7. Officially ‘Social Media’ is an
umbrella term that defines
various social interactions, and
the construction of words,
pictures, videos and audio.
8. It’s also a fancy
way of describing
the zillions of
conversations
people are having
online 24/7.
9. “Social media isn’t a destination, it’s a tool in the
integrated marketing plan that connects people with
other people. If the content is good and the visitors
feel some passion and loyalty to these relationships, a
community grows. Within that community are potential
customers.”
10. The Benefits
• Customer engagement
• Direct customer communications
• Speed of feedback / results
• Learn customer preferences
• Low cost
• Brand building
• Market research
• Credibility of the crowd
• Reach
12. So how should you use it?
• Connect directly with customers
• Fight misconceptions
• Humanise your brand
• Monitor feedback
• Gain insight to your target market
16. The breakdown...
Male / Female Split
Description Majority Age Range
Facebook Social networking site M 43% / F 57% 35-54
Myspace Social networking site M 36% / F 74% Under 17
Hi5 Social networking site M 40% / F 60% Under 17
Bebo Social networking site M 34% / F 66% Under 17
Business orientated social networking
LinkedIn tool M 50% / F 50% 35-54
Twitter Social network & micro-blogging tool M 40% / F 60% 35-44
Social news website increasing content
Digg discovery M 62% / F 38% 25-44
Flickr Image & video sharing community M 47% / F 53% 35-54
Last.fm Internet radio site M 50% / F 50% Under 17, 35-54
18. Listening Tools
• Google Alerts - Google.com/alerts
• Google Blog Search - blogsearch.google.com
• Google Search - google.com
• Twitter Search - search.twitter.com
• Facebook group and page searches
19. Tailor Your Search
• Be mindful of the frequency of the media you’re
searching
• Start specific
• Be as current as possible - this is real-time web!
• Be smart with searches, using your most popular
PPC keyterms
23. RSS (Rich Site Summary)
RSS is a format for delivering regularly changing web
content. Many news-related sites, blog and other
online publishers syndicate their content as an RSS
feed for anybody who wants it.
24. RSS - How To
1. Websites summarise content into an RSS feed
2. Visitors download an RSS reader (aka news aggregator).
3. Visitors select the content and summaries they wish to view in
their RSS reader.
4. Content is added to the reader by entering the URL of the
RSS feed. Sites that have a feed normally have an orange
button to grab this feed.
5. Each time the feed is updated, the content being viewed in
the reader indicates that there’s new content.
28. Blogs - Must Know
• Add relevant comments without spamming - simply
link your name to your site to drive inbound links
• Search current posts to ensure your comments are
seen by the best possible audience
• Take note of trending topics to tailor marketing
campaigns and blog posts
36. Facebook - Some Stats
• 400m active users
• 50% of active users log in on
any given day
• 20M+ become fans of a page
each day
• There are more than 5.3bn fans
• 65m of active users access
through mobile web
37. Facebook - The Average User
• 130 friends
• Spends 55mins per day on the
site
• Leaves 25 comments p/m
• Likes 9 items p/m
• Becomes a fan of 4 pages p/m
38. Facebook - Getting Started
• Visit www.facebook.com/pages/create.php?
to create
• Suggest to friends (left hand nav)
• Don’t be afraid to ask
• Include links in any communications that you’re
sending and promote from Twitter with links
• Once you have 25 followers you
can secure your own username
e.g. Facebook.com/Match
• There are no limits on the number
of admins you can add
• You can remove or ban fans if
required
39. Facebook - Benefits of a Page
• A great way of communicating with fans to engage,
provide them with updates and notifications of
promotions etc.
• Post status updates which will soon be shown in fan
news feeds (rolling out soon)
• Publish posts, links, photos and
videos to fans based on location.
Controlled via the customise option.
40. Facebook - Pages Above Groups
• More official, must belong to the actual organisation
• Intended to help an entity communicate publicly
• Enables you to maintain a personal/professional
distinction
• Pages never display the admin’s name
• If you post or take actions on
somebody else’s page, it will
appear to have come from your
page.
41. Facebook - Effective Use
• Make sure your branding is a professional
representation of your site
• Maintain activity on your wall (the front section of
your page)
• Think carefully about the copy you include for the
info section to the left of your page - include your
site URL and Twitter name
• Pool content - import your blog and
Twitter feed
• Be engaged, regular activity will
encourage new fans to sign up,
status updates are an easy quick fix
• Provide relevant content
42. Facebook - Monitor
• You need to log in to check activity, you won’t
receive notifications
• Monitor which formats and topics prompt the most
interactions
• Use a URL shortener for posting links & monitoring
• Research competitors to assess
what they’re doing well and less
well
• Look at other brands such as
Zappos that do it really well for tips
43. Facebook - Competitors
• How many fans do they have?
