Social Media for #SmallBiz 101

By Tim SohnWebsite: SohnSocialMediaSolutions.com

Blog: Editortim.tumblr.comTwitter @editortim

Don’t Be Shy!

• Live-tweet: Hashtag #NEPABlogCon

• Take lots of photos

Should I Use Social Media?

Probably

• Who are your customers and potentially future customers?

• Do they use social media?

Social Media: The Investment

• Mobile device(s) and/or computer.• Agencies and/or employees.• Business owner’s time.• Social media software that’s not free.• Social media advertising.

How Can I Measure ROI? It’s Tricky.

• Coupons and Exclusive Offers: DD National Coffee Day.• The Grotto at the Zaloom House

• Call Tracking Phone Numbers for Social Campaigns. • Facebook Conversion Measurement.• Google Analytics: Analytics Academy• Compare to Before Using Social Media.

What Platforms Should I Use?

• Depends on your audience – what are they using? Ask!

How Many Platforms Should I Be On?

• Less is best.– Facebook: More than 1 billion active monthly users.– Google+: More than 300 million monthly active users.– Twitter: More than 200 million monthly active users.– LinkedIn: More than 225 million registered users.

• Focus on quality, targeted posts. Quality is better than quantity.

Outsource?

• Factors to consider:– Budget– Trust– Time– Expertise

DIY

• Community college.• Online course provider.• Chamber of Commerce.

DIY Tools

Social Media Management

• HootSuite• Kuhcoon • Tweetdeck• SproutSocial

Analytics

• Facebook Insights• LinkedIn Insights• Twitter Analytics• Google Analytics

Mentions• Google Alerts• http://www.icerocket.com• http://socialmention.com

Social Media Posts Should …• Ask questions.• Get customers

involved.• Have personality.• Be about more than

your company.• Be visual – photos

and videos.• Include exclusive

content on each platform.

Specifically for Small Businesses

• Share posts from other local businesses and nonprofits.

• Share industry information from journals and associations.

• Share posts from the Chamber of Commerce if your business is local.

Customer Service

• If your business is using social media, you MUST answer questions on Facebook, Twitter, etc…

• Reply in a timely manner.• If necessary, offer to take the conversation

offline.• Keep a professional tone.

Don’t Be Shy … Again

• Tell people to like your social media pages– Signs outside your business.– Links on your website, blog.– Cross-link your social media pages.– Add social media sharing buttons to your blog.

Social Media Advertising

• Native vs. display advertising.

• Is effective because you can target potential customers by demographics, location, other factors.

• Facebook sponsored posts, display ads.

… Social Media Advertising• Twitter promoted accounts, tweets.• LinkedIn sponsored updates.

Coming soon: Advertising on Foursquare, Instagram, Pinterest (promoted pins).

Case Study: What the FORK Truck

Chef Mario Bevilacqua

Questions?