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Social media marketing A beginner’s guide
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InTouch Social media marketing
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What is social media? If you weren’t sure by now, social media marketing, in one form or another, is here to stay. Put simply, social media is a channel for communication. And like web and email channels it is growing and developing spontaneously as people find ways to make it work for them. Properly harnessed, it can be a powerful and effective business and brand development tool. Customers are willing to engage through social media channels more readily than through other media, allowing businesses and brands to gain insight into what customers are thinking, saying and doing. By listening and then acting they can influence desire for products and services. But getting it wrong can have damaging consequences. We’d like to help you get it right.
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“Have you seen the latest‌?â€? In simple terms, social media is a topical dialogue. It provides a unique opportunity to hear what customers are thinking and saying about your business and your brand in real time and in a context where they feel able to express their opinions more openly. Seen as less invasive and more spontaneous than traditional channels social media marketing offers customer engagement in a way that can be extremely compelling to your audience. For many brands, the ability to have a daily audience with its customers is a communication gold mine.
New social media channels are being launched all the time but, at present, we consider the main forms of social media to be: > Social networks eg Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest > Blogs > Podcasts Social media shares most or all of the following characteristics: > Participation > Openness > Conversation > Community > Connectedness
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How big is social media? In a way, this question is no longer that important. Nearly every guide we come across reels off stat after stat of how sensational and exponential the growth of social media has been over the last few years, so there’s probably no need to convince you any further of how big it is. Let’s just say that social networking is now the most popular online activity for UK internet users. Which means that the potential audience is massive.
However, we couldn’t resist including a few compelling facts! The story so far amongst UK internet users: > A third of adults post at least once a week to social sites such as Facebook and Twitter > Every minute, over 24 hours of video is uploaded to YouTube. > Nearly 60% maintain a profile on a social networking site > 77% read blogs, tweets and watch video
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So, what platforms should I use? The simple answer is as many as possible, but to be more realistic, and efficient, which platforms you choose to use depends on your type and size of business. We’ve called this ‘a beginner’s guide’, so we’ll assume that if you’re reading this then you’re not working for a large brand because the chances are you’ve been using social media for yonks and understand how to harness it. For many businesses the challenge is often finding the time and resource to use social media properly and regularly. And one thing is for certain, once you start to engage, you need to keep going. Here are our basic recommendations:
Do B2B brands follow the same rules as B2C ones? The principles are the same, but the channels, tone and strategy will be different. The emphasis on emotional v functional properties of a B2B brand tends to be weighted differently. As a consumer, your choices are about spending your own money on products or services that not only help you to run your life most efficiently but which will bring you the most pleasure/enjoyment/ kudos. Decisions on functional objects such as a washing machine will usually be ruled by the head, whereas the decision to buy, say, perfume will generally come from the heart. In a business environment, the brands you choose are generally not selected for personal emotional reasons but for more practical, functional reasons: service, product quality, delivery, cost effectiveness etc. There can still be an emotional ‘aura’ around a B2B brand, because we are all consumers too and we carry some of the emotional connotations through into our professional world.
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Facebook Setting up a Facebook page for your brand or business enables you to share your products, services, news and events with other Facebook users. It can be a great shop window and can be updated easily and quickly to keep your audience informed or even entertained. With the right strategy and messages it is suitable for both B2B and B2C brands. Pros: > Massive potential reach > Instant > Easy to use > Customisable for your brand image > Links back to your website > Can be integrated with other platforms > Free Cons: > Time > Creating good content > Requires commitment > Negative posts
To increase awareness even further, Facebook advertising can be used to drive more users to your page. Facebook can add any extra information to the advert, such as friends’ interaction with the page. Advertising can be very effective in promoting a company’s own website or something on Facebook such as a special promotion or event. The real power is in the targeting. Audiences can be filtered by a number of factors including: > Location > Age > Gender > Education > Workplace > Relationship status > Interests > Keywords
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Twitter The ease of use of Twitter for sending instantaneous messages (‘tweets’) to followers means that this platform has rapidly moved up the popularity ranks. For those not familiar with Twitter, tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters, which are displayed on the author’s profile page and delivered to other users (followers) who have subscribed to them. Twitter is a very powerful vehicle for viral marketing – if one person writes a particularly interesting tweet, some of their followers may choose to re-publish (‘retweet’) on their own stream so that their followers can read it. Popular retweets can reach a large audience very quickly (’trending’). Using symbols, such as the hash tag (#), before words can alert users to topics of interest eg #design or allow you to target your tweet towards a particular individual or entity eg @intouchables (us!). It provides a natural home for B2B brands but is also a great tool for consumer brands too.
