Special Report

2. Special
Report:
Why
social
media
can’t
be
ignored
if
you
want
to
grow
your
business
Who
is
behind
Initi8
Marketing?
Initi8
Marketing
is
directed
and
managed
by
myself,
Thomas
Crawshaw,
with
many
basic
tasks
taken
care
of
by
my
team
of
outsourced
professionals.
My
mission
with
Initi8
is
simple,
to
help
businesses
profit
from
social
media.
I
have
been
an
avid
social
media
user
from
2007,
when
I
used
various
social
networks
to
promote
myself
as
a
DJ.
Back
then,
I
never
realized
the
marketing
potential
of
social
media
for
all
businesses,
even
though
I
was
marketing
myself
successfully.
The
goals
I
was
looking
to
achieve
were:
• Increase
plays
on
my
mixes
• Increase
fans
on
my
Fan
Page
• Generate
additional
event
RSVP’s
• Create
dynamic
relationships
with
promoters
• Get
more
work
offers
My
activity,
mainly
on
Facebook,
directly
led
to
more
exposure,
more
gigs
and
more
money!
Now,
with
several
years
experience
and
industry
training
in
social
media,
online
marketing
and
community
management,
Initi8
helps
SME’s
(Small
Medium
Enterprise)
cut
through
all
the
hype
around
social
media
to
create
an
effective
strategy
that
delivers
results
in
line
with
the
specific
goals
of
that
company.
We
help
businesses
ranging
from
hairdressers,
restaurants,
events
companies,
festivals,
national
magazines
and
many
more
to
drive
traffic
to
their
websites,
increase
conversions
and
engage
their
target
audience
among
other
measurable
goals.

3. Social
media’s
rapid
rise
in
recent
years
gave
marketers
an
exciting
new
toolbox
for
communicating
with
customers
and
prospects.
Suddenly,
established
marketing
&
advertising
tactics
such
as
email,
Adwords
and
others
were
seen
as
old
fashioned,
one-­‐way
channels
that
consumers
started
to
tune-­‐out.
Social
networks
such
as
Facebook,
LinkedIn
and
Twitter
offered
an
alternative:
two-­‐way
communication
channels
where
marketers
can
listen,
and
then
engage
with
customers
and
prospects
in
real
dialogue.
This
is
not
to
say
e-­‐mail
and
other
forms
of
marketing
are
dead.
However,
as
consumers’
buying
habits
are
changing
due
to
the
content
now
available,
buying
decisions
can
now
be
influenced
through
social
media
before
they
part
with
their
cash,
and
increasingly,
many
customers
visit
social
media
sites
to
get
an
idea
of
what
YOU
are
like
as
a
company.
Businesses
need
to
be
aware
of
this
and
adapt
accordingly.
The
meteoric
rise
of
social
networking
sites
like
Facebook,
Twitter
and
YouTube
have
challenged
marketers
and
businesses
alike
to
feed
the
content
hungry
users
that
spend
a
surprising
405
minutes
per
month
on
Facebook
alone!
Why
should
you
believe
me?
I
have
been
fortunate
to
work
with
many
local
businesses
as
well
as
national
magazines
and
festivals,
achieving
outstanding
results,
but
more
on
these
later.
Whenever
I
meet
a
client
to
chat
about
social
media,
there
is
always
one
inevitable
question
that
pops
up
time
and
time
again
and
quite
rightly
so.
What’s
in
it
for
me?
This
question
relates
to
the
return
on
the
investment
you
will
be
making
when
hiring
a
company
like
Initi8
to
help
out
with
your
social
media.
There
are
many
ways
we
can
define
a
‘return’
because
this
is
directly
related
to
your
strategy
goals.
So
if
your
goal
is
to
increase
the
number
of
customers
eating
at
your
restaurant
(from
Facebook)
then
this
return
can
be
measured
in
£££!
But
if
you
have
the
goal
of
reaching
a
wider
audience,
then
your
return
will
be
measured
in
hits
to
your

