An Introduction to Social Media Marketing - HeadRed · How to create an effective social media marketing strategy ! ... India!–social!networks!based!around!online!gaming!and!music

An Introduction to Social Media Marketing

HeadRed - Who We Are !  Digital agency:

!  Web design & development !  Branding !  SEO !  Social Media Marketing !  Pay-Per-Click Advertising

!  Based in Coventry

!  15 years old - started from a team of two and has grown to 12 of us

!  Online Marketing team looks after an array of clients with industries ranging from Health & Beauty to Electronics

@HeadRedMedia #SMEGlobalTech

Social Media Revolution

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eUeL3n7fDs


Social Media Marketing Today we’ll be looking at:

!  Different types of social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn

!  Defining clear goals & your audience !  How to create an effective social media marketing strategy !  Planning targeted, relevant content to attract your target audience

and market. !  Finding and using tools to monitor and manage your social networks


Fundamentals of Social Media Marketing

1.  Should your business have social media platforms? 2.  What platforms should you use that will be beneficial to your

company? 3.  How can you create a great, interactive profile on your social

media platform? 4.  What type of content should you post on your network and when

would be best to post it?


Goals & Audience Analysis


Defining your Goals !  Before devising a strategy you need to define goals of your social media

campaign. !  What do you want your campaign to achieve?

!  More Followers !  Brand Awareness !  Driving traffic to the website in order to achieve web sales or

interaction with content on site. !  Build Relationships with customers via social media (customer

service) !  Becoming renowned internationally !  Increasing your global audience


Audience Research !  The next step is to research your intended audience and target market !  The key to a successful campaign is knowing who your potential

customers are and targeting content towards them !  Acknowledging that the same audience for Facebook may not be the

same for LinkedIn !  Bearing in mind International Audiences:

!  languages !  cultures !  local events


Audience Research Checklist

!  To work out your ideal target market, work with the person next to you to determine the clientele you should be aiming your campaign at

!  Following the sheets, work through the questions to see the type of people you should be aiming your campaign at and what social media platforms would be beneficial for your campaign


Competitor Analysis


Why do competitor analysis?

!  To help get ideas on how your brand can engage on social media !  To gauge how your market communicate on social media within your

industry !  Any missed opportunities from your competitors which your brand can

then uniquely offer !  Help determine where you should focus your social media campaign


How to do a Competitor Analysis !  Finding out which social media platforms they are using !  Looking at audience size on your competitors’ social media

networks: !  This will help answer some of the fundamental questions such

as if your company should be on social media !  What social networks your business should be on.

!  Measuring Engagement !  Audience size can’t tell you everything - how have they got their

followers? How are they engaging with their audience?

!  Looking at how they have set up their profiles !  Inspiration on how to design your own


Creating a Social Media Strategy


What social media Strategy includes…

!  How visual design impacts !  Social media marketing !  Social media guidelines !  Guidelines for crisis

management !  Table of graphic dimensions !  The Cycle of success

!  Facebook strategy !  Twitter Strategy !  Twitter dimensions !  Google+ Strategy !  LinkedIn Strategy !  Pinterest !  Instagram


Social Media Strategy

Graphic Design Dimensions


Visual Design can improve social media marketing

!  Have consistent colours across all of your branding !  Use the same font on all your social media graphics !  Use photo filters !  Make your images stand out but make sure your brand is

recognised through your graphics!


Social media guidelines

Make sure your team are knowledgeable about the following;

!  Various legal terms and what they mean- e.g. defamation, endorsements, intellectual property and wrongful disclosure

!  Be aware of global implications in online communication !  Avoid inappropriate comments about competitors or others online

However you must also…

!  Remain positive !  Add value !  Be helpful !  Be transparent


Guidelines for Crisis Management

!  Make sure you monitor negative comments about your business because a crisis can grow fast!

!  You will need to know how to respond to any social media attacks and have your action guidelines ready

!  Make sure your team has social media and business expertise !  Ultra-transparency !  Dialogue as well as the right message !  A team able to provide a rapid response


Thinking Internationally


Think about whether you need to tailor your social media strategy for international markets...

•  Set up pages that are specifically targeting towards a country – McDonald’s has international pages •  Find out what the local people like;

Asia – sharing and downloading music and videos is the most popular pas5me. South America – the countries with the highest percentage of Twi9er users are in South America. India – social networks based around online gaming and music sharing are popular. Western Europe – most similar to North America, in that content which is either useful (e.g. poten5al to win a compe55on) or entertaining does best.