• How often are they updating?
• What interaction levels are there with their posts?
• What pages and groups are they commenting on?
• What communications are they sending to fans?
• What formats are they using to engage with users -
polls etc?
• How are they using their notes
section?
52. Twitter
“Twitter is a simple tool that helps connect businesses
more meaningfully with the right audience at the right
time.
Businesses of all shapes and sizes can now stay
connected with their customers. It can be used to quickly
share information with people interested in your
company, gather real-time market
intelligence and feedback, and
build relationships with your
customers or target market.”
53. Twitter - The Basics
• 140 characters
• Interesting & relevant content
• Reply to people starting your tweet with @ and
the username, e.g. @melkirk
• Direct Message personal messages by visiting
the user’s profile page and selecting message
from the righthand navigation
• Contribute to a Trending Topic
by adding a hashtag to the
end of the tweet with the
name of the trending topic
e.g. #dating
61. Twitter - Building Relationships
Instead of thinking of Twitter as a place to
broadcast about your company, think of it
as a place to build relationships.
• Respond to questions or comments addressed
to you
• Listen regularly for comments about your brand
- be prepared to address concerns, offer
customer service or thank people for their
praise
• If in doubt, refer to your Partner Manager
before responding
62. Twitter - Standing Out From The Crowd
• Think about your bio carefully
• Customise your background
• Include your URL and links to other social spaces
• Have a clear call to action
• Use a casual, friendly tone
• Choose your username carefully - this might be
the brand name or the individuals writing for the
brand e.g. @justsingles_amy
• Don’t be afraid if you choose the individual route
to add a personal slant to make it more human
and easy for people to connect to
63. Twitter - Gaining Followers
• Follow interesting relevant people
• Ensure content is targeted and smart
• Add to trending topics where relevant
• Re-tweet interesting content from other people
• Tweet interesting links
• Register with Twitter directories such
as WeFollow.com
64. Twitter - Things to Avoid
• Spam
• Auto-bot responses
• Post long links
• Post anything you aren’t
happy with being in the
public domain!
65. Twitter - Engagement
Before you set up measurement tools,
focus on the quality of your engagement.
• How’s feedback and interaction?
• Are you responding to most of your @messages?
• Are most of the tweets about you positive?
• If they started out negatively, are they coming
around?
•Are more people engaging with you and
mentioning your brand?
66. Twitter - Tracking
Bit.ly
A free service that allows you to shorten URLs, track
click throughs, check location of traffic by country.
PeashootApp.com
Costs $25 p/m or $149 p/a. Allows you to shorten
URLs, track click throughs, check location of traffic by
region, view mentions of your link
elsewhere on the web
67. Twitter - Resources
Bit.ly - URL shortener and tracker
PeashootApp.com - URL shortener and tracker
Twitpic.com - Allows you to post photos
LaterBro.com - Schedule tweets to be posted at a
specified date and time in the future
TweetDeck.com - Downloadable dashboard
application which notified you in real time of
updates from people you’re
following, keyword mentions
and groups.
76. Blogs - The Basics
A blog is a website where you update the content
on a regular basis. New content shows at the
top, so your readers get to see what’s new first.
They then comment on it, link to it, or email you.
Or not.
Can be standalone or built into your site.
There are many platforms.
77. Blogs - The Benefits
• Search Engine Marketing
• Direct Communications
• Brand Building
• Competitive Differentiation
• Position as Thought Leader
• Reputation Management
• Low Cost
78. Blogs - Search Engine Marketing
• Content Rich Keywords
• Themed Sites - Lots of Pages on a Similar Theme
• Site Design
• Smart Internal Linking
• Updated Regularly
• Outbound Links
• One Topic Per Post
• Optimal Length Posts (min 250 words)
• Avoid Duplicate Content
79. Blogs - Content Rich Keywords
• How do I want people to find content in search
engines?
• What will they type into Google to find the content
that I’m writing about?
•How would I find information on this topic in search
engines?
• What results come up when I plug these keywords
into Google?
• What keywords are my competitors using?
