Simply Social Media by Pippa McKee

Getting Star ted!

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by means of electronic or mechanical, including recording, photocopying, or via a computerised or electronic storage or retrieval system, without permission granted in writing from the publisher. The information in this publication is of a general nature and is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. No action or inaction should be taken based solely on the contents of this publication; instead readers should consult with appropriate professionals on any matter relating to labour. The information and opinions provided are believed to be accurate and sound, based on the best judgments available to the authors at the time the publication went to print. We do not guarantee that the information is accurate at the date it is received or that it will continue to be accurate in the future. The publisher is not responsible for any errors or omissions. Portner Press Pty Ltd Suite 7, 11 Beach Street Port Melbourne Victoria 3207

INTRODUCTION Imagine being at the forefront of the social media revolution, understanding the ins and outs of the online platforms to optimise your business outcomes. In such a fast paced environment it can be difficult not only to keep up with the latest trends, but more importantly, to understand if and how they will work for your business. Simply Social Media is your guide to navigating the social media space. It will set you on a path for success by providing you with information relating to research, strategy, implementation and measurement. The information contained within this report will introduce you a place where you will be able to understand and engage with your audience on a level you may never have thought possible.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kate Telfer is the founder of Rewire Group, a PR and Social Media agency based in Melbourne. A strategic PR guru, Kate works with organisations, taking them on a journey from A to B by choosing the most efficient and effective media to communicate their message. Prior to establishing Rewire in 2010, Kate worked just about everywhere expanding her skills and knowledge to successfully run campaigns, develop and execute PR direction and strategy and manage internal and external stakeholder relationships. Kate is also a board member of non-profit company Awards Victoria.

ABOUT THE PUBLISHER Portner Press is a Melbourne-based business-to-business publisher which specialises in producing easy-to-understand handbooks, newsletters and other information resources for the Australian SME sector. Our products cover a wide range of topics that affect small to medium businesses, such as employment law, human resources, taxation, occupational health and safety, online media and more. All of our publications contain up-to-date, relevant, unbiased material and our writers and contributors are all experts in their fields. For more information, please visit our website: www.portnerpress.com.au

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 1

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

CONTENTS WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA? �� 4 WHY SOCIAL MEDIA IS GOOD FOR YOUR BUSINESS �� 6 DECIDING WHICH SOCIAL MEDIA IS RIGHT FOR YOUR BUSINESS �� 8 HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU POST TO SOCIAL MEDIA? �� 9 PLATFORM OVERVIEW: Facebook �� 10 PLATFORM OVERVIEW: YouTube �� 12 PLATFORM OVERVIEW: LinkedIn �� 14 PLATFORM OVERVIEW: Twitter �� 16 SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS NETWORKING �� 19 WHY YOUR COMPANY SHOULD HAVE A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY �� 20 CONTENT – THE KEY �� 22 IDENTIFYING YOUR TARGET AUDIENCE �� 23 MEASURING AND MONITORING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY �� 24 BUDGETING FOR YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA EFFORTS �� 26 SOCIAL MEDIA AS PART OF THE MARKETING MIX �� 28

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 3

What is

? a i d e m l a i c so

at includes web-based th rm te ella br um an Social Media is ication used to turn commun is d an ies log no ch te and mobile os h words, pictures, vide ug ro th e gu alo di e iv ct into intera is that it ristic of social media te ac ar ch y ke A o. di and au content. involves user-generated FORMS 4 POPULAR SOCIAL MEDIA PLAT a include: currently very popular in Australi Social media platforms that are

l Arguably the most well known socia to: you s networking site, Facebook allow company; create a profile page for your and add other users as friends; exchange messages.

ications Facebook provides automatic notif ile. prof their te when friends upda

ice Twitter is a micro-blogging serv that enables users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, known as ‘tweets’. default, Tweets are publicly visible by sage mes however, senders can restrict delivery to just their followers. 4

ing Instagram is a free photo shar to: s user s allow that application take photos;

apply an ar tistic filter; and share the photos on Instagram or a variety of other social networking platforms such as Facebook and Twitter.

LinkedIn is a social networking site mainly used for professional networking. ect Users create a profile and conn ected conn with others they have a with or wish to connect with on business level.

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

5 BENEFITS OF USING SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR BUSINESS For a business, no matter how large or small, social media is not just another marketing channel. Social media is about engaging in two-way conversations with stakeholders and building relationships. Some of the many activities social media can assist with include: PUBLIC RELATIONS Media releases can be distributed via Twitter in 140 characters, but if you are not quite ready for new age PR, post the link to a media release via your company’s social media platforms. Social media can also provide a platform to connect with journalists and other media connections. CUSTOMER SERVICE Social media is the perfect platform for customers to ask questions about products, policies and gain customer service assistance in real time. The Boingo example below is a good case of how to deal effectively with feedback while maintaining a good reputation. Your customers will discuss your products and brand online without the company’s input,

EXAMPLE

so why not respond and take advantage of the two-way engagement of social media? LOYALTY BUILDING Social media can provide brand loyalty benefits for both customers and companies by bringing brand evangelists or advocates and brands together. Brands can engage with advocates and reward them for their loyalty quickly and easily via social media. Others will see a brand’s activities online and wish to be a part of the brand as a consumer and engage online with the brand. COLLABORATION Social media broadens the scope of a business and its activities and opens up opportunities to collaborate with other complimentary brands and businesses. THOUGHT LEADERSHIP By providing information and thought leadership around the industry a business operates in, the brand gains credibility in consumer’s minds. Social media provides the platform to spread this information to your target audience and build your brand’s profile. 

