation

• Keep it regular – A post every three months isn’t going to build an audience

Who’s the most connected?

• Content – Think about what people are looking for on LinkedIn and share appropriate content. If you are recruiting, develop a recruitment section. If you sell products or services, list your offering in the products section. Some organisations have thousands of followers but aren’t uploading any videos, images or links to blogs and news

HIGHEST SCORELINKED LEADERS: DFDS Seaways, University of Kent, K College, MidKent College


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NOT ON LINKEDIN

WHO'S ON LINKEDIN?


HIGHEST VINE SCOREVine is relatively new as a platform. Among the organisations we looked at, only five have set up accounts and four organisations are using it actively.

Within the group, Visit Kent has been using Vine the longest and uses an app to share third-party Vines to help boost content.

Kent Police has only just started using Vine but has the most professionally produced content. Its Christmas advent calendar campaign worked well on Vine and was easily shared on its Twitter feed. Have a search for them on Vine.

TIPS AND CONSIDERATIONSWe’ve some suggestions for non-Viners and those getting to grips with it:

• Reduce risk – create a profile to stake a claim for your organisation’s name before someone else does. You don’t want to compete with a parody Vine account

• Branding – stand out as the official account by completing the bio and uploading your logo

• Sharing – use apps to share other people’s Vines. You are likely to encourage others to share your content if you do likewise

Who’s micro filming?

• Twitter – don’t forget to share your Vine to your Twitter feeds. You can share to multiple accounts

• Search – choose a name for your account that is discoverable and remember hashtags are vital in helping people find your Vines

HIGHEST SCOREVINE PIONEERS: Visit Kent and Kent Police


NOT VINING

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WHO’S ON VINE?


HIGHEST PINTEREST SCORESaga Holidays is racing ahead with Pinterest, using it to develop mood boards for destinations, showcase cruise liners, suggest holiday reading and promote competitions.

Take a look here at Saga Holidays’ boards for creatively themed images that evoke that holiday feeling.

Twelve of the organisations we examined are not using Pinterest, even though they have a wealth of images on websites and other platforms.

TIPS AND CONSIDERATIONSPinterest is developing rapidly and we recommend looking at:

• Community development – it takes time to follow the right people and build your audience

• Some of the follower/following ratios were high – it’s good etiquette to follow back

• Content – Pinterest is not just about uploading your own images, it’s about re-pinning images too. This takes time to research (yes, that time word again)

Who has pinning potential?

• Marketing – Don’t forget those calls to action, ‘re-pin if you like this’ or ‘tell us why you like this’, etc

• Awareness – an organisation may not have a Pinterest profile but images are being pinned about them by others. This means unmonitored reputation and lost engagement

HIGHEST SCOREPOLE POSITION PINNERS: Saga Holidays, P&O Ferries, Visit Kent and The Aspinall Foundation (as UK Safari Breaks)


NOT PINNING

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WHO'S ON PINTEREST?


HIGHEST INSTAGRAM SCORETake a look at P&O Ferries and DFDS Seaways’ Instagram accounts for a visually stimulating mix of getaway destinations, ships, tasty food, tempting duty free goods and staff introductions.

Both include professional shots and reportage-style snaps, giving a good diarist account of life on the seas. The two organisations are maximising their use of hashtags to help people find photos easily.

CONSIDERATIONSOf the 20 organisations benchmarked, only six use Instagram. A third of the accounts are just placeholders and don’t have any content.

We found that three organisations without an Instagram account will be unable to use their corporate names as they are already in use by unofficial personal accounts.

We couldn’t find anyone using the Instagram video option to upload and share 15-second films.

Who’s snapping and sharing?

HIGHEST SCOREINSTAWINNERS: P&O Ferries, DFDS Seaways and South East Coast Ambulance


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NOT INSTAGRAM

WHO'S ON INSTAGRAM?


HIGHEST FLICKR SCOREBoth universities are using Flickr to curate a scrapbook of student life and give a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it’s like to study in Kent.

Both update their feeds the most regularly out of the organisations surveyed and use a wide variety of photos, captioned with searchable terms.

Canterbury Christ Church University’s branding stands out with its beautiful header image which sets off its location. Have a look here.

TIPS AND CONSIDERATIONSNine organisations aren’t using Flickr and we found four with accounts which have ambiguous ownership, so it is unclear if they are official.

After looking at all the organisations, we’d suggest these pointers to get the most of out Flickr:

• Branding – Fill in the profile about us section to give the account official status and authority. Remove the stock photo for the profile header image

Who’s uploading photos?

