Half-day social media course for beginners for Business Gateway Fife.

1. Basic Social Media
Pauline Randall
Florizel Media Ltd

2. Aims of the session
To have a good, basic understanding of the key social media tools and
how they can be used in business

3. Objectives
At the end of the session you will be able to:
• Name the key social media tools
• Identify opportunities for using them as part of your marketing
strategy
• Integrate social media with your online and offline marketing
• Develop a content strategy
• Measure the effectiveness of your social media marketing
• Set up accounts on Twitter and Facebook

4. Housekeeping
• Timing of session – 9.30 to 12.30
• Fire Alarm and Fire Exit
• Other administration
• Introductions

5. KEY SOCIAL MEDIA TOOLS

6. Key points Watch out for …
• Can be good for B2C • Not great for B2B
• Flexible format – can post • Posts not as visible as you
text, links, images, video might think – Edgerank
• Good way to engage with fans • Restrictions of how you can do
• Good analytics on the site things like run competitions
• Demographically targeted • Need to moderate comments
advertising • Facebook has a tendency to
• Can post offers and promote keep changing/moving things!
individual posts (subject to
conditions)
• Dog’s Trust

7. Twitter
Key points Watch out for …
• Can be good for all types of • Very fast medium – average
business life of a tweet is about 18
• Flexible format – can post minutes
text, links, images • You need to tweet frequently –
• Good way to engage with fans if you don’t have time then this
• Short and to the point might not work for you
• If you develop a good, loyal • Limited space in a tweet –
following you can have good need to be compelling fast
reach • Native analytics and
• Shop Scotland advertising only available to
big spenders

8. Key points Watch out for …
• Good way to show off your • Can be noisy if you have a lot
personal background and skills of connections
• Online networking – connect • It’s hard getting people to
with other businesses, clients engage with company pages
etc • A lot of people don’t visit that
• Can be particularly good for often so won’t see your
B2B updates
• You can add a company page • New endorsement feature may
which people can follow be turning into the LinkedIn
• You can post updates from you version of ‘likes’ – not
and from your company page necessarily useful
• Groups – can be useful to join
and/or setup

9. YouTube Google +
• Can create your own, branded • Google’s third attempt at social
channel media
• Big audience but lots of • Could become the B2B version
competition of Facebook pages …maybe
• Good for ‘how to’ videos • Google say they have a lot of
• Can use it to host video which users but most people aren’t
you can embed/share using it
• Remember to add clear titles, • Worth keeping an eye on it –
descriptions and keywords to Google have enough resource
help you get found to make it work in the end
• PSYBT • Get Social Scotland

10. OPPORTUNITIES

11. Exercise
Take ten minutes and
write down all the
different ways that you
think you could include
social media as part of
your marketing strategy

12. A few ideas …
• Share ideas
• Share offers
• Build website traffic
• Monitor competitor activity
• Post news items
• Help people out

13. INTEGRATE WITH OFFLINE

14. Online is not separate to
offline
Include details on:
• Business cards
• Letterheads
• Compliment slips
• Email footers
• Flyers
• Posters
• Pop-up banners
• Table cards
• What else?

15. Remember
• Tell people the name of your Twitter account, Facebook page
etc – don’t leave them to guess
• Try and keep the same username on all channels
• Don’t forget to complete all the bio information including a
link to your website

16. CONTENT STRATEGY

17. Kittens always get
great reaction on
social media but
don’t rely on that as
a strategy!

18. Exercise
Take ten minutes and
write down all the things
that you think your
followers would be
interested in hearing
about

19. Some ideas …
• News stories
• Hints and tips
• Images
• Feedback
• Sales messages
• New products/services
• Problem solving
• Keep it relevant – if you’re following the Waitrose account you
probably won’t be interested in hearing football updates there

20. Keep it balanced
• Remember it’s ‘social’ media – it’s not about you ‘telling’ all the time
• Don’t forget to listen!
• Sales messages shouldn’t be the bulk of your posts – followers will
get fed up of this and you’ll lose them
• Put yourself in your follower’s place – why should they follow you?
What’s in it for them?

21. HOW EFFECTIVE ARE YOU?

22. Think back to your
opportunities and objectives
• Have sales increased?
• Do you get more enquiries?
• Are more people signing up for your newsletter?
• Has your web traffic increased?
• Do you have more followers/fans? Who are they?

23. Some tools to help
Twitter and Facebook Website traffic
• Twitonomy • Google Analytics (will not
• Twitter Counter only tell you how much
• Facebook Insights traffic but also where it’s
come from)
… and several more!

24. SETTING UP A FACEBOOK
PAGE

31. Let’s visit Florizel Books

32. SET UP A TWITTER ACCOUNT

37. Let’s visit @FlorizelBooks

38. FINAL QUESTIONS

39. Any questions?