BOINGO

Boingo has created thousands of WiFi hotspots across the globe in places that people need the internet, such as airports, shopping centres and coffee shops. Boingo runs both free and paid hotspots and connects to all WiFi compatible devices. Boingo excels in its use of social media for customer service. Boingo representatives scan the web looking for customer mentions and feedback. Kind words are often re-tweeted and/or the individual thanked. When a representative comes across negative feedback on social media, they connect with the person and try to resolve the issue.

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 5

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA IS

GOOD FOR YOUR

BUSINESS Social media is essentially today’s most transparent, engaging and interactive form of public relations (PR), combining real time content with two-way communication.

Often referred to as ‘modern PR’, social media is changing the way we interact and engage with people, on both a social and corporate level. Modern PR is offering individuals more tools to: expand their reach;

listen, share, collaborate, recommend and complain, both personally and about business. Social media today has taken away the traditional business transaction and made it about building human relationships both online and offline. Gone are the days when a company could only respond to an irate customer in a closed environment, such as by telephone. Today, if a customer is unhappy, it isn’t long until their dissatisfaction is posted on their Facebook page or mass emailed to their network.

engage with their audience; and strongly deliver return on investment (ROI).

IMPORTANT

Australian internet users spend more time visiting social networks and blogs than any other country in the world, averaging 7 hours and 17 minutes per person per week, according to a recent report by Neilson, State of the Media: The Social Media Report Q3, 2011.

Businesses unfamiliar with social media and its benefits will look to the negatives of brand damage and customer dissatisfaction, but what they should be focusing on is the power it provides them to connect and engage with their audience like never before.

At the end of June 2011, the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed there were 10.9 million internet subscribers in Australia, excluding internet access through mobile devices. This represents 14.8% annual growth. With so many people online and many engaging with social media tools, every web user has an opportunity to learn, 6

5 REASONS WHY SOCIAL MEDIA IS GOOD FOR BUSINESS STRENGTHEN CUSTOMER SERVICE Answer your customer’s questions and concerns in real-time and increase customer satisfaction. SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

STABLISH YOUR BRAND AND TELL E YOUR STORY If you want to build a community online, your customers must first understand your story:

Whether you are researching for an existing product, a future product, or information on the competition, social media will provide you with a wealth of knowledge, directly from the consumer.

Who are you?

OW COST, BIG RETURN L For a small to medium business, social media is a cost effective marketing communications tool. With many of the platforms free of charge, the real cost to business is in time. 

What do you stand for? What value do they receive from being associated with your brand? ROW YOUR PERSONAL G RELATIONSHIPS A platform such as LinkedIn provides a wonderful tool to build your business contacts and reputation within your industry. CONDUCT MARKET RESEARCH One of the great things about social media is that you won’t be short of opinions.

IMPORTANT To truly take advantage of social media in business, companies need to embrace transparency and engage with customers whenever, wherever and with whatever they are talking about.

SOCIAL NETWORKING AROUND THE WORLD AUSTRALIA: Among Nielsen’s 10 Internetmetered markets, Australian internet users spend the most time visiting social networks and blogs, averaging 7 hours, 17 minutes per person BRAZIL: Orkut is the #1 social networking and blog site in Brazil, visited by 30.3 million Brazilians in May 2011, 11% more visitors than #2 site Facebook FRANCE: Nearly a quarter of active French internet users - 9.6 million - visited #2 social networking site Overblog GERMANY: German internet users spend more time on social networks and blogs than they do any other online category of sites, a total of 12.7 billion minutes during May 2011 ITALY: Italian internet users spend nearly onethird of their time online visiting social networks and blogs (31% of total Internet time)

JAPAN: FC2 Blog – the top social networking site in Japan during May 2011 – was visited by over half of active Japanese internet users SPAIN: Spanish internet users spend the most total time on #1 site Facebook. They average the most time per person on #4 site Tuenti (4 hours, 42 minutes per person) SWITZERLAND: Social networks and blogs reach 60% of active internet users in Switzerland U.S.A.: Blogger is now the number #2 social networking and blog site in the U.S. with 50.1 million unique U.S. visitors, up 17% from a year ago U.K.: Internet users in the U.K. viewed 229.6 million pages on Tumblr, the second most page views on any social network or blog in the country after Facebook (20.2 billion page views) Source: Nielson

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 7

media l ia c o s h ic h w g Decidin is right for your business

approach Put simply, there is no cookie-cutter unique. Even to social media. Every business is ices if you sell the same products or serv own your have as another, you will certainly approach to branding, marketing, etc.