•  You may need someone in your business able to speak the language to manage your pages •  Take into account time zones in different countries and make use of scheduling •  Localise your content

What social network is your target market using?




Social media don’ts when going international

•  Make sure your content isn't duplicated on social profiles such as LinkedIn •  Don’t sign up for foreign social media networks when you don’t know the culture or language

The Cycle of Success

Create Brand Awareness !  Showcase your brand !  Think about your brand identity !  Get your brand in front of

potential leads

Attract & Acquire !  Manage your brand's reputation !  Build on your brand’s following !  Share quality content to draw

people in


Maintain & Engage !  Resolve Customer service issues !  Build relationships with your

customers !  Maintain following by offering

quality content

Monetise !  Generate leads and sales !  Measure your social media

success

Create Brand Ambassadors !  Create brand advocates !  Build brand communities !  Develop a loyal following


What? Visual social networking site

Who? More beneficial for B2C Businesses

Where? https://www.facebook.com/

When? 6-8am, 1-4pm


Facebook Strategy

Build Brand Awareness !  Keep branding consistent !  Promote Facebook else where in your business e.g. email,

events and offline material !  Participate in relevant Facebook pages !  Use Facebook advertising !  Like and share other peoples content

Attract and Acquire !  Add like buttons to your website !  Contests - Photography competition, like to win !  Promotions - Give discounts and use freebies !  Link to new engaging content on your site


Facebook Strategy

Maintain & Engage !  Post around 1-2 times per day (Don’t forget the weekends) !  Use eye catching photos and creative videos !  Post at the right time of day !  Interact with other brands on Facebook !  Don’t ignore negative comments on your profile !  Engage with your fans, don’t ignore them

Monetise !  Build a solid fan base !  Post content from your site !  Generate more sales leads


Facebook Strategy

Create Brand Ambassadors !  Showcase your fans !  Get customer feedback through private messages and public ratings !  Conduct market research - Ask your fans what they want from your page

Example: Picture Frames Express


What? A microblogging service

Who? Beneficial for both B2C and B2B

Where? https://twitter.com/

When? 1-3pm


Twitter Typology

@-Twitter Handle: Your Twitter handle is known as a username which is the name you choose to represent yourself or your company on Twitter.

To Follow: Following someone on Twitter is an action made when users subscribe to some else's updates.

Follower: A follower is a person who has subscribed to receive your updates. The total number of followers your account has is displayed on your homepage.


Twitter Typology

Status Update: A status update on Twitter is also known as a tweet. Post your tweet in the white box under ‘What's Happening’ and each update can be no longer than 140 characters.

Hashtag (#): A hashtag is a tagging system that Twitter uses to aggregate a conversation surrounding a topic, event or theme.

Retweet (RT): A retweet is an action taken when someone wants to repeat someone else's tweet.


Twitter Strategy

Build Brand Awareness

!  Keep branding consistent !  Promote Twitter through other parts of your business e.g.

events & email !  Use Twitter advertising !  Get involved in Twitter conversations !  Make use of hashtags and see what's trending !  Favourite & retweet other people's posts !  Follow people who are may be interested in your company


Twitter Strategy

Attract and Acquire !  Add tweet buttons on your website !  Incorporate Twitter into promotions- Tweet to win !  Post new and engaging content !  Tweet your new followers !  Direct message your new followers will interested content or

simply say thanks for the follow

Maintain & Engage !  Create conversations through relevant trending Hashtags !  Be a frequent tweeter !  Tweet during events you are attending !  Be the first to break the news !  Ask and answer questions !  Tweet and retweet others !  Ask for retweets !  Tweet your content more than once


Twitter Strategy

Monetise !  Share more than once to bring traffic to your site !  Reach new customers !  Promote your products and services !  Develop long lasting relationships !  Ultimately generate more sales leads

Create Brand Ambassadors !  Monitor mentions of your brand !  Listen to what your customers are saying !  Make them feel part of your community and offer them

product exclusives

Example: Nu Edge


What? A place to build communities and connect with like minded people and businesses

Who? Beneficial for both B2C and B2B

Where? https://plus.google.com/

When? 9-11am


Google + Strategy

Build Brand Awareness !  Keep branding consistent !  Promote through other parts of business !  Grow your circles !  Engage in online communities !  Share other peoples posts !  Add people and companies to your circles !  Create your own Google+ community !  Make use of hashtags in your posts

