The document provides 10 steps for focusing social media marketing efforts amid the large number of social media platforms and high volume of content. It recommends separating personal and professional accounts, identifying where target customers are active, knowing where competitors are focusing, using industry best practices and data to determine priorities, doing a resource check, integrating social media with overall marketing plans, setting metrics for success, following agile processes to continually improve, regularly reporting on results, and being a source of social intelligence within the organization. The goal is to help organizations focus their efforts on the most important 1-2 social networks for their goals and industry.
3. You aren’t alone & for good reason
• 650 million Twitter users
• 58 million tweets every day
• 1.4 billion Facebook users spending
700 billion minutes on the network
every month
• 58% of the U.S. population use at
least one social network -98% for
those aged 18 to 24
3
6. We’re biting off more than we can chew
How many social networks does your
organization have a presence on today?
How many of those social networks are
you actually active? (posting at least
twice a week, building audience, etc.)
4%
3%
33%
47%
13%
7%
9%
56%
25%
3%
10 or more
7 to 9
4 to 5
2 to 3
1
Social Network Presence Active Social Network
Source: Social Media Trends 2015 Research, Rival IQ
6
12. Target customer personas
SMB Small
2 – 99 employees
SMB Medium
100 – 1,000 employees
Enterprise
1,000+ employees
Bob Smith
CEO
BS Engineering
Rita Mehta
VP, Technology & Security
Big Deal Pharmaceuticals
Antonio Clarkston
CIO
Mongo Bank Worldwide
Through Channel & Technology Partners Direct Sales
12
13. Target customer: SMB Small
• Largest group of SMBs worldwide
• Once 25 to 50 employees, has at least one internal IT person
– but needs expertise from channel partner
• Owner usually still approves all “IT” decisions
• Sample industries would be:
eCommerce retailers
High-tech companies
Healthcare Offices
Engineering firms (CAD/CAM)
Restaurants / Small Shops
Food or Alcohol Distribution / Manufacturing
Media or production companies
Law firms
• Needs to move to SaaS apps and cloud solutions, but might
be slow to upgrade
• VERY cost sensitive – wants a deal and hates the cost of
technology
• Starting to embrace BYOD out of necessity
• Needs some hand-holding and likes fast tips and training
Bob Smith
CEO
BS Engineering
13
16. Analyze companies with same target
Create market landscapes of companies that are targeting your
customers but are not competitors, like this Sports Fans landscape.
16
17. Find out where engagement is
Other companies targeting sports fans are getting the most
engagement on Instagram and then Facebook . . .
17
18. Follow your CURRENT B2B customers
Do some research on where your current customers are spending
time. Are you following your key customers?
18
19. Do a paid follower campaign
Pick one of the top networks you’ve found through this research and
test your theory – are you getting new quality followers?
Image: Rival IQ Influencer follower campaign
19
25. Facebook and Twitter are easily the most
important social networks for marketers
How Important are these social media networks?
158
0%
1%
4%
6%
7%
7%
21%
28%
36%
1%
3%
10%
14%
19%
26%
28%
37%
26%
3%
7%
18%
21%
16%
31%
24%
21%
17%
13%
17%
22%
29%
20%
22%
14%
10%
14%
83%
72%
46%
30%
38%
14%
13%
4%
7%
Snapchat
Tumblr
Pinterest
Google+
Instagram
YouTube
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
Critical - Our Top Channel Very Important Important Somewhat Important Not Important
Source: Social Media Trends 2015 Research, Rival IQ
25
26. Critical Social Networks for B2B:
LinkedIn and Twitter take the lead!
How Important are these social media networks?
(filtered by B2B marketers only)
158
1%
3%
1%
5%
5%
6%
31%
33%
21%
0%
3%
4%
14%
8%
26%
35%
36%
25%
1%
3%
13%
23%
9%
28%
22%
21%
19%
7%
9%
18%
30%
20%
24%
9%
7%
24%
91%
82%
64%
28%
58%
16%
3%
3%
11%
Snapchat
Tumblr
Pinterest
Google+
Instagram
YouTube
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
Critical - Our Top Channel Very Important Important Somewhat Important Not Important
Source: Social Media Trends 2015 Research, Rival IQ
26
27. Rival IQ shows same trend
Twitter and LinkedIn are no compromise for this B2B landscape
Source: Rival IQ - Market Landscape of B2B Integration Companies
27
28. Critical Social Networks for B2C:
Facebook RULES all for consumer marketing
How Important are these social media networks?