4 RULES OF SOCIAL MEDIA

on Rule #1: Don’t follow your competiti a Just because your competition has n mea n’t does Twitter account or blog, too me you need to have one. If you beco n is doing, focused on what your competitio engage to y tunit you may miss the oppor with your own audience.

right Rule #2: Not all social media is for you may While a platform such as Instagram it on, licati app be the latest social media . ness busi doesn’t mean it is right for your e is The biggest mistake you can mak first out to jump into social media with sphere. understanding your audience in this and For example, you could invest time e pag book Face a money into setting up ely when your audience is actually activ conversing in a niche blog.

resources Rule #3: One of your most valuable is your customer service team Your customer service team are the rs on a individuals dealing with your consume as an daily basis. Use these conversations

consumers extension into social media where can read about their perspectives. Rule #4: Listen first

are saying Find out what your consumers . hing about you online, if anyt Impor tant: Effective social media tegy, marketing involves research, stra planning and measuring.

CHECKLIST: DEVELOPING A SOCIAL MEDIA ST RAT EGY

g tactics Before you blindly apply marketin keting without a sound social media mar strategy, ask yourself:

from ** What do you hope to achieve social media? currently ** What does your online audience know about your business?

social ** How does your audience use media? orms will ** What types of social media platf Twitter, you use? For example, Facebook, . blogs r, LinkedIn, Instagram, Flick

** How will you measure success? media Finally, be open to change. Social l media is changing every day. Every socia ence is audi your platform is different and ging chan to likely to move around. Be open something your tactics and admitting when doesn’t work.

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU

POST TO SOCIAL MEDIA? Some companies will post on social media non-stop throughout the day, while others will limit the amount of posts they make in fear of overloading their audience. So, how often should you post? You may be surprised to know that once a week to once per month is all the consumer is looking for. According to a 2011 study undertaken by ROI Research and Performics, 28% of online consumers surveyed indicated that hearing from businesses once per month or less was ample. A further 26% of those surveyed indicated once a week was sufficient.

HOW TO: WHEN SHOULD YOUR COMPANY POST? Editorial schedules will vary from business to business depending on how much information you have and want to share with your online community.

DEFINITION EDITORIAL SCHEDULE An editorial schedule is a calendar of items you will post, linked to dates and times of posting.

POST TO HELP YOUR CUSTOMERS Answer your customers’ questions, and join the conversation about your own products/ services. Don’t push marketing messages

or talk about your products/services for the sake of it. A post that lacks applicability to your audience will discredit you when you come to having something useful to say. DON’T AIM TO POST ON A PARTICULAR DAY It’s great to have a plan, but don’t restrict yourself to certain days of the week. It is unlikely that your audience is waiting around for your post, nor are they consistently sharing or commenting because of it. People don’t share on a certain day of the week, they share a post that evokes an emotion or empowers them. WHAT’S IN IT FOR THEM? Every time you go to post, ask yourself what value your audience will derive from the content? If you can’t answer this question, don’t post. 

TIP You don’t always have to share content generated by you, e.g. in a blog post. With so much information and resources available online, it’s a great opportunity to share some of your favourites.

TIP For a small business it’s best to keep it simple and follow the rule of only posting when you have something useful to say, or share.

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 9

Platform Over view: Facebook

s succeeded in surpassing No other social networking site ha d by Facebook. Facebook the number of active users reache ure phenomenon with has become a worldwide pop-cult ry 2012. 800 million active users as of Janua INDIVIDUAL PROFILES

Users must register for a Facebook account using an email address as a username and selecting a secure password. Once this is completed, a new user can create a personal profile where they can: add photos and videos; add personal information; make ‘status’ updates, including location ‘check-ins’; and most importantly, connect with other users by adding them as Facebook ‘friends’.

GROUPS

Facebook groups allow like-minded people to connect with each other via Facebook by creating a dedicated space for sharing. Any Facebook user can create a group and common types of groups include family, sports teams and co-workers. 10

Groups can be: secret – only members can see the group and what members post; closed – everyone can see the group but only members can see posts; or open (public) – anyone can see the group and what members post.

PAGES – IDEAL FOR BUSINESS Facebook pages are a different type of Facebook profile specifically designed for public figures, organisations, brands, products, institutions and causes.

Users can share their stories and develop meaningful dialogue and engage with their target audience. Just like individual Facebook profiles, Facebook pages allow users to share rich content such as photos, videos and links and also measure and optimise target audience interactions. SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

When supporters and followers share a company’s Facebook page content with their Facebook friends, the company’s exposure is significantly increased.

BENEFITS OF USING FACEBOOK FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Facebook pages provide an online social platform that: enables users to promote and market a brand, product, company, individual or cause; allows interaction and relationship building with target audiences in real time through content sharing; enables events to be created and promoted; permits competitions to be run; allows polls to be conducted; and helps customer service to be delivered in real time. 

