Social Media and your Small Business Reap the Power of Social Media Marketing and Engagement

1. Monster has everything you need to source new talent, match candidates
to opportunities and manage your workforce.
Social Media and
your Small Business
Reap the Power of Social Media
Marketing and Engagement

2. Social Media and Your Small Business
Share Tweet
Is social media right for your small
business? Consider these points:
1. Facebook reports 1.15 billion monthly
users, while Twitter reports 200 million
active users.1
The takeaway: go where
your audience is.
2. A social media presence will help you
hire top talent -- a plus as the economy
recovers and employee turnover
increases.
3. Social media lets you connect with
customers (and potential customers),
respond to questions, amplify
compliments, and diffuse complaints, all
in real time.
4. Speaking of time -- social media needn’t
be all-consuming.
5. Social media costs a fraction of
traditional media.
OK, then - let’s get started!
Contents
Formulating a Social Media Strategy . . . . . . . . . . 2
• Step One: Define your Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
• Step Two: Balance Marketing with Engagement . .2
• Step Three: Focus on the Audience Experience . . .3
• Step Four: Interact, Share and Respond . . . . . . . . 3
• Step Five: Cultivate Your Brand Advocates. . . . . . . 4
Pick your Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
To Blog or Not to Blog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
SocialMediaTipsforBusyBusinessOwners....... 7
Social Media Metrics 101. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Social Media Use in the Workplace. . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Additional Social Media Resources. . . . . . . . . . . 10
1.
Data from August, 2013.

3. Social Media and Your Small Business
2
Share Tweet
Formulating a Social Media Strategy
Take the “overwhelming” out of social media with this five-step action plan.
Step One: Define your Social Media Goals
Identify how social media could help achieve your business goals. Focus on one key objective, such as:
• Increase customer loyalty
• Increase direct sales
• Generate brand awareness
• Become a thought leader and expert
Once you’ve determined your objective, stick with it!
Step Two: Balance Marketing with Engagement
The most successful businesses use Web 2.0 to drive ideas, not product or offers. Engage your audience and
invite them into a conversation, rather than talking at them.
And just like a good conversationalist would do, remember to change topics regularly. Offer some surprises
beyond a “business as usual” viewpoint.
Experts recommend using a 70/30 rule of engagement, i.e., talk about business-related topics 70 percent of
the time and use the remaining 30 percent to talk about:
• Your company’s mission and vision
• Social endeavors and projects that involve your company
• Your employees and customers
(be sure to get their permission first)
• “Behind-the-scenes” stories about your company’s culture
In your blog posts, company website and other social media forums, use a
storytelling lens that draws people in. Demonstrate your company’s mission
and values by describing actions and results.
Above all, create content that’s shareable. Before you send out a Tweet or
publish a blog post, ask, “Does this message reflect our company’s reputation?
Will it benefit our business?” If not, revise or delete it!

4. Social Media and Your Small Business
3
Share Tweet
The Golden Rule of Social Media: Generate positive
conversation, engagement and participation.
Step Three: Focus on the Audience Experience
Rather than focus on audience size or the number of followers and fans, build a meaningful connection
with your audience and industry. Social media helps your target audience get to know your business
better – and encourages that audience to grow.
Cater to your core audience’s needs. Provide them with resources, advice and information on
a regular basis. Talk about industry trends of interest. Make every touch about their needs.
Be friendly and generous.
The more you use social media to engage your target audience, the more it will help cultivate business
in the long term.
Step Four: Interact, Share and Respond
Social media is about more than your own voice and viewpoint. Be sure to keep in mind these
guidelines as you respond and comment on other blogs, forums and discussions:
• Stay positive and respectful.
• Add something noteworthy to the conversation.
• Include a link to your own content if relevant to the topic.
• Link to other content that you find of interest on your own social media platforms.
• Respond promptly to social media comments left on your blog. (See To Blog or Not to Blog)
• Encourage engagement!
• Build relationships with your industry’s influencers.
• Reference individuals in your social media community with expertise and insights.
These simple actions will boost your online credibility and boost search engine ranking - - and
encourage others to share your content.