Attract and Acquire !  Add Google + buttons to your website !  Share interesting content !  Post relevant content in different communities


Google + Strategy Maintain and Engage !  Engage with Google+ communities that are relevant to your

industry !  Connect with your customers through hangouts !  Interact with other people and brands !  Keep an eye out for negative comments and answer back as soon

as possible !  Ask and answer questions !  Engage with your fans, don’t ignore them

Monitise !  Share website content on both your Google+ page and in

communities

Create Brand Ambassadors !  Create relationships through communities !  Get feedback on your products or services through hangouts !  Share great content for others to share


What? A business oriented social networking service

Who? Beneficial for B2B

Where? https://uk.linkedin.com/

When? 7-9am / 5-6pm


LinkedIn Strategy Create Brand Awareness !  Create a professional persona !  Keep graphics consistent !  Get all employees to set up a personal LinkedIn profile to

showcase your brand !  Connect with people you have met throughout your

industry !  promote your LinkedIn during events and via other forms of

media !  Join and participate in LinkedIn groups

Attract & Acquire !  Post relevant industry content through business profile and

employees profiles !  Showcase your achievements on your profile


LinkedIn Strategy Maintain and engage !  Engage in relevant industry groups !  Comment and like on content shared by others !  Discuss industry matters !  Endorse other people within your Industry

Monetise !  Monitor LinkedIn activity !  Post content to direct people to your website

Create brand ambassadors !  Become a brand ambassador for your own business !  Gain product and service reviews !  Try to gain endorsements from Industry experts !  Example: HeadRed


What? A visual discovery tool

Who? Beneficial for B2B & B2C

Where? http://www.pinterest.com/

When? 2-4pm/8pm-11pm


What? A mobile & tablet visual discovery tool

Who? Beneficial for B2B & B2C

Where? On mobile or tablet only

When? 2-4pm/8pm-11pm


Pinterest & Instagram !  Both visual social networks !  Tell your brand story through images !  Share your interests !  Build Relationships with potential leads !  Show the fun side of your brand !  Highlight new products & services through images !  Be inspiring


Which social media should your business use?


Content Sharing Strategy


Creation and Discovery As you can see from the graph on the left Content is becoming more social!

Gone are the days of simply bombarding networks with text, now a high amount of concentration has to be put on making content look visually appealing.

Study conducted by IPSOS

Most popular shared content on Social Media


What Social Media Users are looking for When they connect with a brand. (Based on study by SmartInsights)

Motivations to follow a branded page on a social network 16 - 24 25 – 34 35 – 44 45 – 54 55 – 64

Discounts for future purchases 63% 66% 65% 63% 58%

Customer service 44% 49% 47% 50% 58%

Personalised purchase recommendations 40% 38% 32% 27 19

A feature to track delivery 31% 31% 28% 29% 28%

Access to new products prior to release on main site 31% 31% 28% 28% 22%

The ability to interact and talk to people in a company 28% 29% 26% 29% 26%

Exclusive insight or information about the retailer/brand 25% 26% 23% 22% 17%

Being able to connect with other fans of the shop 24% 24% 17% 14% 10%

Details of what my friends have bought 23% 22% 16% 13% 8%

Competitions 23% 23% 20% 17% 12%

Be asked to come up with an idea for products and services 22% 23% 22% 23% 18%

The ability to purchase products without visiting the main site 22% 22% 19% 18% 14%

Details of what my friends would like to buy (wish list) 20% 19% 13% 10% 7%

No interest in any of the above 9% 8% 13% 17% 24%


Content should always be at least one of the following:

!  Useful !  Interesting !  Evergreen !  Valuable

Ideas on what to post:

!  Share onsite Content: e.g. blog posts, links to useful website pages … !  Post Company News !  Calls to Action: e.g. product promotions, competition launches, subscriptions... !  Thought Leadership posts: write post on either new idea or with views on topic within the industry !  Product updates by region: as global launches are likely to be different times/dates need to ensure that messages are tailored to relevant time zone & launch schedule

Remember to keep a consistent language and appearance across social posts; people like to think that they are talking to a real person so focus on this in us of language and tone of voice.

Creating New Content


Content by Social Network

Posting Format URL Images Text

URL Images Text

URL Images Text

Images URL Text

Photos

Informal/Formal Informal Informal Informal/ Formal dependent on main audience

Informal Formal Informal

Types of posts Blogs Promotions Company News Breaking News Industry News Competitions Conversations

Blogs Promotions Company News Breaking News Industry News Competitions Conversations

Posts are very brand centred! Company News Product Promotion

Pictures are grouped e.g. into products Products in use Tips Specific Events DIY Recipes Fashion

Company News Industry News Research

Humanises the company Photos of products/services in use by real people the people behind the business/scenes

Brands who do it well...