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 11

Platform Over view: YouTube

website, on which users YouTube is a social video-sharing s. YouTube displays a can upload, view and share video eo content, including wide variety of user-generated vid eos, as well as amateur movie clips, TV clips, and music vid d short original videos. content such as video blogging an

Individuals have uploaded most of the content on YouTube, although media corporations are involved in partnerships with YouTube and many other businesses that have created their own branded YouTube channels.

TIP

Unregistered users can watch videos, while registered users can upload an unlimited number of videos and create their own YouTube channel. By setting up an account on YouTube, users can subscribe to YouTube channels of interest by adding them to their homepage. By creating an account, users can also upload their own videos to share.

Users can upload, comment, favourite or like a video and broadcast all actions to their Facebook and Twitter accounts for friends and followers to see.

KEY T ERMS

YouTube videos can also be easily embedded into blogs and websites for further sharing.

When browsing YouTube for content, search keywords are used just as they are used on Google. Users can also filter search results by searching specific topic categories.

SEARCH ON YouTube

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

YouTube CHANNEL YouTube channels are homepages for YouTube accounts. Users can customise the appearance of their YouTube channel by adding background imagery, displaying their account information and showing others what their favourite videos from other users are. YouTube BRAND CHANNEL Brand channels allow marketers to create bespoke interfaces, customising the look and feel of their presence on the site. By creating a destination page on YouTube, brand channels provide the opportunity to create persistent relationships with consumers.

BENEFITS OF USING YouTube FOR BUSINESS

There are many benefits for businesses that build a presence on YouTube, including: customer engagement; customer interaction; brand awareness; product awareness; product launches; reputation management; and audience targeting.

TRENDING TERMS

PAID OPT IONAL EXT RAS

The tag cloud at the bottom of a category page shows the popular keywords that users are searching for on YouTube at that very moment.

For businesses looking to optimise YouTube through paid promotion, the following functions are worth considering.

FOR BUSINESS

FAVOURITE

User targeting which includes:

When a user finds a video they like, they add it to their favourites. This bookmarks that particular video in their account so they can return to it easily for repeat viewing.

demographic, geographic, language targeting;

QUEUE

keywords targeting;

As users find more videos on YouTube they like, they can add them to a queue, which will appear at the bottom of their screen. This queue keeps track of the videos to view later.

video category targeting; and

PLAYLIST Users can add individual videos to a playlist, or create a new one. Queues can also be turned into a playlist and saved to return to later, or share with friends.

interest category marketing; remarketing;

video targeting tools. Content targeting which includes: buzz – targeting advertising via the most popular videos; promoted videos; brand channels; TrueView video ads;

ANNOTATIONS

YouTube homepage advertising;

Annotations let users add text links to their videos (these can be linked to other videos, channels and playlists). Users control what the annotations say, including when and where they appear on the video.

call to action overlays; and YouTube partnerships. 

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 13

Platform Over view: LinkedIn

portant aspects of business. Networking is one of the most im twork can greatly improve ne l na sio fes pro ive act d an ad bro A l prospects in addition to an individual’s career and persona enhancing business success. LinkedIn is a social networking platform targeted at professionals, for the purpose of boosting online professional networking and allowing individuals to project their career identity into the online space. With over 120 million members, LinkedIn allows users to: connect with trusted contacts; exchange knowledge and ideas; and most importantly, broaden professional networks. By connecting with business contacts through LinkedIn, users can keep up-to-date with people in their network when ‘connections’ change jobs and move locations. 14

Essentially, LinkedIn makes it easier to maintain connections over time and allows users to re-connect with old contacts. LinkedIn assists not only with career opportunities and the maintenance of client relationships but provides users with the tools to build their professional reputation via a reputable platform.

TIP To get the most out of LinkedIn, users should ensure their LinkedIn profile is completed to 100%. This means that all information in the user’s profile is completed in detail and the user has recommendations from connections. Think about how your profile projects your personal brand when people view it.

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

LinkedIn JOBS

LinkedIn COMPANY PAGES

Through LinkedIn, users can browse jobs currently being advertised on LinkedIn, search for roles in specific industries or with specific companies. Users can also post job vacancies to their broader professional network.

LinkedIn Company Pages allow companies to:

LinkedIn SEARCH

share career opportunities; and

LinkedIn’s search function provides an effective tool to assist users in finding the right person, expertise or knowledge. Users can:

drive word of mouth.

search for people on LinkedIn by name or other distinguishing characteristic; use the advanced search tool to target specific skill sets or find subject-matter experts; conduct reference searches on potential job candidates and business partners;

tell the company story; highlight products and services; engage with followers;

For individual LinkedIn users, company pages provide a resource for: exploring companies of interest; finding out the latest company updates and industry news; researching products and services; and learning about job opportunities. 

quickly and easily search their inbox for important messages and information; and find the right jobs, knowledge, or groups. LinkedIn GROUPS Any LinkedIn user can create LinkedIn Groups which allow users to engage in conversations and keep up-to-date with various professional groups within their network. Top influencers in a group are identified so users can be notified when these ‘top influencers’ make comments in their groups. LinkedIn TODAY The LinkedIn Today feature sources news from throughout the LinkedIn network to provide: the top articles shared on LinkedIn and Twitter by people in a user’s network; details of the users who shared the article and what they said about it; and a customised homepage dashboard featuring news from the user’s industry, network, and areas of interest. SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 15

Platform Over view: Twitter

twork that allows people Twitter is a real time information ne on, referred to as tweets, to share short snippets of informati rspective, Twitter allows with other users. From a user’s pe about topics of interest. you to find the latest information Tweets are a maximum of 140 characters in length and usually include links to videos, photos, music, other media content or webpages. If you aren’t quite ready to starting tweeting yourself, you can still derive excellent value from this platform. Twitter can be used as a search engine by searching keywords or topics of interest.

