social media...meeting the needs of your business
DESCRIPTION
This was a presentation I gave, along with a colleague, to business representatives attending a lecture on social media at University Campus Suffolk (UCS).TRANSCRIPT
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Meeting the Needs of Your Business
Genesis PRAmy Dawson
Aisleen Marley
Social Media
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Planning Social Media Activities
o What are you hoping to achieve?
o Who is your target audience?
o What are your key messages?
o Which tools will be best?
o Who will manage and implement?
o What risks may exist?
o One-off campaign or on-going programme?
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Content really is KING!o Quality content delivers online success
o Fresh, provocative, newsy, creative – but don’t try too hard!
o Compels people to take action
o Not just words – images and video too!
o Don’t be too precious
o Style and tone
o Timeliness
o Keep it simple and sustainable
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Day to Day Managemento Define objectives, audiences, messages
o Identify which tools to use
o Put in place an owner / team - trust your employees
o Time, resource, budget
o Overtly bureaucratic or hierarchical processes will not work in a
crisis or day to day
o Integrate into your wider comms activities
o Monitor and evaluate
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Keeping Control
o Massive online world out there!
o Messages can spread like wildfire
o Use tools to keep tabs on what’s being said
o Have a plan
o Respond (if appropriate) quickly
o Think about what you say – ambiguity
o Reflect your company values
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Bloggingo How
- Choice of platforms, company website vs. separate blog
o Why- Share news, information, engagement, SEO, brand-building,
o What - Think about your content, plan it out
o When- Regularity, consistency, make it manageable
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Blogs: Why?1. They’re free2. They’re easy to set up3. You can change the theme in minutes4. It’s easy to publish content5. Google quickly picks up blogs6. A blog won’t crowd your current website7. They encourage visitor interaction8. Can improve your main website SEO9. Blogs make you look like an ‘expert in your market’10. A blog can put you ahead of your competitors
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o Business blogging is no easy task.
o Blogging for a large brand or corporate is even harder in terms of striking the right tone and building an audience while keeping readers engaged.
o Reflect your company’s ‘personality’
o Have a ‘plan’
Blogging: The good, the bad and the ugly
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Blogging: The Goodo One of the World’s most well-known car brands has been
embracing blogging for some time, and it has some stunning content to share.
o Its blog is very much focused on cars and engineering, as you would expect.
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Blogging…The Bado Under pressure because of massive flight delays and
cancellations due to equipment problems, American Airlines launched a simple ‘blogger blog’ to tell its side of the story.
o Even today it is so overtly promotional it has consumers switching off in their droves.
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Blogging…The Uglyo In Sept 2006, a blog called Wal-Marting
Across America was born.
o It features the journey of Laura and Jim, a couple on their maiden trip in an RV (recreational vehicle), capturing lives and stories as they journey from Las Vegas to Georgia, and park for free at Wal-Mart Stores.
o Every Wal-Mart employee that Laura and Jim run into, from store clerks to photogenic executives, absolutely loves to work at the store. Sound like a great Wal-Mart publicity campaign? That’s because ‘Laura and Jim’ are Wal-Mart employees
o Faking it is NOT acceptable
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A quick word about Twitter
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o Company Profile – basic presence / starting point– include keywords in the description of your group – include company website / blog URL– add a(n appropriate) photo
o Discussion Groups – create a new group related to your business sector – engage in existing groups
o Industry News – opportunity to promote / enhance knowledge
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Effective Tactics for increasing engagement
o Moderation
o Stay exclusive
o Commitment
o Sub- groups / niche groups
o Regular Polls – weekly / monthly
o Utilize the status updates
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Do’s and Don’ts
o Don’t just duplicate content
o Do keep your personal life out of it - Linkedin is for professional networking
o Don’t use the standard ‘I’d like to connect message’ – personalise it instead
o Do ask questions and build presence / credibility
o Don’t fall into the trap of shameless self-promotion
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o Began using social media in 2009
o Active on Twitter, FB, Youtube and G+
o Most popular building society on Twitter (2,075 followers)
o Generate discussions with local communities, raise awareness
of initiatives, build relationships
o Primary objective is brand awareness
o Very rarely mentions sales products
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o The annual awards scheme encouraged tweeting throughout
the event using the hashtag #SWA12
o It enabled alternative audiences to hear the discussions and
understand the impact of good social work
o Over 100+ tweets were sent using #SWA12
o Helped support the awards primary objective – to showcase
excellent practice
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o Business Support Services
o Business Plan development
o Two staff members
o Marketing…
- Word of mouth
- Website enquiries
- Networking events
- Trade Fairs
Local Case Study
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Social Media
o YouTube - personal video
o Website blog - dormant
o Facebook - personal account
o LinkedIn - personal profile
o No Social Media links from website
o Difficult to find online
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Recommendationso Separate personal from business
o Management (an issue with just two people)
o Choose one or two platforms as a priority
o Create a LinkedIn Group or join one
http://www.linkedin.com/groups/On-Startups-Community-Entrepreneurs-2877
o Become a thought leader
o Keep content current and frequent
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Popular Social Media Platforms
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How do I know it’s working?o Qualitative – what is being said
o Quantitative – traffic, SEO, leads, ‘mentions’
o What ‘activity’ provokes the most ‘response’?
o Listen to feedback - adapt
o Free and paid for monitoring tools
o Specialist measurement software
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Remember....o No need to use every SM channel – consider your objectives
o Know your audience
o Everything posted is in public domain
o Get some expert advice
o Traditional marketing/PR is still important
o How will you ‘manage’ your SM? - practicalities
o Keep content current and frequent - Don’t be afraid to have a sense of
humour
o Start off slow