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How to make social media work for your small business Originally presented on September 8, 2012 To Entrepreneurs and small business owners as a beginners guide to social media. Presented by: Stephanie Sigel, social media specialist Twitter: @StephSigel

Social Media for Small Business

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Page 1: Social Media for Small Business

How to make

social mediawork for your small

business

Originally presented on September 8, 2012

To Entrepreneurs and small business owners as a beginners guide to social media.

Presented by: Stephanie Sigel, social media specialist

Twitter: @StephSigel

Page 2: Social Media for Small Business

What can social do for my business?

Everything that the telephone, print and in-store can do, and more! Build/strengthen relationships with your

customers (Customer Service)

Respond to consumers’ questions/comments (Customer Service)

Generate leads/referrals (Sales)

New products/offers (Marketing/PR)

Monitor conversations about your business/industry (Market Research!)

Page 3: Social Media for Small Business

Is social for B2C more than B2B?

No, both can use social media.

How many of you are currently using some form of social media for your business?

• Facebook• Twitter• Google+• LinkedIn• Blog• Instagram• Pinterest• YouTube or Vimeo,

other video• Geo-location – ie.

Fourquare• Daily deals• Forums• Photo-sharing ie.

Flickr• Social Bookmarking –

ie. Digg, StumbleUpon, Reddit

Page 4: Social Media for Small Business

Do you use social media for your business?

Yes No0

102030

405060

708090

100

B2BB2C

Source: 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report

Page 5: Social Media for Small Business

Businesses vs Platforms

Daily DealsSocial Bookmarking

Geo-locationForums

Photo-sharingGoogle+

BlogsLinkedIn

YouTube/ other videoTwitter

Facebook

0 20 40 60 80 100

B2CB2B

Source: 2012 Social Media Marketing Industry Report

Page 6: Social Media for Small Business

Which platform is right for my business?

B2C’s most popular platform is Facebook

B2B tends to use Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs and Google+ more than B2C

Where you invest your time and effort depends on your business and most importantly, where your customers are

Page 7: Social Media for Small Business

LinkedIn

Top Uses: networking, recruiting, lead generation.

How many of you are on LinkedIn?

How many groups are you a part of?

Do you actively use it to engage/network with customers and other businesses?

Check it out! http://linkedIn.com

Page 8: Social Media for Small Business

LinkedIn

Best Practices: Post daily/weekly to your company profile

Ask employees (current/previous) to link up

Ensure CEO maintains own active profile

Confirm URL

Post new positions/opportunities

Follow other companies & your customers/prospects

Join groups/Start your own

Page 9: Social Media for Small Business

Example Groups

Toronto Entrepreneur Alliance

Entrepreneur’s Network

The Indus Entrepreneur

Small business network for startups

Small business online community

Photography Industry Professionals

Paints and Coatings

Doors and Windows Manufacturers Group

Page 10: Social Media for Small Business

Twitter

Top Uses: Follow customers, similar brands, receive news, share updates, and most of all TALKING!

How many on Twitter?

Do you actively respond to customers, share news/updates, follow similar businesses and retweet industry news/trends?

Start now! http://twitter.com/

Page 11: Social Media for Small Business

Twitter

Best Practices Tweet multiple times daily - min 3; max 1

per hour

Retweet and reply often

Follow 1:1 ratio

Use hashtags

Create lists

Use link shortener (ie. bit.ly)

Page 12: Social Media for Small Business

Blog

Top Uses: Share company news/updates; opinion on industry news/trends; offer value to consumers (how tos, best products, etc)

How many are currently writing a company blog?

Are you actively posting (daily/weekly), responding to comments, and sharing posts via other social sites?

Start a blog! http://wordpress.com

Page 13: Social Media for Small Business

Blog

Best Practices Blog regularly, be it daily, weekly or monthly

– keep to a schedule

Topics: Don’t only write about what you want to say, but what your customers want to know

Share on Facebook/Twitter/others

Link to your favourite/similar blogs on your blog roll

Include key words in title, meta data.

Encourage employees to use/share it

Page 14: Social Media for Small Business

Facebook Pages

Top Uses: Post company news/updates, respond to customer questions/comments, share other valuable content of interest to your network.

How many are using Facebook?

Do you actively post (daily, weekly) respond to comments?

Create your Page http://facebook.com/pages

Page 15: Social Media for Small Business

Facebook

Best Practices: Post 1-2 updates daily

Use photos 80 %, include links to your site

20% video or other media

Do not automate content

Tag other pages

Integrate into website

Page 16: Social Media for Small Business

Shortening Tool

Top Uses: shorten long links, track clicks, geographical data and other insights.

How many are using a shortening tool? (ie. Bit.ly, tiny.url, ow.ly )?

Shorten a link - http://bit.ly

Page 17: Social Media for Small Business

Others

Google +: social network offering live video chats and targeted publishing (via circles)

Pinterest: create pin boards of your favourite photos/videos linking to their source.

Instagram: optimized photo-sharing mobile platform

The list is endless, but start with major players that make sense for your businesses. Start with one, master it, and move on to the next.

Page 18: Social Media for Small Business

How do I measure ROI?

#1 question asked by business owners and brands

No easy answer, but it helps if you set strategic objectives, monitor growth and use meaningful metrics.

A more useful term for measuring social media is Return on Engagement (ROE) This can be measured by likes, comments, shares,

retweets, clicks, views, repins, etc.

But providing a service or product is no longer enough. To be a truly social company ask yourself, "What is that thing we can do to help make our customers'

lives simpler, less confusing, less alienating, more efficient, more meaningful and just plain better?” (Tara Hunt, 2012http://blogs.hbr.org/cs/2012/09/are_you_building_facebooks_empire.html)

Page 19: Social Media for Small Business

Social BusinessesHere are some ideas for your wedding/event. I also take beautiful photos.

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Social Businesses

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Social Businesses

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Social Businesses

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Social Churches

Page 24: Social Media for Small Business

Start Connecting!Today’s Attendees:

Nicole Hackett - Photographerwww.nicolehackettphotography.coLinkedIn Angelo Lantosca, Devine Painters Website www.divinepainters.comLinkedIn, Facebook Jim Drakopoulos - Musician and JewelryFacebook Greg Morrison - Entrepreneur, Business DevelopmentLinkedInTwitter GregoryMorriso1 Djigem – MusicianIgemtube.comFacebook, Twitter, YouTube

My Hide a Hook, ProductWebsite hideahook.com D Hubb Designs – Fashion, DressmakingFacebook LinkedIn Cucina Maione - BakerFacebook Mel’s Catering and Party PlanningFacebook page Pllight – Industrial LightingWebsite http://www.pllight.com/index.php/

Stephanie Sigel - Social MediaTwitter: @stephsigel