KEY T ERMS DIRECT MESSAGE (DM) A DM is a tweet that is a private message between the sender and the recipient.

TIP When linking to content online, fitting the URL into 140 characters or less can be challenging. There are many URL shortening services available including Bitly and Tiny URL to make life easier. These services collect, organise and shorten links. Users can sign up for these services and doing so will also receive analytics, including click-through rate information (the number of times an individual has clicked on your link). These analytical features are especially useful for business users.

FAVOURITE To ‘favourite’ a tweet means to mark it as a favourite by clicking the yellow star next to the message. This will group all your favourites in a place that makes them easy to find. 16

FOLLOWERS Followers are people who receive a user’s tweets in their Twitter stream/timeline. SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

FOLLOWING Following someone on Twitter means a user is subscribing to the other Twitter user’s tweets as a follower. When following another user, the followed user is given permission to send the follower direct messages. HASHTAG A hashtag is a topic with a hash symbol (#) at the start to identify it, e.g. #socialmedia. Hashtags help Twitter spread and organise information.

TIP Hashtags are a great tool for conferences and event organisers, but also make it easier for all users to find and search topics on Twitter. RETWEET (RT)

have to follow a Twitter handle to include them in one of their lists. Twitter users can also follow/subscribe to the lists created by other users.

BENEFITS OF USING

T WITT ER FOR BUSINESS Businesses can use Twitter to: quickly share information; gather market intelligence and insights; and build relationships with their target audience. TWITTER MENTIONS Twitter users can mention other users in their tweets by using the ‘@’ sign and then the user’s Twitter handle. This message will then appear in their feed.

Retweeting is how Twitter users share interesting tweets with their followers from the users they are following.

T WITT ER RESOURCES

A retweet gives credit to the original person by including ‘RT’ plus the originator’s username at the beginning of the tweet.

Twitter offers many resources that help businesses spread the word about their Twitter account. These include:

TRENDING TOPIC

‘FOLLOW US ON TWITTER’ BUTTON

A subject algorithmically determined to be one of the most popular on Twitter at that very moment.

A widget that can be embedded on the user’s website running a stream of the latest tweets from the business.

TWITTER HANDLE

‘TWEET’ BUTTON

A user’s Twitter handle is simply their username and the accompanying URL.

Allows people to easily share website content on Twitter.

TWITTER LISTS

PROMOTED TWEETS

Twitter users can organise other Twitter users into groups known as lists.

You can use promoted tweets to amplify your message with targeting options that allow you to reach the right target audience. Promoted tweets reach users when they search for their interests on Twitter.

When a user views one of their lists, they will see a stream of tweets from all the users included in that group (list). A user does not

FOR BUSINESS

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 17

PROMOTED TRENDS Promoted trends can be used to drive conversations and interest around a brand or product by capturing attention on Twitter. PROMOTED ACCOUNTS Use promoted accounts to quickly upscale a follower-base of advocates and influencers for your brand. ADVERTISER ANALYTICS Twitter offers two layers of analytics to advertisers, providing in-depth insight into both paid and unpaid activity on Twitter. PROMOTED TWEETS, TRENDS AND ACCOUNTS DASHBOARDS These dashboards display the fundamental metrics of campaigns as they happen, including: impressions; retweets; clicks; replies; and follows (promoted accounts). ENHANCED PROFILE PAGES Brands can use corporate branded backgrounds to enhance Twitter profile pages to increase engagement and drive business goals. 

ADVANTAGES OF USING TWITTER FOR YOUR BUSINESS

1. SHARE: Share photos and behind the scenes business information about products, projects and events. 2. LISTEN: Regularly monitor the comments about your company, brand, and products and respond and provide customer service where appropriate. 3. ASK QUESTIONS: Ask questions of your followers to glean valuable insights and show that you are listening. 4. RESPOND: Respond to compliments and feedback in real time. 5. REWARD: Tweet updates about special offers, discounts and time-sensitive deals. 6. DEMONSTRATE INDUSTRY THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Reference articles and links related to your business to focus on building a personal brand online by being seen as a thought leader in a particular space. 7. CHAMPION STAKEHOLDERS: Retweet and reply publicly to great tweets posted by followers and customers. 8. ESTABLISH A VOICE: Represent your brand on Twitter by creating an individual voice for the brand.