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Pros: > Very accessible – tweet on the move from your mobile > Instant > Quick and easy to use > Customisable for your brand image > Links back to your website > Quickly share other users’ content > Integrates with other platforms > More public than Facebook > Free Cons: > Time > Creating good content > Requires discipline > Constant tracking required due to volume of incoming tweets
“Hey… read this!”
Linkedin Linkedin is online networking. It’s main purpose is to build the profile of the individual rather than a company or a brand. But an individual who attains a position of high authority on Linkedin can also bring benefits to the business they are connected with. Once you have built your profile, you first connect with friends, colleagues, even clients. You can then start to raise your profile, gaining recognition and recommendations. It can be a slow burner, but persistence proves that it can deliver good connections, and ultimately feepaying clients. Our five key actions: 1 Build profile, change it regularly 2 Include website links and insert relevant keywords 3 Use Outlook to find people 4 Try not to reciprocate recommendations‌ recommend people from different sectors to your own 5 Join discussion groups and start your own
Pros: > Good potential reach > Instant > Quick and easy to use > Links back to your website > Integrates with other platforms > Free (upgradable) Cons: > Time > Can take years to build influence > Not ideal for brands
The rest Google+ Gaining ground as a tool for building authority for you and your website. YouTube Video hosting for your website. Pinterest Post images and recommend content to your audience eg new product images (audience currently 80% female). Blogs Build fresh content on your website (Google likes this) and share ideas and innovations. Podcasts Build influence through topical audio messages. www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
Developing an effective communications strategy Ok. Let’s just take a step back. We’ve talked about social media being a dialogue. So if it is an interaction between you and your audience, isn’t it best to begin by considering that audience? At InTouch we plan any marketing activity around the audience. So, as with any piece of communication, developing a strategy will allow your messages to be more relevant to your audience and your brand.
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The communication cycle Audience Who do we want to talk to? Measure Did they hear it?
Message What do they want to hear? Media How do they want to hear it?
Audience
Media
By answering the question ‘who is the audience?’ we will be much better informed for delivering the messages they want to hear through the channels they are likely to be most receptive to.
In terms of media we can choose from any of our tools: advertising, PR, direct mail, email, social media etc. Even within social media itself the range of tools is daunting. Integrating across more than one media is usually a good idea for the most effective coverage.
Message It’s a noisy world out there. Keep your messages simple and concise. Creativity is vital to help stand out because everything you say reflects on your brand. Facebook posts are like mini ads.
Measure With social media feedback can be instantaneous so understanding what is working and what isn’t can be easier to work out than with other media.
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Let’s say you’ve got your Facebook page or Twitter account registered and ready to roll. To get your social media campaign going, we recommend developing a strategy such as this:
1 Monitor Track what people are saying about your brand Gain insights into trends and opinions Identify hot issues
Optimising your internal resource and skills With Twitter in particular, utilising the skills across personnel within your business is an excellent way of presenting the breadth of your company’s expertise as well as spreading the responsibility for developing your social media presence. So, each member sets up their own account linked back to your main account and tweets on subjects that they are experts in, thus building a following and authority in that subject.
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Monitor Monitor existing blogs, forums and social networking sites for discussions on your brand, competitors and topics relating to your brand.
2 Participate
3 Advocate
Engage with customers and gather brand advocates
Initiate conversations on key issues
Manage issues with instant communication
Share insights
Create innovative ideas and posts to generate interest and debate
Reward customers for interaction with exclusive content
Participate
Advocate
Responding quickly to the hot issues will demonstrate that you are a thinking, caring, involved brand.
Social networking sites can be used to engage with customers and develop long-lasting relationships and to drive traffic to your website.
Depending on your products or service, giving free advice or promoting offers to followers will help to turn customers into future brand advocates.
A social networking presence will only be successful if you can engage with your audience. Some suggestions for engagement are: > Tips and advice > Regular competitions > Exclusive offers for fans/ followers
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Can we help? The art of managing reputation and forging relationships follows the same principles whether on or offline, which is why as communication professionals we have the skills to develop this channel for your business. We don’t believe in ‘bolt-on’ social media activities either. We always recommend an integrated approach to campaign planning which centres on selecting the right channel of communication for the intended audience. Contact InTouch for an audit of your social media marketing. We can also offer: > Full web design and build, including e-commerce and mobile optimised sites > Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) > Paid search marketing eg PPC > Email marketing > Strategic and creative campaign development
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We are InTouch Marketing. We take your marketing communications challenges and turn them into effective customerdriven solutions. We help you build the right integrated strategy, find the right customers and deliver superb creative. We make it easy for you.
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Call +44 (0)1295 261161 Mail hello@intouchmarketing.co.uk Visit www.intouchmarketing.co.uk InTouch Social media marketing