5. Social Media and Your Small Business
4
Share Tweet
Finding talent is
fast and easy
Purchase a
Monster Job Posting
and reach millions of
candidates everywhere!
Step Five: Cultivate your Brand Advocates
Recognizing that your employees (and these days, just about everyone else) are actively using social media
sites, why not make them your company’s brand advocates?
First, make sure they understand your company’s values and mission and how best to express it with
social media. Your company reputation depends on it.
Your army of brand advocates will share your company’s message and brand online with potential customers
and employees. Thus be sure that you establish some simple ground rules:
Keep Things Transparent: Employees should always identify
themselves in their social media. This will encourage full
transparency and accountability.
Follow the Rules: Employee online behavior should adhere to
your company’s existing employee policies. (see Social Media
Use in the Workplace.)
Keep Communication Open-Ended: As an employer,
you should be able to comment on an employee’s online
statements and postings, if needed.
Encourage Feedback: Employees who are active on social media can serve as your eyes and ears in tracking
industry trends and commentary about your company.
Consider this: If 100 of your employees or recruits posted something positive about your company right now,
their message could potentially reach 13,000 social media users. That is significant leverage!

6. Social Media and Your Small Business
5
Share Tweet
Pick your Platform
Utilize a variety of social media platforms to create your strategy.
Your Company Website: Allow employees to contribute content to your company website or blog. Doing
so will give them a sense of ownership and pride in their company. It also humanizes your company,
your culture and brand.
Facebook for Engagement: A company Facebook page can be a meet up for your workforce, a place to
engage customers – but most of all it can demonstrate your company brand. Highlight company events and
gatherings, employee initiatives and achievements.
A dynamic company Facebook page also demonstrates your company culture to potential job candidates.
Pinterest Adds Interest: As a visual platform, Pinterest uses images to engage your audience. It can
support your business objectives by linking users back to your company website or blog. Use it to create
a company storyboard.
Twitter: The popular micro-blogging site limits users to messages of 140 characters
or less. Many companies use the platform to further their online presence and as a
cross-functional pipeline.
Strive to generate original Tweets that reflect your company’s expertise and values.
Make Use of Media: Have a professional photographer take photos of employees
in action (be sure everyone signs a release first) for use on your company website
and other social media platforms. Encourage employees to share this content via
their own social networks.
Besides building your brand, visual content gives job candidates a sense of your company culture. Videos of
management and team members let job seekers see if they’d be a good fit for your company. Publish your
media across multiple social media platforms.

7. Social Media and Your Small Business
6
Share Tweet
To Blog or Not to Blog
A company blog can help differentiate your business, its services and brand, while building your
company’s reputation as an expert and resource. Consider these tips as you create your blog strategy.
Care and Feeding of your Blog
• Be realistic about your available time and resources
• Consistency is more important than frequency
• Line up internal support to maintain your blog
• Engage a responsible employee who is
experienced in social media
Creating Content
• Invite others to contribute to your blog, including:
• Employees
• Industry experts
• Satisfied customers
• Establish a publishing schedule and guidelines for blog contributors
• Allot time to review and revise content as needed prior to publish
Creating Community
• Regularly monitor comments and discussions
• Maintain freedom of expression
• Edit or delete negative comments directed at individuals
What to Write About
• Make your blog a source of industry news and information
• Include links to related resources in your posts
• Share brief stories that exemplify your company’s unique culture, brand and ethics

8. Social Media and Your Small Business
7
Share Tweet
Tips for Busy Business Owners
Are you too busy for social media? The key is to keep it simple:
Create a Schedule: Set aside a portion of time each day to post to your blog and other social media platforms.
Give yourself a regular amount of time to complete the task. Choose a time of day that will give you the peace
and quiet needed to think and write clearly.
Stay Connected: Check in briefly with key social media sources throughout the
day to help inspire content ideas for your own blog and Twitter feed.
Be Consistent: While you don’t have to post new content every day, strive to
publish content on a regular basis – at minimum a few times a week.
Keep It Short and Sweet: It’s always difficult to find the time to create online
content. The good news: your audience’s time is limited too!
Keep your blog posts brief and conversational. Take more time to
edit your writing. Brevity and clarity are always greatly appreciated.
Follow as Much as You Lead: While your point of view is valuable, also look for ways to solicit responses and
feedback from the audience in your blog posts, tweets and other communications.
Be a Servant: Be of service to your audience. Keep their needs in mind as you write. This point of view will
inherently drive engagement and participation (and potentially conversion).
Get Feedback from Trusted Sources: If you’re concerned about your level of writing, ask a trusted
source to review and edit your content. Choose someone with solid writing skills and business acumen.
Incorporate this process into your publishing routine to maintain the quality of your posts and content.
Be Frank, Polite and Civil: Keep your opinions and knee-jerk reactions in check, especially with irate
customers or others whose opinion differs from your own. Remember – you are your company’s brand
ambassador.