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR BUSINESS NETWORKING

Social media is changing the way many of us do business by enhancing engagement and creating transparency like we have never seen before. With social media comes a new way of connecting with others both personally, and for business, providing an acceptable alternative to meeting in person or picking up the telephone. Maintaining a vast array of business contacts can be challenging. Social media has provided a forum for finding and connecting with business contacts in a simple and easy way.

5 WAYS SOCIAL MEDIA CAN ENHANCE YOUR BUSINESS NETWORKING VISIBILITY One of the most important aspects of business networking is visibility. Increasing your visibility online, particularly in the areas you specialise, i.e. online networking groups related to your profession/industry, will ensure you are kept on the radar. CONNECTING The best brands online tend to talk less about their products/services and more

about the people, or personality of the company. This includes connecting and engaging with their customers and suppliers making it more about ‘engaging’ and less ‘selling’. REAL TIME Online networking provides a faster and more efficient way of making initial contact with an individual or group. In addition, social media provides a means for communicating in a real time manner by allowing you to track conversations online through alerts, allowing you to respond. COMMUNITY Building a community online takes time, but once established, creates a bond through news, events and assistance from others. Social media provides an excellent forum to create positive influence for companies looking to engage. TRANSPARENCY People want to do business with companies that are open, honest and transparent. The traditional forms of marketing, e.g. advertising and public relations, while still very effective, share the voice of the company only. Social media provides a platform for a new type of communication that provides an opportunity to forge genuine and direct connections with customers. 

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 19

WHY YOUR COMPANY

SHOULD HAVE A

SOCIAL MEDIA

POLICY Unless there’s only one person who will be handling your social media efforts, it’s a good idea to set some guidelines to ensure everyone is on the same page when it comes to bringing you success online.

5 REASONS TO CREATE A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY

The rules for how a company’s social media presence is managed and how a personal social media presence is managed are very different. So while your employees may be enthusiastic, young and savvy about social media, it’s important that they are trained and educated about things such as:

1. Sets standards for communication by providing a way to implement your strategy.

legal terms;

People are more comfortable when they know the rules. Here are a handful of the benefits of creating social media guidelines:

2. Protects your company’s reputation. 3. Educates your team by setting expectations using clear and easy to understand language.

global implications; and

4. Minimises confusion about legal issues.

inappropriate comments.

5. Makes it easier to respond to your audience in times of crisis.

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

Social media guidelines, whilst set up to protect your organisation, should not only list the restrictions, but help employees understand how they can use social media to achieve better business outcomes.

TIP Ensure you include information on how employees can best comment on blogs or other social media platforms to boost brand awareness and drive traffic to your website.

CHECKLIST HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY When it comes to drafting your social media guidelines, keep it simple.

Set your online values Create a set of values that your employees should have in mind when representing your company online. Examples of online values include: be transparent in every social media interaction; respect copyright laws; and be responsible and use common sense. Set expectations for online spokespeople Expectations for online spokespeople are for the employees in your team who are responsible for posting and responding to content online. Areas to consider when creating your company’s expectations include: following the code of business conduct;

Some areas to consider when developing you social media policy include:

being mindful that they represent the company; and

Editorial guidelines for specific social media platforms

being transparent.

Your tone of voice, approach, the way you post comments, photos, etc. will vary from platform to platform. Having editorial guidelines for each platform will help your team build stronger communities on each platform.

A set of well defined and easily understood social media guidelines, in addition to good judgement and an understanding of social media, will see your company’s online strategies on the right track for success. 

USEFUL RESOURCE 57 social media policy examples and resources http://davefleet.com/2010/07/57-social-media-policy-examples-resources/

COMPANY EXAMPLE Intel Social Media Guidelines http://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/legal/intel-social-media-guidelines.html

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 21

CONTENT – THE KEY In today’s social media age, content is king. Good, smart, fun and relevant content is the foundation of any successful social media and online strategy. Good content must reflect the brand and be relevant to the target audience.

TIP Before embarking on social media, if you don’t do anything else, take the time to build a solid content strategy. Without an outline and guide for what will be posted online, you run the risk of missing the mark and failing to engage with your target audience. To use the crowded online space effectively, you must create and distribute content that attracts and continues to interest your target audience. Types of content that work best include: how-to articles and videos; Q&As; photos; and videos relating to your business and consumers.

CHECKLIST KEY POINTS TO REMEMBER WHEN CREATING GREAT CONTENT Know your brand’s voice and ensure all content aligns with it.

Know your target audience and why they do, or would want to, follow your business online. When your audience connects with you – connect back! No one likes not being spoken to so make sure you are always engaging in two-way conversations. Make all of your content shareable – the best thing about great content is the need to share it. Ensure your audience has the ability to easily share content with their social networks. 