4. website,
number
of
likes,
number
of
people
talking
about,
how
many
people
your
posts
reach,
etc.
This
is
why
it
is
extremely
important
we
define
your
goal(s)
and
determine
how
to
measure
them
in
your
strategy,
then
report
back
to
help
improve
your
results.
Let
me
give
you
some
examples
that
demonstrate
these
goals
in
context.
Renegade
Hair
Salon
Goal
–
to
acquire
new
customers
by
offering
25%
off
first
cut
via
Facebook
&
Twitter.
Measurement
–
collect
names
of
users
that
have
been
given
the
discount
then
cross-­‐reference
booking
system
in
salon
to
determine
who
has
booked
and
how
much
they
have
spent.
Evaluation
–
Calculate
ROI
(Return
on
Investment)
over
initial
3
months
–
Gained
8
new
clients
=
500%
ROI
(based
on
value
of
a
customer
over
1
year).
AlphaFit
Magazine
Goal
–
To
increase
awareness,
reach
and
interaction
with
the
magazine
through
social
media.
Measurement
–
Monitor
number
of
likes,
people
talking
about,
reach,
hits
from
Facebook
to
website,
re-­‐tweets,
mentions
and
followers
on
Twitter.
Evaluation
–
Over
a
2
month
period
we
analyzed
data
from
social
media
and
website
–
Facebook
is
currently
generating
1/5th
of
all
traffic
to
website,
increased
engagement
of
an
additional
70
people
talking
about
that
created
a
viral
reach
of
6,113
from
514.

5.
Twitter
has
proven
very
effective,
with
an
increase
of
over
500
followers
and
between
20-­‐30
re-­‐tweets
and
mentions
per
week.
Crooked
Ways
Festival
Goal
–
To
increase
awareness
and
visibility
of
Crooked
Ways
festival
on
Facebook
&
Twitter.
Measurement
-­‐
Monitor
number
of
likes,
people
talking
about,
reach,
hits
from
Facebook
to
website,
re-­‐tweets,
mentions
and
followers
on
Twitter.
Results
–
In
just
the
first
few
weeks
we
were
able
to
increase
the
reach
of
their
Facebook
Fan
Page
from
around
7000
on
April
25th
to
64,600!
This
is
almost
a
10x
increase.
Their
twitter
page
has
received
hundreds
of
mentions
and
re-­‐tweets
in
the
short
space
of
time
we
have
been
running
their
campaign.
The
Process

6. from
Consultation
to
Reporting
• Before
our
meeting
–
prior
research
is
always
necessary
to
give
me
a
background
of
your
company,
ideas
of
what
might
work
and
an
indication
of
what
type
of
marketing
you
are
doing
already.
• Initial
meeting
–
The
purpose
of
a
face-­‐to-­‐face
meeting
is
to
determine
what
your
goals
are,
who
your
target
audience
is
and
how
successful
your
current
marketing
strategy
is
(if
you
have
one!).
This
also
presents
an
opportunity
for
you,
the
client,
to
ask
any
question
you
may
have
at
this
stage
and
to
discuss
the
social
media
management/strategy
solutions
we
offer.
This
meeting
typically
lasts
between
30-­‐40
minutes.
• Social
media
strategy
–
After
a
decision
is
made
and
one
of
our
solutions
is
chosen,
your
social
media
strategy
will
be
written
based
on
the
information
noted
from
the
initial
meeting.
The
strategy
will
cover
the
main
social
networks
you
would
like
to
create
and
grow
a
presence
on,
usually
for
a
period
of
6-­‐12
months.
If
a
more
in-­‐depth
analysis
is
needed,
a
half-­‐day
strategy
session
can
always
be
arranged.
• Working
relationship
–
An
important
part
of
a
successful
campaign
is
a
strong
and
healthy
working
relationship
with
a
contact
at
your
company.
Open
communication
allows
information
to
be
relayed
back
and
forth
so
both
parties
have
a
clear
vision
of
what
is
happening
with
your
social
media
and
ensures
all
data
and
reports
are
shared.
• Reporting
–
This
crucial
step
will
evaluate
data
collected
against
your
goals
to
determine
the
success
of
your
social
media
campaign.
We
will
analyze
all
the
data
we
have
access
to
and
present
it
in
a
clear
and
logical
manner
detailing
suggestions
for
improvement.
What’s
put
you
off?
There
may
be
many
reasons
that
you
have
downloaded
this
white
paper
today,
usually
there
is
some
sort
of
problem
that
you
want
to
fix
and
you’re
curious
to
see
what
we
can
do.
Your
problem
will
usually
be
something
I
hear
on
a
daily
basis
when
meeting
with
businesses.
Some
may
include….
• “I’ve
just
started
using
social
media
for
my
business,
but
I’m
not
seeing
any
tangible
results
from
my
efforts”
It
is
likely
that
you
haven’t
been
using
social
media
long
enough.
If
you’re
not
using
advertising,
your
campaign
could
take
several
months
to
gather
momentum.
Also,
only
broadcasting
updates
to
your
audience
instead
of
interacting
and
creating
conversation
won’t
deliver
any
return.
You
will
need
a
proper
strategy
and
management
campaign
to
create
goals
and
a
measurement
system
to
really
drive
results.
• “I
don’t
really
understand
social
media
and
how
it
works”
It’s
hard
to
overcome
a
lack
of
understanding
without
experience,
so
I
would
suggest
you
start
using
social
media
for
personal
use.
When
it
comes
down