(filtered by B2C marketers only)
158
0%
0%
7%
4%
5%
6%
6%
21%
57%
0%
6%
16%
13%
31%
26%
16%
40%
23%
3%
9%
18%
25%
21%
28%
26%
22%
13%
18%
18%
30%
27%
16%
24%
23%
13%
4%
79%
67%
29%
31%
27%
16%
29%
4%
3%
Snapchat
Tumblr
Pinterest
Google+
Instagram
YouTube
LinkedIn
Twitter
Facebook
Critical - Our Top Channel Very Important Important Somewhat Important Not Important
Source: Social Media Trends 2015 Research, Rival IQ
28
29. Don’t Miss the Power of Instagram
Instagram is critical for many consumer brands, especially for visual
products, such as fashion.
29
30. What about Google+?
1. Growing user base, especially B2C
2. Great for building community and
fans around a “brand”
3. It influences your search results –
“Google loves Google”
Why You Should be there:
Great resource: http://blog.rivaliq.com/google-plus-company-page/30
32. 32
Establish your branding
and positioning for
social media
Start with top 2 social
networks
Do these really WELL
Test new ones once you
have a cadence and
success with first two
33. Social media strategic plan
Social
Channel Priority Target
Strategic
Objective
Follower
Goal
Follower
Growth Goal
Activity
Goal (per day)
Engagement
Rate Goal
Facebook 1
Customers /
Partners
Brand awareness
Lead Generation 25,000 2% p/m 1.5 2.5
Twitter 1
Customers /
Prospects /
Influencers
Brand awareness
Thought Leadership 5,000 3.5% p/m 10 1.2
Instagram 2
Customers /
Prospects
Brand awareness 3,000 1% p/m .5 35
Google+ 3
Prospects /
Google
improve search
results and click
through rates
n/a n/a 1 n/a
LinkedIn 3
Employees /
Influencers
Corp Community
Recruiting
Thought Leadership
500
(all
employees)
n/a .25 2.0
YouTube 3
Prospects /
Video Links
Video repository
Viral marketing n/a n/a As needed n/a
33
34. A note about sub-brands & geos
Match Brands with the Right Social Channel
34
35. Work for consistent branding & message
Develop
standards and
policies across
brands!
35
37. People and Budget
• Do you have a dedicated social media manager? Can you hire one?
• How much of your marketing budget is earmarked for social?
• How much time can your team commit to social media each day?
37
38. Companies are investing more in social
media in 2015 over last year
What percentage of your marketing
budget went to social media in 2014?
158158
What percentage of your marketing
budget do you expect to spend on social
media in 2015?
15%
5%
4%
5%
12%
24%
34%
15%
5%
3%
4%
7%
17%
49%
I don't know
More than 50%
41 to 50%
31 to 40%
21 to 30%
10 to 20%
Less than 10%
2014 Spend 2015 Expected spend
Source: Social Media Trends 2015 Research, Rival IQ
38
39. Most companies have 1 – 3 people
managing social media initiatives
How many people are managing social media for your
organization / division?