9. Social Media and Your Small Business
8
Share Tweet
Social Media Metrics 101
Determining what social media metrics matter most to your small business can be challenging.
These basics will help get you started:
Go Where your Target Audience Goes: Experts recommend tracking the number of
visits, leads and customers that each of your social media platforms generate. Focus
your efforts on the platforms that your target audience frequents the most and adjust
your social media strategy accordingly.
Using Google Analytics: A statistical treasure trove for small business, Google
Analytics, including Google conversions, is used by half of the 10,000 most-visited
websites. Additionally, Google’s Adwords Keyword Planner will help you plan your pay-
per-click campaigns more effectively.
Tracking Engagement: Follow the 70/30 rule of engagement (see Step Two: Balance Marketing with
Engagement) and focus first on building customer relationships. Once you’ve done so, move on to…
Tracking Conversions: By adding a tracking code to links that are posted on your social networks, you can
measure the purchase of goods or services, customer leads or other statistics that are meaningful to your
business goals.
Virality: The Internet equivalent of word of mouth, virality is a holy grail of social
marketing. It can generate a huge return on investment for the rare campaign that
spreads like wildfire.
Given the variety of available social media platforms, going viral often means that a
campaign jumps from customers to prospects, from one social platform to another,
and so on. The end result often makes it difficult to measure virality and may require
substantial investment.
Customer Sourcing: When it comes to conversion, don’t forget to ask in-store customers what brought
them into the store. Keep track of their responses. This will help you better allocate your social media
marketing budget.
If your business is online, include a “Where did you hear about us?” field in your “Contact Us” form.

10. Social Media and Your Small Business
9
Share Tweet
Social Media Use in the Workplace
As social media use grows, more people access it throughout the day. Rather than prohibit its use, many
experts recommend taking a more proactive approach.
Create a Social Media Policy
A social media policy will promote a better balance between work and online activities and circumvent social
media mishaps. Use it to supplement your company’s other legal documents, such as your Internet use policy,
code of conduct and ethics policy and privacy and non-harassment policies. A social media policy will help
clarify:
• Infringements on confidential company information and intellectual property rights and other
proprietary information.
• Slanderous or libelous statements that are detrimental to business and unsubstantiated
that are prohibited.
• Comments made by the employee are their own and should not be made on behalf of the company.
• Those channels that are safe and appropriate for various types of communications.
Consult your own legal counsel to create a social media policy that best suits your
place of business.
As you assemble your policy, consider these recommendations:
Keep It Simple: Keep the policy easy to read and understand to prevent employees
from ignoring it altogether. Make it easily accessible online.
Train Employees: Train all employees about your social media policy and corporate
messaging. This will enable them to confidently and appropriately promote your company. Include this training
as part of your new hire orientation.
Involve your Staff: Encourage employees to talk openly to managers about their blogs and online profiles
as questions arise.
Separate Work and Personal Data: Be aware of data privacy issues on portable devices that combine work
and personal data. If the device is lost, it may require wiping the device’s storage to maintain corporate
security, thus destroying the employee’s personal data, and potentially creating a liability issue.

11. Social Media and Your Small Business
10
Share Tweet
Follow Us
Additional Social Media Resources
Use these additional social media resources to stay current.
Blogs and social media websites:
• Web Ink Now: David Meerman Scott’s blog -- he wrote the book on social media. (see below)
• Mashable: News about the latest social media trend mash ups.
• Social Media Today: New thinking about social media.
• TechCrunch: Technology trends and developments.
Books:
• The New Rules of Marketing & PR by David Meerman Scott (Fourth edition, Wiley, 2013)
• Built-in Social: Essential Social Marketing Practices for Every Small Business
by Jeff Korhan (Wiley, 2013)
• Highly Recommended: Harnessing the Power of Word of Mouth and Social Media to Build Your
Brand and Your Business by Paul M. Rand (McGraw-Hill, 2013)
More from the Resource Center
Social Media Strategy: Your Social Media Marketing Plan
Social media marketing demystified.
Energize your Business Strategy with Social Media
Grow your business as you save money.
Your Company’s Social Media Policy 2.0
Evolve your social media policy.
Company Branding and Employee Social Networks: A Social Media Win-Win
Learn how to build a brand army.
Visit the Monster Resource Center