Presented by Karen PorterUM School of Business Administration& ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
Grow Your Business with Social Media - Without Losing Your Mind!
ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
How Many of You…
Feel frustrated or confused about social media? Are regularly posting via ONE social medium? Are regularly using MORE than one social media? Are using:
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Google + Other ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
My Goal Today
Provide relevant, reliable, and up-to-date information you can immediately put to use
Pass along practical tips for effectively managing social media so that it doesn’t consume your life
Put to rest “advice” that is well-intended but that may be derailing your social media efforts
ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
The #1 Best Practice of Social Media
Know your target market! What social media are THEY using? Where are they most likely to follow your business? What do they want to know about your business? What do they want to know that is related?
Question: Is (are) the social media you are using now the BEST fit for reaching your target market?
ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
Quick Review of Top Social Trends and Social Networks in 2014
Google +
ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
2014 Social Media Trends
Facebook post reach continues to decline / paid ads are necessary to guarantee high reach
Content MUST go beyond words – photos and video are a huge plus for stimulating engagement
Growth in visual social networks: Instagram / Snapchat
Google + gaining momentum and will become a significant player in 2014
Over 70% of employers are using social media as a screening tool when considering job applicants
ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
Facebook 2014
Largest social network with 1.2 Billion users
55% female/ 45% male; average user age is 41
Posts with photos get most interaction
Internal scheduling tool works best:
“Like” comments, comment on posts
Reach continues to fall
Great “effectiveness measurement” tool: Likealyzer.com
ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
Twitter 2014
Vibrant social network with 560 users
Limits posts to 140 characters (recommended <120)
Hashtags (#) started with Twitter
Heavily used to follow news, celebrities, trending topics
55% female/ 45% male; 70% some college
Skews younger than Facebook
Difficult to build a “local” audience ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
LinkedIn 2014
Primarily a business network with 240 users
Excellent B2B platform for businesses / consultants, etc
79% of users are age 35 or older
LinkedIn updates tend to be best read
Company pages can/should be developed
Thousands of active groups for relevant participation
ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
Google+ 2014
High growth, now at 400 users (many “forced” by Google)
Heavily skewed toward males; more educated
Tech was early emphasis / focus now much broader
Google known to “reward” Google+ users
No internal pre-scheduling of posts / must use external tool such as Buffer or Sprout Social
ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
Pinterest 2014
70 million users
68% female / 32% male; females 5x likelier to be active
Heavy emphasis on décor, babies, fashion, recipes, and weddings
Visual in nature – best for visual products/services
Need to verify account to access analytics
ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
Instagram 2014
150 million active users
Owned by Facebook
Users skew much younger – teens through 20s
Focuses on photos and 15 second videos
Photos & videos can be shared on other networks
Just staring to be used by brands / businesses
ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
Social Media KISS – F.O.C.U.S. Focus – on 1-2 targeted social media platforms
(make sure these are networks used by target market)
One in four rule (1:4 “Sales” Rule) Sales – promote products / services directly Storytelling – about customers, people in business, philanthropy, etc Related info – related content of interest “Fun” content – related memes, cartoons, etc.
Calendar – plan monthly / quarterly in advance
Utility – use tools to make it easier (Sprout Social, Buffer, etc)
Social – create content that is “share-worthy”ImpactOnlineMarketing.com
Share-worthy Content
Is NOT: Pitch, pitch, pitch Self-serving all the time One-sided communication
IS: Interactive – two way communication Involves your fans / followers / customers Engaging
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What All This Means for You
Use media that is right for your type of business Develop a social STRATEGY (don’t just try a
hodge-podge of ideas hoping something will work) Use tools to help plan / post in advance and
monitor / measure results Do NOT try to “do everything” – just do one or two
really well and you’ll have much better success Focus on what you do best – consider outsourcing
(just outsource wisely)ImpactOnlineMarketing.com