EXAMPLE AMERICAN EXPRESS OPEN FORUM American Express Credit Card Company has taken the term ‘content is king’ to heart and developed OpenForum.com – a business and money expertise site targeted at entrepreneurs and small business. Open Forum provides tools and information for businesses through regular innovative posts. It engages the likes of experts from Inc Magazine, online and social media website Mashable and other guest bloggers to get the best angle on every story and provide truly individual and valuable content. The project has been so successful, the community almost has a brand of its own as a place for the cultivation and discussion of innovative business ideas. www.openforum.com

Schedule content appropriately. Align promotions with key events you can leverage from, e.g. Christmas. 22

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

IDENTIFYING

YOUR TARGET

AUDIENCE One of the biggest challenges when first embarking on the social media journey is understanding your online audience. Without doing the adequate research you will fail to adequately inspire, connect and engage.

While you may understand how Twitter, Facebook and the like work, do you really know who you are directing your social media efforts towards? And does this audience change dependent on your message? To truly understand your audience you have to take the time to listen, learn, test and retry if needed. It is important for you to understand not only what channels your audience resides in (e.g. Twitter), but how they interact with that channel.

CHECKLIST

GETTING TO KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE Answer the following questions regarding your audience to learn about their online habits: Where do they hang out online? What types of conversations are they having? What is the tone of the conversation, i.e. casual, professional? How will connecting with you online help them better their business, or improve their efficiencies? What is your competition up to? Is your audience engaging with them also? Who else are they talking to online? How do the various platforms differ, e.g. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn?

TIP

How are they engaging with your business offline?

A great way to get to know your audience online is by becoming familiar with how Google Analytics works. Google tracks every interaction with your company’s website, including if the referral source is social media.

‘Content is king’ and when it comes to online it is no different. Creating compelling, relevant, valuable content is what will set you apart from the rest and assist you in discovering what your audience wants to see. 

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 23

MEASURING AND

MONITORING YOUR

SOCIAL MEDIA

ACTIVITY Whether you are just starting out in social media or are a seasoned veteran, it is important to understand that measuring and monitoring your brand online will be the key to your success. 24

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

While there is no shortage of social media monitoring tools available online, each has its own unique differences. It’s important to understand that the ever changing world of social media does not have an agreed upon metric for monitoring or measuring.

DESCRIPTION SOCIAL MEDIA MONITORING Otherwise known as ‘listening’, social media monitoring is key in assisting you to: monitor your brand in real time; listen to conversations; and learn with the aim of engaging, assisting and collaborating with your audience online.

SOCIAL MEDIA MEASUREMENT Specifically designed to measure metrics, social media measurement will look at how areas of your social media presence perform over a specified period of time, e.g. click-throughs to your website. The million-dollar question continues to be asked; what’s the return on investment (ROI) of social media? The problem with this question is that there is no stand-alone metric to measure its success. We often look at social media as the end outcome, rather than the journey to the end outcome. For example, we use social media to drive traffic to our websites as a form of lead generation. If the end outcome is to generate a sale, the initial awareness and lead actually came from social media but there is little way of knowing if an individual arrived at their decision as a result of clicking through from your social media page to your website, only that they clicked through. Another example is using a business card of which most of us have. Calculating the ROI of a business card is just as accurate as

calculating the ROI of social media. Instead, you must look back to your objectives of social media, measuring specifically against these.

CHECKLIST HOW TO MEASURE AND MONITOR YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITY Define why you are monitoring Is it because you want to be able to respond quickly to your customers online, in real time? Or perhaps you want to identify people in need of your product or service? Decide where you are going to monitor Unfortunately, unless you have a large team working on your social media efforts, it is difficult to be everywhere at once. Where you decide to monitor (listen) online should be where your current and prospective customers are hanging out. Decide what you are going to monitor Are you going to focus on keywords relating to your brand, e.g. name of your company, product/services, and competitors? Or specific taglines relating to your most recent campaigns? Choose the right tools With so many options to choose from, identify the tools that will give you the results you are looking for without exceeding your budget. 

TIP There are many free tools available depending on the level of monitoring and measurement you require. A couple of favourites worth exploring include: Hootesuite: www.hootesuite.com TweetDeck: www.tweetdeck.com

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 25

BUDGETING FOR YOUR

SOCIAL MEDIA

EFFORTS In 2012, it will be important for companies to allocate appropriate resources to social media. While the majority of resources will be based around time, monetary spend may be necessary and companies should budget dependent on their social media maturity level.

of priorities based on maturity level of the company.

According to the Altimeter Group, who surveyed 140 corporate social strategists, spending in a company varied greatly between three maturity levels:

3. Integration – brand monitoring, social CRMs. 

The key areas for spending fell across three areas: 1. Internal system and process – staffing resources, education and training, research and development. 2. Customer interaction and initiatives – spend on social networks.

1. Novice

DEFINITION

2. Intermediate

CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT (CRM)

3. Advanced In 2011, novice social media programs focused on getting internal systems and processes geared for social media, intermediate programs focused on online customer interaction and initiatives, and advanced programs focused on integrating social media throughout the company and into the marketing mix. Of those surveyed, 52% identified their maturity level as intermediate. The table on the following page provides an overview 26

Customer relationship management systems are used by businesses to track and document all interactions with customers and potential customers.