80. Blogs - Keyword Placement
• Post & Page Titles
• URL (where possible)
• Outbound Links
• Bold Tags
• Heading Tags
• Image Alt Tags
• General Copy Throughout Post
• Meta Tags
81. Blogs - Inbound Links
You ideally would like to get inbound links from sites
higher ranked than your own, that are relevant to the
topic on which you are writing about and linking to
you using the anticipated keywords. These factors
help that happen:
• Quality Content
• Notify Bloggers of Content
• Directories
• Swap Links
• Buy Links?!?
82. Blogs - Recipe For Success
• Stay On Topic
• Remain Informative
• Write To Be Read
• Keep Copy Clear & Simple
• Update Regularly
• Spell Check & Proof Read
• Smart Titles
• Adhere To A Schedule
• Archive Old Posts
83. Blogs - The Platforms
The following 5 blogs were top rated by Mashable
readers in December 2009:-
1. Wordpress.org/com
2. Blogger.com
3. Posterous.com
4. Tumblr.com
5. LiveJournal.com
Mashable.com is a great blog focussed on social
media. It’s worth subscribing and reading regularly to
keep on top of trending themes and ideas.
86. The Positive
• Respond to mentions
• Ask questions and respond to answers
• Re-tweet mentions with your comments
• Share success stories
• Ask for feedback
• Give exclusive sneak peaks
• Respond to followers tweets that don’t always
mention you for the ‘delight’ factor
• ADD INTERESTING CONTENT!
87. The Negative
Straight Problems Constructive Criticism
Whilst it may paint the business in a poor light, it exposes Whilst negative, the suggestions can be really helpful in
real problems that need to be dealt with. shaping future activity or your site.
• A response is always necessary • Always requires a response
• Whether personal or brand facing will depend on the • Some if not all of the time, you may not wish to
size of the problem and how many people have reported implement their suggestion - but these are the people that
it. count - they’re your advocates and are trying to improve
• Sometimes perceived rather than actual e.g. someone your service.You’ll build loyalty and trust by responding
doesn’t like the way you do something. Still respond, even with a positive message.
if it’s just “Thanks for bringing it to our attention, but • Well worth the effort of thanking them for their
here’s why we do it that way” suggestion.
Merited Attack Trolling / Spam
Essentially your company did something wrong and the No valid reason for being angry at you or they’re only
member is angry. commenting to try and promote their service.
• Harsh as the comment may be, it has a basis in a real
problem • No response is required
• Respond promptly and positively • Purely designed to bait you into and unnecessary and
• Thank them for the feedback image-damaging fight or siphoning off your customers
• Assure them that steps are being taken to mitigate the • Remove these comments as soon as you spot them
problem
I had a scenario with a friend where they had an issue with LastMinute.com. Having sent 4 emails to their customer service deptartment, they still hadn't received a response. When told of the situation, my automatic response was to ask whether they had a Twitter account. Having found they did and replied to them, a response was received within an hour.
This isn't a nice to have any more, people are coming to expect it.
It's not too late, brands are just realising they need to be active, this is the time to act.
But basically it's the tools that allow engagement and interactions between people.
It's not about creating a profile on Twitter and Facebook and thinking you're done. It's about continually energising and engaging to get people talking about your brand.
Engagement = Conversion.
Build personal relationships in real-time.
React immediately.
This will provide you with insight that large organisations would spend hundreds of thousands to get.
It'll distinguish you from the competition and will encourage word of mouth - the best form of marketing.
If the content you provide is interesting and original, your community will spread it throughout the web. In turn, this is great for your search rankings.
There are so many tools out there. Using all of them ineffectively is worse than no presence at all. Choose the right tool for the right audience. Let's take a look.
As you can see, Facebook tends to be an older demographic, MySpace & Bebo tend to be younger teens and worth avoiding. Twitter spreads nicely across the same demographic but is spreading rapidly through teens and the older generation.
The other sites are different mediums and depend on the interests of your target audience.
Let's take a closer look.
Ensure that you add interesting, relevant content.
Strength = Likelihood of your brand being mentioned in social media.
Passion = Likelihood of those talking about your brand doing it repeatedly.
Sentiment = Ratio of mentions that are generally positive to negative.
Reach = Measure the range of influence. No. of unique visitors / total mentions
SocialMention.com is a great way of monitoring how many people are mentioning your brand and the sentiment behind it.
Ensure that you add interesting, relevant content.
The groups are set up by members of your target audience rather than official companies.
With Twitter, you have to be specific with your search terms due to the volume and regularity of content. Be prepared to trawl depending on what you're searching for esepcially depending on your brand name.
You can search using the preferences you determine.
Searching discussions is more likely to bring up forums and blogs rather than published websites.
Let's take a look at Facebook.