7. to
your
business,
you
need
be
spend
your
time
productively.
Trying
to
get
your
head
around
social
media
for
your
business
will
only
eat
away
at
your
time
and
may
not
even
deliver
a
return.
Don’t
risk
making
a
costly
error
on
social
media;
a
properly
managed
campaign
will
clear
that
headache
of
yours
once
and
for
all!
• “I
can’t
see
the
value
in
it”
This
is
the
most
common
objection
I
come
across,
usually
when
the
business
has
either
had
a
bad
experience
with
a
previous
marketing
firm
that
promised
them
the
world
or
hasn’t
been
able
to
get
results
themselves
and
can’t
quite
comprehend
the
value
of
conversations
and
social
sharing.
I
believe
social
media
will
work
for
almost
any
business.
It
just
depends
on
what
strategy
you
have
in
place.
I
have
presented
several
case
studies
in
the
white
paper
that
demonstrate
ROI
as
defined
by
the
goals
of
the
business.
• “I’ve
been
told
(by
a
friend)
that
I
need
to
be
on
Facebook
and
Twitter”
Many
business
owners
feel
the
need,
often
implanted
by
a
friend,
to
join
Facebook
and
Twitter
and
start
posting
updates
about
their
breakfast!
This
is
not
the
most
efficient
way
of
participating
in
social
media.
You
don’t
want
to
just
set
up
a
page
and
then
just
leave
it
(I
see
this
all
the
time).
Again,
having
a
clear
strategy
with
defined
goals
with
give
you
something
to
work
towards.
• “It’s
a
great
promotional
channel,
but
I’m
not
really
getting
anywhere”
One
of
the
most
common
mistakes
when
using
social
media
is
to
turn
your
networks
into
promotional
channels.
You
will
find
that
this
strategy
will
not
elicit
the
response
you
are
looking
for.
‘Social’
media
is
just
that,
SOCIAL!
People
want
to
get
involved
in
a
two-­‐way
dialogue,
not
just
one-­‐way
broadcasting.
Crafting
a
content
strategy
will
be
an
important
part
of
your
social
media
so
there
is
plenty
for
your
fans
to
chat
about.
• “I’ve
spent
money
on
social
media
in
past,
WHAT
A
WASTE!”
We
can
appreciate
that
many
of
you
have
given
social
media
a
try
but
didn’t
get
any
return
on
your
investment.
We
are
confident
that,
with
the
right
strategy
and
budget,
almost
any
company
can
be
successful
on
social
media.
What
social
media
can
do
for
YOUR
business
Social
media
works
best
when
you
set
out
clearly
defined
goals
in
your
strategy.
I’m
going
to
discuss
the
most
popular
and
achievable
goals
that
can
be
reached
through
social
media.
• Build
rapport
with
existing
clients
–
This
is
something
small
businesses
are
generally
quite
good
at
offline,
but
when
it
comes
to
the
conversations
around
their
brand
online,
little
effort
is
made
to
engage
and
interact
with
these
customers.
Even
if
it’s
just
a
quick
thank
you,
people
really
appreciate
this.
You
can
go
even
further
and
surprise
your
customers
with
a
special

