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Module 3 - Introduction to Using Social Media for SMEs

How to start to use Social Media in SMEs

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http:\\www.learning2gether.euClarify first What do I want to achieve? (targets) Who do I want to address? (target group) What messages do I want to convey? (topics) What will be my main channel? How often do I want to post? Which channels does my target group use? How can I manage the channel (s)? (staff) How can I measure the success?

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http:\\www.learning2gether.euChecklists

http://alexisgrant.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Social-Media-Strategy-Checklist.pdf

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http:\\www.learning2gether.euMistakes to be avoided1. Starting without having a strategy2. Using too many different sites/channels3. Writing too many promotional messages4. Not answering your followers5. Not considering critics6. Pushing employees to use social media 7. Not respecting the law 8. Not seeing it as an integral part of your daily

marketing work

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Possible Social MediaApplications

• Networking• Relationship management• Topic and trend scouting• Competition analysis • Public relation & marketing• Service - esp. complaint management • Recruiting • Distribution

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Social Media - tools to get start with

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“A blog is a discussion or informational site published on the World Wide Web and consisting of discrete entries ("posts") typically displayed in reverse chronological order (the most recent post appears first).“ (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog)

Popular systems:

Blogger – offered by Google as a hosted system

http://blogger.com

WordPress – offered by WordPress http://wordpress.com

Blog

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http:\\www.learning2gether.euBlog• Increase of traffic to the main website• Other people can directly be involved through the comment

function• Can replace a newsletter as readers can follow your posts• All Social Media channels can link to the blog, can

automatically generate news, messages from the blog• Get an expert role in a specific topic• Keep your customers easily up to date

-> The Blog can be the hub of the companies‘ Social Media activities

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

http:\\www.learning2gether.euTwitter

• Microblogging service with max. 140 characters

• Approx. 600m. users / accounts worldwide – not all actively used

• Often used as information and service channel• Live communication during events • http://twitter.com

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

http:\\www.learning2gether.euTwitterPros:•Many multipliers and media/press get their information through Twitter•Fast communication •Relevant information, presented in a short, precise way•Tweets can easily be integrated on your website

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http:\\www.learning2gether.euTwitterCons:•Fast moving communication: Posts can quickly become invisible due to high levels of information•Limited amount of signs: no long messages possible•A large network of followers creates automatically a big information flood•You need to get used to the Twitter language first•It can be quite time consuming

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

http:\\www.learning2gether.euFacebook• Largest Social Network with over

1 bn. users worldwide• Suitable for establishing a dialog,

community building, publishing of interactive content

• Often used in private context to communicate with friends by using the news, pin board or chat function

• Companies can set up Facebook Fanpages to interact with customers or potential employees

• http://www.facebook.com

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

http:\\www.learning2gether.euFacebookPros:• Free of charge • Membership in the current biggest network in the world• Possibility to make your own activities and interests public• Content can easily be spread further through „friends“

(virality) • Easy, direct contact with your customers • Fan pages: are accessible to everyone – also non facebook

users • Detailed page statistics are easily retrievable

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

http:\\www.learning2gether.euFacebookCons:• Privacy issue• Terms of use are changing constantly• Time consuming to keep staying in touch with your

„friends“• You can‘t see who watched your profile• Not search engine friendly

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• International business network with personal profile• Approx. 170m. users worldwide• Possibility to set up company profile• Possibility to create groups around specific topics• Companies can post jobs• Basic version for free• Premium account with a monthly fee• http://linkedin.com

LinkedIn

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http:\\www.learning2gether.euLinkedIn

Pros:• More professional• Serious social network• Good to find experts, expert groupCons:• Premium account is quite expensive – min.

15€/month

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

http:\\www.learning2gether.euGoogle+• Google‘s Social Network with

approx. 360m users• Similar to Facebook - get

connected with others to exchange news, information

• More serious than Facebook• Based on “circles“ to organise your friends

and topics• https://plus.google.com

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

http:\\www.learning2gether.euGoogle+Pros:• Additional service, e.g. Hangout on Air, using all the

Google drive features• Search mode by topics• Setting up of pages, e.g. on your businessCons:• Privacy issue• Not as widely used yet as more established networks

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http:\\www.learning2gether.euYouTube• Biggest Internet video portal• Videos can be uploaded,

embedded and watched for free• 4 bn. daily views, 24h videomaterial/min

uploaded• Average person spends 15 min/day on

YouTube• http://www.youtube.com

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

http:\\www.learning2gether.euYouTubePros:• Easy to set up • Personalised channels, logo, colours • Embed function on your website• Comment as well as “Like“ or “Dislike“ function• Statistic tool to easily evaluate your channel

Cons:• Video production can be quite time consuming• Virals and Campaigning only successful with a

professional strategy which can be cost intensive

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication [communication] reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.

http:\\www.learning2gether.euFlickr• Flickr is an online publication platform for pictures

and videos• Pictures can easily be integrated on websites as

slideshow and makes your website more attractive• Suggestion to upload material to Flickr

– Set tags per album• Add album description and image subtitles

– Add the source to each – Possibility to add licences, e.g. Creative Commons

• http://flickr.com

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Digital Communication Architecture

Communication Corporation Hosting

Video

Audio

Brochures

Pictures

Presentations

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Further Reading and ListeningReading:• http://www.socialquickstarter.com/

Listening:• http://www.youtube.com/watch?

feature=player_embedded&v=iqaFuAsTjjo • http://www.youtube.com/watch?

v=Li79SoUaq5k&list=UUpgOA_2PgxytY095LqoOkug&index=2 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?

feature=player_embedded&v=HxqEENfdCJs