Rather than text based content could also post visuals Slideshares Example IBM

!  Use slideshare to showcase the experts

!  increase their influence.

!  social/promote

!  giving potential customers value

Infographics

!  distribute information/knowledge in a visual format

!  more likely to be shared by viewers than blocks of text.

!  4 types of infographic content: humour, novel insights, how to’ s and those which are released in line with significant dates & specific new events/stories.

Cover Images !  Construct simple cover images for blogs

!  Better for sharing on social as they are visual and straight to the point !

!  Great tools to create these are PicMonkey and PinWords.

!  This works well for How To’s, Top Tips, Quotes etc.


!  Sweepstakes !  Photo Contest !  Creative Answers/Captions !  Question and Answer

Competitions to run on each platform:

Promotions/Competitions

Facebook Twitter Pinterest

!  Sweepstake !  Photo Competition !  Poll !  Quiz !  Caption Contest !  Q & A

!  Sweepstakes (Retweet/Tweet) !  Retweet to Win !  Q & A //Fill in the blanks.

!  Sweepstake !  Pin to Win !  Photo Contest !  Caption/Comments


Creating Your Competitions

!  Interesting Title/Call-To- Action !  Good Visuals to Promote (Landing Page) !  Terms & Conditions !  Clear Instructions on Entering Contest !  Make Sure Contest is Shareable !  Prize & Judging Details !  Original Hashtags


Creating Your Competitions

Getting Your Contest Out There:

!  Make use of Facebook Ads and Promoted tweets !  Draw up a planned Tweet/Facebook Post schedule to ensure you are communicating the competition to your followers at regular intervals !  Use services such as sprout to identify individuals who would be interested in your competition on Twitter then send them a direct tweet inviting them enter !  Use promotion sites e.g. Blogs which have relevant audiences, forums, magazines…


Examples of Some Social Media Competitions

Picture Frames Express Photography Competition

Places we promote:

!  Twitter- directly targeting individuals !  Relevant photography competition directories forums !  Onsite Competition Banner !  Monthly Newsletter

Run Through Woobox


The Big Question: How Do We Go Viral? Creating content which is shareable

!  Interesting !  funny

!  unbelievable/amazing !  emotional

!  suitable for worldwide viewers. !  dramatic !  embarrassing

How much is it worth in social currency? People want to look good with the things they share.

The graph shows the main reasons people choose to share content on social according to a report from IPSOS (average of global repies):

Why people share on Social Media


Making Use of Others Content

There is no concrete way to ‘get viral’ but here are some ways to get shares: Content Curation is a key part of building a social following:

!  Retweet !  Shares !  Posting URLs to others sites. !  Pinning

Posting other peoples content is a great way to ensure that your social pages are constant kept with fresh posts which looks better to viewers.

Ensure that the people who originally posted the content are aware that you have promoted it (either by directly retweeting/sharing posts, or tagging in posts).


Making Use of Others Content Cont.

A great tool for finding useful content is feedly: Through this you can follow your favourite and industry relevant blogs.

Top Tip: Once you have found a post that you think your social audience would be interested in make a note of it and its URL so that you eventually have a whole bank of content to posts on days when you are low on fresh posts.

Also ensure you have liked/ are following relevant people on social media so you can easily share their posts when they are published.


Maintain & Engage

“To build customer loyalty — to build a brand — companies need to keep their customers engaged in a continuous dialogue.” Regis McKenna, Harvard Business Journal, Real-Time Marketing, 1995

!  Get talking to your customers! !  Want to appear approachable !  more likely to begin a relationship with a company which is actively

communicating !  answering questions, giving advice etc.

Bare in mind social is now included in many peoples buying process as a means of deciding who to purchase from.


Create a Content Sharing Plan Find What Works When Social media networks tend to have differing response rates dependent upon the time of day you post. Ensure that in your social content posting plan you consider when you should be posting (What time and which days).

