OMS Technolog ies Soc ia l Med ia Management

Overview of

Social Media

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Keys to successful social media use

Types of social media

Determine your social media strategy

Social Media is more popular than ever. Many businesses are

jumping on board the bandwagon. Many of them are

unprepared for it. Asking yourself some simple questions will

give your social media the direction it needs to be successful.

These questions will help define which direction is best for

your organization.

With all these choices, how does a

business get started using social media

effectively? Answer the following

questions to help find your way forward...

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What do you want to accomplish

through social media?

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Consider this as “goal setting” for your social media.

Different businesses have different goals. For instance, a

mobile phone company may decide to use social media for

customer outreach or to promote discounts and deals. At the

same time, a not-for-profit organization might want to raise

awareness about an issue. Another example is a business

trying to increase sales through inbound marketing.

Each one of these goals can be achieved through social

media. However, each one takes its own path. What all

social media goals have in common is the need for

content generation and the time to generate and post

the content. This leads us to our next question …

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How much time can you commit to

social media?

While most social media services allow you to sign up for free, there

is a cost. A time cost.

This is an important factor to social media. How much time you

commit to using social media as a marketing tool directly affects the

results of those marketing efforts.

The biggest time consuming part of

social media is content generation. You

must determine what you want to

achieve before you can determine how

much time it will take. For example,

brand awareness will take less time

than addressing customer service

needs. Each instance has its unique

requirements for quality content

generation.

The more time you can spend on social media, the more effective

your message can be. It is more than posting a snarky remark on

your Facebook or Twitter. It is crafting a message to accomplish a

pre-determined goal without losing your personality.

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Taking into consideration what you

want to accomplish and the time you

are willing to spend, what kind of

content will you share on social

media?

Think of content as the gasoline that goes into a social media engine. If

you don’t put gasoline in, the car will not move. The same goes for social

media. To be effective, you must provide content. For example, you have

built up a lot of “fans” on your Facebook business page. You can offer

these fans an exclusive discount or special offer to motivate them to

show up to your location. Another example is posting pictures from a

company function. This demonstrates your organization’s human side and

encourages brand loyalty. You also can use social media to describe your

products and services. Once you’ve set your goals for social media, you

can begin to outline what kind of content you will share with your social

media followers.

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Are you willing to allow your

employees to use social media

during the work day?

This is a big question. Some employers allow

employees to use social media. Some don’t. There

are arguments for both. However, many companies

are coming to the realization that social media is

here to stay, and it can be a highly effective

communications tool.

How did past business leaders feel about adding

phone service to their office? Were they concerned

that it would distract their employees? In today’s

world, pretty much every business has a phone line.

In a generation, we could say the same thing about

social media in the workplace.

If you are going to allow employees to be on social

media during work hours, set a clear policy and don’t

be afraid to interact with them. It could lead to the

next big star joining your team. Your employees also

can be a vehicle for marketing your business and

increasing your social media reach. They can lead

people to follow your social media pages and even

become a client.

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The Types of Social Media...

By now, everyone knows about Facebook and Twitter. However, social

media doesn’t stop there. Consider LinkedIn, Google +, YouTube, and

many other social media platforms. Below you’ll find a brief description of

some of the social media “name brands” available to use.

Facebook: As of December 2011, there are 800 million people using this

social media platform. That is just about double the population of the

United States. This is the most popular of all the social media platforms in

use today.

Twitter: Twitter has around 175 million users. It limits how many

characters can be used in a message, known as a Tweet. This social

media platform allows for the sharing of photos, videos, and links to

content on the web.

LinkedIn: This is more of the “business networking” side of social media.

LinkedIn has about 100 million users. They also allow for businesses to

have special accounts. Many people report finding employee-employer

connections which have led to new jobs.

Google +: This is Google’s direct challenger to Facebook. It was launched

in 2011 gaining a lot of attention as the “Facebook Killer”. Google + does

have unique features making it easier to organize groups of followers.

YouTube: This social media site is where you go to find video on the web.

Many businesses create “channels” to help display products and services.

YouTube can be used to host videos which you post on blogs or link to

other social media sites.

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With all these social

media choices, where

do you start?

The Basics! It is easy to get overwhelmed by the

social media choices available today. It

is best to start off easy, learn the ropes

and then explore and experiment with

the other social media platforms.

The following is what you need to get started using social media for your

business or organization.

Designate someone who will act as your organization’s

“Social Media Manager”

This should be someone who is in tune with the company’s products

and services, has good writing abilities, and doesn’t fear social

media or trying new things.

If you plan to have multiple Social Media managers or

administrators, consider creating a “central” email account for them.

This way, should one of the managers or administrators leave, your

company doesn’t lose access or control over its social media

platforms. However, keep in mind each social media platform has

different methods of allowing for administrators.

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The Basics!

Determine your social media strategy

What do you want to achieve with your social media platforms? Do

you want to establish a more dynamic presence than what a website

alone can offer? Do you want to increase awareness of your brand?

Do you want to be considered an expert in your field/industry? Do

you want to follow your customers to where they interact? Do you

want to provide more engaging customer service? Do you want to

create special offers to produce more foot traffic? These questions

illustrate some of the many examples of what social media can do.

To make the most effective use of social media, a direction must be

decided. Two or three strategies or ideas can be chosen and

implemented at the same time. Strategy also allows an organization

to measure the effectiveness of their social media marketing

campaigns.

Set up Twitter and Facebook accounts

Gather logos, pictures, videos and other items of interest to use on

the social media accounts. Designate who will manage the accounts

for your business or organization and sign up for the accounts.

Remember, you need to tell the online world you are there. You

shouldn’t expect the virtual world to come to you without a little work

on your part. Your accounts must provide original content. Get your

friends and family to follow your social media. Consider buying ads

on Facebook to promote your business. Link your Facebook and

Twitter to your “real world” marketing pieces. Let people know your

business is social.

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The Basics!

Make a Plan

Once you’ve decided on a strategy and set up your Twitter and

Facebook accounts, a plan for your social media marketing is your

next step. Certain strategies might require more than basic Twitter

and Facebook pages. Things like blogs or email lists are tools for

growing your outreach and can help generate and share content.

Once you have your tools in place, make the time to use them. Set

aside time to create and post content, interact with people who

follow your social media accounts and check on your insights. Time

is needed to make any social media marketing campaign effective.

You can even create a calendar to help guide the process.

Get the Conversation Started

Once your social media accounts are established and ready to use,

make posts and Tweets. Start a conversation and engage. Use your

email lists to find people on Twitter and Facebook. The more people

you follow, the more followers you will gain. Search for people and

organizations much like your own. Follow the vendors you use,

nearby businesses and organizations, even friends and family. The

process will feel slow at first, but it can quickly gain momentum. Put

your Facebook and Twitter accounts on business cards, link them in

your email and place them in your marketing materials. Ask people to

share your information with others.

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Things to keep in mind

Social media can be an effective marketing tool.

When you follow the principals of marketing, when

you communicate your message effectively and

when you show your personality, people will begin

interacting with you and talking about your products

and services. Don’t be afraid to experiment. Enjoy

the social experience that social media can provide.

OMS Technologies is here

to help.

Should you find that you need more help with social media, OMS

Technologies can help. We provide set up and training, then hand

the services over to your social media managers. OMS Technologies

also provides a full service social media management package. To

learn more about how we can help your business or organization “go

social”, contact us today.

Phone: 405.701.0295 Email: sm@omstinc.com

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