IMPORTANT A core focus should be on adequately resourcing your social media activities by investing in staff to manage your social media programs.

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

MATCH YOUR SPENDING PRIORITIES TO YOUR SOCIAL BUSINESS MATURITY

Internal Priorities

Customer-Facing Priorities

Technology Priorities

Novice

Intermediate

Advanced

Appoint an ‘Open Leader’, the Social Strategist, to forge the program

Organise into a Hub and Spoke model to scale

Empower stakeholders (for Spokes) to deploy on their own

Initiate an education program to train stakeholders

Launch a formalised ‘Centre of Excellence’

Weave social business into standard employee education

Create processes to hold internal stakeholders accountable

Leverage solid graph in Ad and Marketing spend

Seek guidance from Boutique Agencies with specialised expertise

Develop a rapid response team

Identify and empower influencers and customer advocates

Launch formalised Advocacy programs

Work with existing agencies to deploy initial programs

Leverage the crowd by launching a Community Platform

Integrate social networks onto the corporate website

Invest in brand monitoring and appropriate workflows and processes

Invest in SMMS to manage increasing customer demands

Look ahead to Social CRM: Begin to aggregate disparate customer data Source: Altimeter

CHECKLIST: WHAT IS YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA MATURITY? Maturity

Stage of social media program

Novice

Testing and experimenting with social media

TICK

Setting initial goals and objectives Assessing social media platforms and relevance Audience research and development Development of social media policies and procedure Deployment of training and education programs Exploring investing in social media monitoring tools Intermediate

Dedicated person(s) responsible for implementing and driving social media activity Investment in building an online community; empowering customers to engage online Focused on fostering word of mouth referral Investment in social media management systems Exploration of outsourcing to a social media agency to assist in campaign development and management

Advanced

Allocation of a social media team to manage and drive social media activity Change to a social business implementing social CRMs Buy in from the entire company, each department integrating social media into their operations

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED 27

SOCIAL MEDIA AS PART OF THE

MARKETING MIX Social media over the past 5 years has turned from an opportunity to share pictures with families and friends to a powerful word of mouth platform, assisting companies in connecting with their consumers, building brand awareness and communicating with potential customers and markets.

DESCRIPTION MARKETING MIX The marketing mix is a company’s tool to market their products and services. It focuses around the ‘4 Ps’: 1. Product 2. Price 3. Promotion 4. Place As more and more people adopt the use of social media, marketers are forced to recognise the potential this communication tool has, and integrate it into the marketing mix. Gone are the days of blasting your audience with marketing messages and expecting long-term growth. Social media allows for two-way communication between a company and its consumer and

as such should be integrated into the way we do business. Social media is more than another marketing tool.

CHECKLIST INTEGRATING SOCIAL MEDIA INTO YOUR MARKETING MIX It’s more than setting up a Facebook page and sharing a few links, answer the following questions to assist in integrating social media: Why is it that you want to use social media, and what does a successful social media campaign look like to you? For example, do you want more leads to your website? What marketing messages do you want to convey? Is it a special offer, or a great new product launch? Like other marketing tools, do you have a strategy in place? Ensure you have some set goals and objectives. Where is your target audience online? Where do they hang out and what are they talking about? How are you going to resource the management and engagement of social media? Have you thought about measuring your success? Even if there is little to no upfront costs (aside from time) to get started on social media, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be treated like any other marketing tool, appropriately measured. 

SIMPLY SOCIAL MEDIA: GETTING STARTED

More about Portner Press At Portner Press, we publish a range of business-related products and services, including: The OH&S Handbook The OH&S Handbook is an A-Z, hands-on guide to Australian occupational health and safety. Written in clear, direct language, it covers all the bases when it comes to managing safety in your workplace.

The Employment Law Practical Handbook The Employment Law Practical Handbook is a comprehensive, alphabetically organised guide to Australian workplace law, written in simple, easy-to-understand terms with no legalese.

The Smart Tax Handbook The Smart Tax Handbook is a comprehensive, plain English guide to Australian tax law. It offers practical, actionable advice to help you solve any workplace tax issue and make sure you are compliant with the law.

INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS TOOLKITS

JOB DESCRIPTIONS TOOLBOX

The IR Toolkits The IR Toolkits are a collection of 86 ready-to-use 100% legal contracts, templates, policies and forms you can start using in your workplace immediately - all for a fraction of the cost of hiring an employment lawyer.

The Job Descriptions Toolbox The Job Descriptions Toolbox is a collection of 195 comprehensive, easily customisable and legally correct job descriptions, spanning the spectrum of occupations in Australia.

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find more detail on our range of products and services on our user-friendly website www.portnerpress.com.au. If you would like more information on any of our publications, please contact our Customer Services Department on 1300 782 911. Portner Press Pty Ltd, PO Box 899, Braeside VIC 3195 Phone: 1300 782 911 Fax: (03) 9558 2219 Email: cs@portnerpress.com.au Web: www.portnerpress.com.au

Published by Portner Press Pty Ltd ÂŠ Portner Press 2012