Looking at a study by Buddy Media, the table below shows the top 3 best days of the week to post by industry:


Adver6sing & Consul6ng

Automo6ve Clothing & Fashion

Health & Beauty

Sunday X X X

Monday X X

Tuesday

Wednesday X

Thursday X

Friday X

Saturday X X X X

Best Time to Post By Social Network

6-8am, 1-4pm

1-3pm

7-9am / 5-6pm

9-11am

2-4 pm/8pm-11pm

Creating a Social Posting Plan

Considering the points on timing and best days to post on each social network and based upon industry you should now begin drawing up a posting schedule by content/message, outlining where you should be posting when.

By reposting you allow yourself to increase potential audience as well as helps you to reach those who missed your first message.


Where Publishing

Content Name Basic Message On day of publish 2 Hours Later Next Day Next Week Next Month Two Months

Creating a Social Posting Plan Contd.

Scheduling (works particularly well to get blogs out there) ** Remember for global markets social posts will need to go out more frequently to cover time differences**

!  When doing this you should consider how you will reword each post when you go to republish so that content appears fresh on timeline/social feed !  Also bare in mind that only content which is evergreen/ not date or news specific should be promoted up to a month after original post


Engage

Engage with both other businesses, thought leaders and consumers through social (It helps to build your brand image!) !  Can Promote Posts !  Interact; commenting on

posts, giving opinions, ask questions, start conversations.


Which of the following brand related actions have you done in the past month?

Social Posting Checklist

"  Is your post interesting/useful? "  Is your post evergreen? " Does your post offer value to the audience? "  If using images are they clear and high quality? " Have you made use of Hashtags? " Do you know what Networks you are posting on? Do you know when you are

posting/how often? "  Is your post shareable? "  Is your post worth anything in social currency to followers? " Have you included mentions of companies/people you are talking about? (@) " Have you tailored your post so it can be suitable for an international

audience?


Reach Your Goals


Thinking International

Some Considerations for Social Content in a Global Marketplace

!  No one size fits all approach !  Take into account cultural norms !  Think about local events !  Local audience !  Aware of words & behaviours !  Try to keep social accounts monolingual


Thinking International

Some Considerations for Social Content in a Global Marketplace Cont.

!  Be aware when using translating software for social media that other languages often change depending upon who you are speaking to

!  It is easy to accidentally offend /insult when posting in a different language

Some Translation services:

!  milengo - http://milengo.com !  translations.com - http://translations.com !  lingo24 - http://lingo24.com !  Verbatim solutions - http://verbatimsolutions.com

N.B. Images Don’t Require Translation!


Social Media Tools



Why use Social Media Tools? !  Easier to monitor constantly your brand !  Easier to manage multiple accounts !  Schedule posts when followers are most active !  Track engagement to measure effectiveness !  Increase followers with competition apps !  Analyse competitors !  Easier to research audience !  Measure performance & results


What sort of tools are there?

!  Management Tools !  Research Tools !  Analytical Tools !  Competition/Promotion Tools


Management Tools

!  Free and paid versions available !  Option to post to Twitter, Facebook, Google +, LinkedIn !  Log into multiple accounts !  Get alerted when your brand is mentioned !  Dashboard to view multiple timelines in one window !  Option to link to a bit.ly account to automatically shorten links & track

activity


Research Tools

!  Search Twitter bios and tweets for certain words to source users to engage with !  Compare followers with other users !  Find out when your followers are most active !  Set up tailored Auto Direct Messages to attract new followers to your promotion /site/giveaway !  Find relevant content to share


Analytics Tools

!  Free tools available !  Track how many users click on your shared links, and at what time !  Track Reach & Engagement on Facebook !  Compare to others on Facebook !  Track visits from social to your website & number of conversions


Competition & Promotion Tools

!  Run competitions legitimately !  Gain followers & likes through competition entries !  Social shares to unlock free guides !  Boost posts on Facebook


10 Key Takeaways 1.  Set clear goals and objectives 2.  Spend time researching and defining your target audience 3.  Look at what your competitors are doing but don’t directly copy them,

improve where possible & fill the gaps! 4.  Plan which social platforms are right for your business 5.  Get social profiles professionally designed 6.  Have a strategy in place for dealing with negative comments 7.  Understand which content fits best with each network 8.  Use competitions & promotions to attract your audience 9.  Research best times to post on each network 10.  Decide which tools will suit you best to manage & monitor activity


Keep in touch Headred.net Facebook.com/HeadRedMedia Twitter.com/HeadRedMedia LinkedIn.com/company/headred/ Google.com/+HeadredNet1

Any Questions?

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An Introduction to Social Media Marketing - HeadRed · How to create an effective social media marketing strategy ! ... India!–social!networks!based!around!online!gaming!and!music