Heather Taylor, social media manager for MyCorporation, explains how new small businesses can increase social engagement through Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and a well-maintained company blog. Originally presented to the MBA Women International Webinar Series.

1. Webinar Series
Social Media Engagement and You:
It’s More Than Just Saying “I Do”
Heather Taylor

2. Explaining Social Media With Donuts

3. Businesses know they need social
media accounts… but why, exactly?
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1. Facebook is the most visited website (of all websites)
2. Facebook shares have the greatest influence on Google search rankings in the U.S.
3. 53% of people recommend companies and products on Twitter.
4. There are 800 million active users on YouTube that spend an average of 15 minutes/day on YouTube
5. The average consumer mentions brands 90 times/week with family, friends and co-workers.
6. There are 5 million images uploaded to Instagram every day
7. The average user spends 89 minutes/month on Pinterest
8. 56% of people check Facebook daily
9. There are 120,000 tweets sent every second
10. 64% of Twitter users and 51% of Facebook users are more likely to buy the products of brands they
follow online
11. The Google +1 button is used 5 billion times per day.
12. 83% Of Pinterest Users are women, the most popular categories include clothes, crafts, and food.
13. The average user spends 21 minutes/week on LinkedIn
14. WordPress is the highest ranked blogging platform on Google including Blogger and Tumblr
15. 50% of shoppers have made a purchase based on a recommendation through a social media network
*taken from Yahoo! Small Business Advisor’s 15 Social Media Statistics Every Business Needs to Know

4. Once the Accounts are Created,
What’s Next?
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Team needs to be in place to manage
accounts (42% of companies have only one
person who works on social media. 40%
have 2 or 3.)
Postings need to be frequent, if not done
on a daily basis (58% of companies post on
social media at least once a day.)
Content needs to be relevant to audience,
engaging and inspire action!
Time, manpower, and funding needs to be
put aside in order to best engage the
newfound audience [For companies, these
roadblocks clock in at time (65%),
manpower (63%), and funding (41%)]
Above all… social media is a genuine
priority and not a fad on its way out.
All statistics courtesy of “How Other
Companies Manage Social Media” on
entrepreneur.com

5. How to Engage: Facebook
The 5 Rules of Thumb
• Daily postings – recommended
amount is 3 times a day for
morning, afternoon, and evening
• Stay relevant
• Include photos that are easy to
relate to or go with the message
– statuses containing photos
cause 33% more in engagement!
• Ask questions
• Showcase your company – share
milestones, get employees liking,
include Instagram “behind the
scenes” photos and offer up
sneak peeks to big
announcements before they
happen

6. How to Engage: Twitter
The 5 Rules of Thumb
• Always include a link!
• Use a modified tweet (MT) as
opposed to a retweet (RT)
• Know your hashtags – and think
before you tweet!
• Be responsive and timely as
possible – encourage DMs for
more personal follow-ups
• Avoid Twitter elitism – be the
brand that follows your followers!

7. How to Engage: LinkedIn
The 5 Rules of Thumb
• Engaging your company page vs.
your personal page – know the
difference between the two!
• Make great use of your company
page by sharing updates, posting
jobs, and filling out the “services”
section
• Send out personalized connection
invitations
• Seek out recommendations and
fill out your personal profile as
much as you can
• Create a PURL (personalized URL)
for your personal account

8. How to Engage: Blogging (Wordpress,
Tumblr, Blogspot, etc.)
The 5 Rules of Thumb
• Make your blog easy to navigate
with relevant tags and categories
in place to help find your articles
faster
• Bring on guest bloggers, conduct
interviews, make videos and
create podcasts!
• Avoid self-promotion
• Showcase great information but
in a conversational tone
• Include photos with posts, but
make sure you have the right to
use them (or permission granted
beforehand!)

9. Avoid These Engagement Turn-Offs!
• Spelling/grammar/@
mention/hashtag flubs that go
uncorrected
• #hashtagging #all #the #words
#and #adding #irrelevant #ones
#for #more #visibility
#purposes #like #zebra #and
#popsicle
• Pulling a disappearing act
• Conducting public tweet
arguments
• Nonstop bragging, humblebrag
or otherwise

10. “Hey, it’s been awhile and my brand’s
pages are still not growing fast
enough, what do I do?”
• Don’t refer to those following
you as followers
• Reconsider your brand’s needs
and goals – you might need
more or less social media sites
targeted to what you do i.e.
YouTube, Pinterest
• Exercise patience in growth
• Know your audience and what
they want or expect
• Look into contributing in other
outside blogging outlets to grow
your brand name and your own
• Stay committed – it’ll pay off!

11. My Social Media Mottos?
Quality over quantity, every single time.
Always engage others.
Have fun with it!

12. Works Cited
Article References
Photo Credits
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15 Social Media Statistics That Every
Business Needs to Know
(yahoo.com): http://bit.ly/OI5wik
How Other Companies Manage
Social Media (entrepreneur.com):
http://bit.ly/16SCJmc
10 Tips on Facebook Engagement
(socialmediaweek.org):
http://bit.ly/17pguTj
Customizing Your Public Profile URL
(LinkedIn.com):
http://linkd.in/yvCovR
21 Business Blogging Tips from the
Pros (socialmediaexaminer.com):
http://bit.ly/SdNBFU
9 Cringe-Worthy Social Media Bad
Habits (lunametrics.com):
http://bit.ly/10LleRo
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“Social Media” in a nutshell donut:
http://bit.ly/ZyeYuq
Community Management:
http://bit.ly/11e8JyS
Everybody! likes this:
http://bit.ly/100AYgi
Oreo Cookie Superbowl Twitter
Tweet: http://bit.ly/11hvHm2
200 Million Members LinkedIn
Infographic: http://bit.ly/Zyf4Ci
Some Facts About Tumblr:
http://bit.ly/YvMt0i
Batman Foursquare:
http://bit.ly/13jt1ei
Tom Haverford Bedtime Routine:
http://bit.ly/Z3Ygqn
Social Media: http://bit.ly/OI5wik

13. About Heather
Heather Taylor is a social media manager for MyCorporation.com,
freelance writer, and blogger who writes and muses on social
networking, business, fashion and the occasional combination of all
three. She has had her written work published with Yahoo! Shine,
Forbes, Social Media Today, BettyConfidential.com,
HelloGiggles.com, The Huffington Post, and more. Contact her on
Twitter @howveryheather or email howveryheather@gmail.com.
For more information, visit www.mbwomen.org.