8. discount
or
freebie.
Going
beyond
the
expectation
of
your
customer
will
really
make
their
experience
memorable.
• Create
an
online
community
–
establish
yourself
as
an
authority
in
your
industry
by
publishing
credible
articles,
reviews,
videos
and
photos.
Reaching
out
to
influential
industry
leaders
is
a
great
way
to
get
your
business
known
fast.
These
people
will
have
substantially
larger
networks
than
yours
and
will
come
in
handy
if
they
ever
promote
your
content.
• Laser
target
your
ideal
audience
–
One
of
the
major
advantages
of
social
media
is
that
you
can
perform
searches
on
Twitter
around
your
industry
keywords,
hot
topics
and
locations
to
find
the
right
people
to
connect
with.
‘Facebook
Ads’
goes
a
little
deeper
and
offers
a
targeting
system
that
can
drill
down
to
any
demographic.
You
can
refine
your
search
according
to
age,
location,
marital
status,
interests,
education,
where
they
work
and
more!
• Connect
with
prospects
where
they
spend
a
ton
of
their
time.
People
are
spending
more
and
more
time
on
Facebook,
Twitter,
YouTube
and
other
networks
to
engage
with
their
favorite
brands
and
chat
to
their
friends.
The
uptake
of
social
media
is
actually
accelerating,
so
now
is
the
best
time
to
get
started,
your
competition
already
has.
• Create
buzz
around
an
event,
promotion,
competition
–
One
of
the
main
attractions
to
social
media
is
the
huge
reach
these
major
networks
offer.
With
over
800
million
Facebook
users
and
175
million
Twitter
users,
these
networks
are
perfect
for
spreading
your
message
far
and
wide
in
a
very
short
space
of
time
better
than
any
print
or
direct
mail
campaign
could
ever
achieve.
Of
course
the
content
of
your
post
out
has
to
be
shareable
and
social,
otherwise
this
will
reduce
the
likelihood
of
a
viral
uptake.
• Peer-­‐to-­‐peer
recommendation
–
The
most
powerful
form
of
marketing
is
word-­‐of-­‐mouth
or
peer-­‐to-­‐peer
recommendation.
For
example,
if
a
family
member
or
friend
was
to
recommend
a
business
to
you,
usually
they
have
had
a
good
experience
with
that
business,
therefore
instantly
creating
trust
between
you
and
the
business
because
you
trust
and
value
your
friend’s
opinion
(as
long
as
you
trust
your
friend!).
Just
think
of
how
many
times
you’ve
been
to
the
cinema,
restaurant
or
a
gig
based
on
what
your
family
and
friend(s)
have
said
about
it.
92%
of
people
surveyed
below
trust
completely/somewhat,
“recommendations
from
people
I
know”.

9.
Why
should
I
get
involved?
• Customers
always
research
before
purchase
–
51%
of
users
are
more
likely
to
buy
a
product
or
brand
after
liking
them
on
Facebook.
53%
of
users
already
follow
a
business
compared
to
32%
who
follow
a
celebrity
figure.
• We
make
decisions
based
on
what
friends
are
doing
–
The
decisions
we
make
are
naturally
influenced
by
our
friends
and
the
choices
they
make.
So
if
you
find
out
through
Facebook
your
friend
is
attending
an
event
then
you
will
be
more
likely
to
check
out
the
event
and
attend.
This
is
something
that
happens
to
me
all
the
time!
Event
promoters
are
well
aware
of
this.
Everyone
who
clicks
‘attending’
on
their
event
will
automatically
create
a
story
in
the
newsfeed
that
all
their
friends
will
see
in
their
newsfeed.
• You
can
build
a
targeted
network
–
Using
the
search
functions
and
some
clever
marketing
tactics
we
can
find
pockets
of
customers
that
match
your
target
market.
We
can
then
connect
and
offer
value
to
build
that
relationship.
The
scale
on
which
we
can
do
this
is
unprecedented
with
massive
size
of
the
major
social
networks.
• Create
&
build
a
credible
business
presence
–
Offering
value
to
your
customer’s
weather
B2B
or
B2C,
will
always
strengthen
the
relationship
you
have
with
them
increasing
your
perception
as
an
authority
in
your
industry.
• Customer
service
–
Facebook
and
Twitter
are
networks
that
are
seen
as
great
customer
service
tools.
The
new
Facebook
messages
feature
allows
fans
to
contact
the
page
owner
privately;
of
course
they
can
also
post
on
the
• wall
(posts
can
be
moderated
before
publishing).
Twitter
also
offers
the
same
functions,
although
if
a
user
was
to
@
mention
your
brand,
the
tweet
cannot
be
moderated.
I
have
come
across
many
larger
brands
such
as
Dell
and
Best
Buy
who
have
staff
tweeting
24/7
to
respond
to
customer
service
messages.
Twitter
is
now
seen
as
the
go-­‐to
place
for
customer
service
for
many
of
their
customers.