Be sure to ask friends to become fans to begin with - even ask if they're able to suggest to their friends.
Cross promote on other social networks.
Clearly link from your splash page and comms.
It's a great way of putting your brand in front of eyes whilst in an environment that's social and that they're already comfortable with.
The main benefit here is that it's seen as an official source and the anonymity - anyone can have one, no matter which site you run.
Match has quite a good Facebook page, although they could do with more content to spark engagement. Most of the activity revolves around success stories, but they always make the effort to respond to comments.
Adding photos of the team humanises the brand and gives people faces to associate themselves with.
Integrating Facebook, Twitter and hashtags for trends to create competetions and generate activity for competition raises awareness, increases followers and keeps members engaged.
Creating content around the demand of the audience. Gives members a sense of ownership and belonging.
Just posting links is not conducive for anyone and is purely broadcasting rather than engaging.
An empty page is often worse than no page at all - showing members that you don't understand them and don't value conversation.
Twitter...
So let's take a look at what it actually is!
Using Twitter to purely promote and post links to your site will mean that you won’t gain quality followers and your efforts will be wasted.
Auto-bot responses should always be avoided as this defeats the object of engagement and is more likely to cause harm to your brand.
Remember you only have 140 characters... the longer your link the harder it is for people to re-tweet your content.
These stats show you the amount of people that you’re following, the amount of followers that you have and the number of lists that you appear on.
This is the way of accessing mentions of your username, whether that’s responses or brand mentions etc.
This is where you will access your direct messages.
This is where you can see who has re-tweeted your content.
Use this box to search for key terms that may be of interest to respond to... this is also a great way of finding followers that are talking about content that is of interest to you.
Trending topics are shown here. Click on any of the topics to take you through to the tweets mentioning the topic.
Choose to reply or re-tweet. I'd be more tempted to copy and paste with RT @username and the message as this allows you to include your own comments.
Your bio will often be displayed in Twitter directories. This is your chance to persuade people whether you're worth following or not, whether it's a brand a/c or you're tweeting on behalf of your brand.
People will be notified as soon as you follow them, so they’re likely to follow you back if your tweets are interesting.
If content is targeted towards the audience you’d like to appeal to, they’re more likely to follow.
Re-tweeting content will notify the originator that you’ve re-tweeted and raise awareness of you as well as building social capital.
Interesting links will soon get you known as the must-follow person for good content
Using Twitter to purely promote and post links to your site will mean that you won’t gain quality followers and your efforts will be wasted.
Auto-bot responses should always be avoided as this defeats the object of engagement and is more likely to cause harm to your brand.
Remember you only have 140 characters... the longer your link the harder it is for people to re-tweet your content.
Make sure that you're operating effectively before scaling and monitoring. Always set yourself targets against which to work.
In my opinion, Peashoot is worth it's weight in gold and a good investment - especially if you include your Google Analytics code.
Whether you decide to be brand or the voice behind the brand, it needs to be consistent and the brand needs to be out there!
This is a great example of being personal but representative of the brand. Great contact details and insight to the brand.
Although the branding is not great here, the way they approach customer service is amazing. They're in touch with their users and fully engaged.
A great balance between engagement and cross promotion. Clever placement of the URL on the cup. Nicely branded.
Great information promotion of the Facebook page.
Consistent and professional branding.
Re-tweeting mentions and adding comments.
Whilst branding may be good, it's purely broadcasting links.
Poor username!
No branding.
Should be displayed as HorseAndHound.
No engagement.
Blogs provide a great tool to show yourself as being a real thought leader with something worthwhile to say. Topics should remain relevant to the target audience but this also provides you with a communication method of talking directly with your audience or providing quick updates to them that would otherwise take too long to add to your site.
Strategically thinking about your keywords to ensure that your site is delivered for your intended audience’s searches are critical.
Clever placement of the keywords will ensure that your site increases it’s performance in search engine rankings. However, it’s always important to remember that content is being written for your readers and so the posts must have some purpose other that purely for SEO purposes.
With RSS readers being the source of many people’s intake, getting the title punchy and attention grabbing is key - think of it as being like an email title.
Regularity is really important and having scheduled content often means that your readers learn to expect content at a particular time of the week. If you aren’t able to do this yourself, consider paying a ghost writer.
Through archiving old posts, you’ll soon develop a large portal of similarly themed content.
The type of Wordpress that you use i.e. .org or .com will be determined by whether you’ll be hosting your own blog (as part of your site) in which case you’ll need .org or whether you’ll have them host it (as a standalone) where you’ll need .com