158
3%
2%
1%
3%
7%
37%
46%
4%
Other
Over 15 people
8 to 15
6 to 7
4 to 5
2 to 3
1 person
None
Number of People Managing Social Media
Other was:
• No single person – but several people
do social media as part of their job
Source: Social Media Trends 2015 Research, Rival IQ
39
40. Social Media is NOT an Intern Job
Source: http://www.prcouture.com/2013/06/05/4-reasons-not-to-put-interns-in-charge-of-social-
media-and-4-things-they-can-do-instead/
40
47. Conversion to Revenue and Social Media
Engagement Most Important Metrics
What is the MOST important marketing metric your
team measures and reports? (pick only one)
158
1%
1%
3%
3%
3%
4%
5%
7%
9%
11%
13%
20%
20%
Other
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Social Media Activity
Total Impressions / Reach
Brand Equity, Recall
Social Media Audience
New Leads (top of funnel)
Campaign-specific Metrics
Unique Visitors (New Users) to Website/Blog
Qualified Leads
Conversion to Qualified Lead, Demo, Trial or Sign-up
Social Media Engagement
Conversion to Revenue
Other was:
• No single most important metric
• We don’t measure our marketing
Source: Social Media Trends 2015 Research, Rival IQ
47
48. Social as part of Marketing Scorecard
Strategic
Objective
Item Target Metric Q1 2015
MAIN BUSINESS
GOAL
Drive higher revenue through
customer delight
• NPS 10+
• 1M MRR by Q4 15
• NPS -2
• 125k MRR
Supporting Marketing Goals
Increase
Conversion &
MRR
Conversion Sign-up to paid • 5% • 4.5%
UV to Sign-up conversion • 10% • 11%
Blog conversion to sign-up • 4% • 2%
Social conversion to sign-up • 2% • .5%
Prove Need &
Value
Customer testimony • 2 case studies p/m • None in Q1
Email nurturing
• 2 p/m
• 40% open rate
• 20% CTR
• 2 p/m
• 30% open rate
• 13% CTR
Build Awareness
& Interest
Website New User Visits • 2,000 per day • 1,800 per day
Social Followers • 50,000+ • 35,000
Facebook Engagement Rate • 2.5 • 2.8
Twitter Engagement • 1.2 • .43
Top Social Content • Top 3 in Landscape • 4th best content
= on track, trending right direction
= at risk, a bit behind, delayed
= goal not met, cancelled or high risk48
56. Google Analytics, Facebook Insights & Twitter
Analytics are MUST HAVEs for marketers
What tools do you use to help with social media
content, analytics or publishing? (check all that apply)
158
Other tools included:
• Quintly
• Adobe Social
• LittleBird
• Sprnklr
• TrackMaven
• PostPlanner
• LocalResponse
• gShift
• Crowdable
• Pinterest Insights
• SocialBro
• YouTube Analytics
• Social Bakers
• NewsCred
• TweetDeck
79.1%
62.7%
58.2%
44.6%
33.4%
24.3%
21.4%
20.4%
17.5%
14.1%
12.5%
9.7%
8.1%
5.2%
5.2%
Google Analytics
Facebook Insights
Twitter Analytics
Hootsuite
Rival IQ *
Survey Monkey
Buffer
Moz
SproutSocial
FollowerWonk
Simply Measured
HubSpot
Topsy
Radian6
Salesforce Marketing Cloud
Top Tools (Received over 5%)
• SEMrush
• BuzzSumo
• Sysomos
• Affinio
• Cyfe
• Act-On
• Iconosquare
• Oktopost
• Sysomos
• Netbase
• TrueSocialMetrics
• RavenTools
• LinkedIn Analytics
• We use no tools
* Rival IQ sponsored this research and its customers were invited to participate Source: Social Media Trends 2015 Research, Rival IQ
56
59. How often should you report?
Report Social Media Engagement Weekly & Monthly
36%
23%
20%
51%
16%
35%
25%
21%
35%
36%
21%
37%
29%
31%
34%
11%
33%
26%
27%
28%
27%
25%
33%
26%
28%
37%
38%
23%
40%
29%
34%
43%
31%
32%
37%
29%
6%
9%
8%
15%
11%
7%
14%
9%
7%
7%
9%
8%
Cost Per Click (CPC)
Social Media Activity
Total Impressions / Reach
Brand Equity, Recall
Social Media Audience
New Leads (top of funnel)
Campaign-specific Metrics
Unique Visitors (New Users) to Website/Blog
Number of Qualified Leads
Conversion to Qualified Lead, Demo, Trial or Sign-up
Social Media Engagement
Conversion to Revenue
Don't report Weekly Monthly Quarterly
Source: Social Media Trends 2015 Research, Rival IQ
59
Establish your branding and positioning for social media
Start with top 2 social networks
Do these really WELL
Test new ones once you have a cadence and success with first two
How many followers is enough?
What engagement level do you need?
How much Web or Blog traffic do you need from social?
What kind of conversion rate do you expect from social?