HIGHEST SCOREFANTASTIC FLICKRS: University of Kent and Canterbury Christ Church University


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WHO’S ON FLICKR?

• Content – Update regularly – some organisations haven’t updated content for a few years

• SEO – Captions and tagging are important to make sure your content is searchable

NOT FLICKERING


HIGHEST GOOGLE+ SCOREKent Police ramped up the points for making the most of Google+ with a comprehensive ‘about us’ section, which signposts to their other social media platforms, as well as strong branding and video content. Although relatively new to Google+, Kent Police has started to pave a way with interesting content. Have a look here.

There is a well-known saying that the only person who likes Google+ is Google. Our audit of 20 organisations showed that engagement levels were non-existent and we couldn’t see any +1s on recent posts.

TIPS AND CONSIDERATIONSFourteen organisations have established a Google+ page, but only ten have updated posts recently. Some have forgotten their page and one organisation hasn’t posted for a couple of years. Quite a few haven’t yet linked up their YouTube pages, which saves posting time.

Our audit uncovered:

• Placeholding – Some organisations have reserved their space but have yet to fill in their profile, leaving them at risk of unofficial pages. It’s easy to fill in your organisation details, web address and link up your YouTube accounts

Who’s growing SEO?

HIGHEST SCOREGOOGLE+ GIANTS: Kent Police, Saga Holidays, DFDS Seaways and K College


• Content – Make the most of your content and take time to evaluate which type is best for which platform

• SEO – Make your content easy to find by using search terms and hashtags in posts and copy accompanying video and photos

• Branding – Your page needs to have visual impact so add your look and feel to areas that can be customised. Aim for each post to include a photo or video

NOT ON GOOGLE+

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WHO'S ON GOOGLE+?


The League Table

Visit Kent

AspinallFoundation

Dover Castle

ChathamDockyard

Canterbury Cathedral

30

41

39

81

90

DFDS SEAWAYS

P&O

P&0 Ferries

DFDS Seaways

Saga HolidaysManston Airport

Port of Dover

22 114

152

127

15

Kent Police

Kent Community Health Trust

111

65

59

Kent Fire & Rescue Service

46

Kent County Council

29

South East CoastAmbulance Service Canterbury College

123

97

8280

46

K College

Canterbury Christ Church University

University of Kent Mid-Kent College


Kent has organisations who are working very hard to get the best return on social media investment and to reach out to new audiences.

The core platforms, Twitter and Facebook, are being used well by most of the organisations benchmarked and YouTube is being used widely.

USING SOCIAL MEDIA TO BOOST CONTENTShort video is being adopted slowly according to our survey. It requires a new set of skills and when you’ve only got a few seconds, storyboarding is vital.

Vine is supported in Twitter with clips cited below tweets which can be played without having to click out of Twitter. Instragram and Instagram video are supported by Facebook and can playback within fan pages.

It’s a shame that not many organisations are using Instagram to share photos and that none are experimenting with Instagram’s short video. Sharing third party content is easy, as there are plenty of apps where you can search for hashtags and share Instagrams from customers, students, visitors and other stakeholders.

Flickr seems to be falling out of favour and many organisations have left their profiles gathering dust. Maybe they are spending time getting to grips with other platforms, such as Pinterest.

Sales conversion from Pinterest is reportedly high in the US, but take up is slower in the UK. Among those we investigated, tourism is making the most of Pinterest with really inventive board names that grab attention.

The professional network, LinkedIn, is a little neglected and organisations are not making

the most of its ability to amplify recruitment opportunities or reach the business community. Pages often look incomplete, lacklustre and neglected.

Google+ continues to baffle organisations with its importance in Google ranking and, yet, tumbleweed in terms of engagement. Some organisations have given up and pages have been left unattended for a couple of years or they’ve completely ignored the platform.

THE BARRIERS TO SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESSEngagement is also a tricky thing. Two things are needed: dynamic content and swift responses to comments and likes. Without these, our audit showed that a lot of fan pages have below average engagement rates.

Our audit tells us that communications teams are facing the following pain points:

1. Maintaining consistent presence across a spectrum of social media

2. Skills and resource to create rich content

3. Finding the time to respond, let alone proactively develop engagement

4. Silo working for internal communications, PR, corporate communications, social media, web editing, video production

5. An overview of all activity with a focus on maximising content across channels

6. Measuring impact

If 2013 focused on content, the next year is going to look at how this content is reaching audiences and measuring each channel’s effectiveness.

Where we are ... and where we go from here

deeson-creative.co.uk @deesoncreative

[email protected] [email protected]

01227 469060

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