10. • Top
of
mind
–
It’s
extremely
important
for
people
to
remember
your
brand
or
business.
By
being
visible
in
their
Facebook
or
Twitter
feed,
your
post
will
become
one
of
the
7
touches
that
you
need
to
influence
a
buying
decision
from
your
customer.
Staying
top
of
mind
means
when
a
fan
or
follower
(or
their
friends)
requires
your
product
or
service,
you
are
the
only
brand
they
think
of.
Benefits
for
your
business
• Boost
SEO
–
all
social
media
content
is
now
indexed
by
all
the
major
search
engines,
so
making
sure
your
industry
keywords
are
well
placed
in
all
content
&
posts
is
essential.
Your
Fan
Page
or
Twitter
profile
might
even
rank
higher
than
your
website!!
• Save
time
–
For
an
extremely
busy
business
owner
like
yourself,
focusing
your
time
and
energy
working
on
your
business
rather
than
in
your
business
is
essential
in
ensuring
you
grow
from
year
to
year.
The
time
it
would
take
for
you
to
learn
all
the
marketing
methods
and
strategies
we
use
and
the
time
it
takes
to
implement
each
campaign
would
not
be
efficient.
We
offer
cost
effective
management
solutions
that
can
take
away
the
hassle
and
stress
of
trying
to
get
your
head
around
social
media
and
make
a
consistent
effort
every
single
day.
• Cost
Effective
–
We
have
achieved
an
ROI
of
500%
for
one
of
our
clients.
This
shows
excellent
value
for
money.
Don’t
spend
more
time
than
you
have
to
on
social
media.
Leave
it
to
a
professional
to
implement
a
well-­‐crafted
strategy.
• No
need
to
learn
social
media/basic
admin
work
–
If
you’re
like
most
business
owners
I
know,
you
do
not
have
time
to
learn
how
to
use
social
media
for
business.
Social
media
is
something
we
do
day-­‐in,
day-­‐out
Leave
it
to
the
people
who
know
what
they
are
doing.
• Win
new
business,
gain
insights
into
audience
interests
(via
questions
and
surveys),
strengthen
relationship
with
customers
• Boost
traffic
to
website
–
If
increasing
traffic
is
your
main
goal,
social
media
can
really
help
in
driving
targeted
traffic
to
your
website.
After
less
than
2
months
working
for
AlphaFit
(national
men’s
health
magazine)
20%
of
their
web
traffic
is
now
from
Facebook.
• Fully
managed
campaign
–
We
have
dedicated
account
managers
that
will
look
after
your
accounts
everyday
and
will
be
available
via
e-­‐mail
for
immediate
contact.
What
to
do
next?

11. We
would
love
to
offer
you
a
free
consultation
to
chat
about
your
current
marketing
strategy
and
how
you
can
include
social
media
to
achieve
your
business
goals.
It’s
free,
so
please
give
Tom
@
Initi8
Marketing
a
call
on
01274
561755
or
07818455359
thanks!
We
also
have
a
free
e-­‐mail
course
available
called
“Become
a
Social
Media
Pro
in
7
Days”
click
here.