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The 7 Worst Social Media Mistakes —
and How to Avoid Them
Joanna L. Krotz
Multimedia journalist & smallbusiness expert
January 24, 2013
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‣ social media gets around
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Hashtag (symbol #) was named 2012 “Word of
the Year” by the American Dialect Society
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‣ what we will cover
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crafting a strategy
Figure out:
- What drives your business
- What drives revenue
- What drives your organization
- What audiences are you trying to reach
- Are you dedicated for the long term
Almost 2/3 of companies (64%) are now beyond the
experimental phase, up from 54% the year before. They have
moved on to thought-out and integrated engagement.
— eConsultancy, The State of Social Report 2011
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crafting a strategy
Establish objectives. Do you want to:
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provide company information & news
improve customer service & retention
develop thought leadership
launch or build brand buzz
find investors or donors
develop media relationships
drive sales & prospect for customers
monitor competition
recruit talent
drive traffic to website or blog
Source: Eugenie Sills, TWT Media
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choosing channels
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What channels do you want to use? Why?
Are these channels easily accessible any time of day?
Do you have time and energy required for the channels?
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Follow competitors to see what they’re up to
In 2013, a fifth (20.5%) of small businesses plan to
increase their ad spend on social media networks, such
as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
— Ad-ology Research survey of 1,438 SMBs
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every day
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choosing channels
Facebook targets consumers & launching search function
LinkedIn attracts C-suite and professionals
Twitter hosts thought leaders to pop commentary
YouTube now No. 2 search engine
Pinterest often drives retailer traffic
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every day
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choosing channels
• Visual channels like Instagram & Pinterest can be used creatively,
even for offline brands like Moleskine designer paper
• Integrate channels: Instagram postings also appear on Twitter
• Use subgroups to segment audiences
myMOLESKINE user
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every day
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choosing channels
Based on your objectives, decide on postings:
• storytelling, news, updates
• deals & business changes
• helpful links
• polls or surveys
• interviews, chats, debates
• live tweeting or video streaming events
• offers, discounts, contests, sweepstakes
• entertainment
• job recruitment
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engaging & monitoring
every day
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Spend 30 minutes daily on social outreach
Post frequent updates
Figure out incentives for loyalty
Rely on cross section of staff, not just marketing
No. of employees within organization dedicated to SM
Source: Altimeter Group
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engaging & monitoring
every day
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Stay tuned to real-world events
Measure traffic and referrals; or use 3rd party software
Use a Web analytics program to track site traffic
Refine efforts to improve results
Keep at it until you have an impact
As of July 2012
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the power of storytelling
‣ calculating ROI
Choices include tallying the number of times:
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critical keyword appears
brand name appears
competitor brand appears
Twitter DMs (Direct Messages), Facebook comments
click-throughs on shortened, trackable URLs (bit.ly type)
related hashtag used
specific anecdote or content that resulted in sales
completed calls to actions - event or email registration, coupon
redemption, info request, completed survey, etc.
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MISTAKE NO. 1
Turning up the volume
without monitoring the dials
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What happens in social media stays on Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn, Tumblr, Instagram, YouTube, Flickr, Pinterest…
Invest time in learning
Avoid automated postings
Don’t use form postings
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MISTAKE NO. 2
Using too many
social media channels
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SM use among small businesses up to 53% in 2012, but remains
impulsive, according to SMB Group survey
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“It’s all about identifying the best ways to engage with your customer
base and how to best manage your time.”
—Taylor Aldredge, Grasshopper
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MISTAKE NO. 3
Ceding control to
“digital natives”
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Make sure young SM aficionados are trained & mentored by
senior staff
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Knowing how to use the tools does not equate to brand
management
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Vet every posting before it goes live
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MISTAKE NO. 4
Creating content that’s
all about you
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Don’t shout or promote—engage
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Don’t pitch products—share information
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Optimize content for mobile users
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Leverage infographics, photos & visuals
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Fit your postings to your brand image & products
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Stay alert to NSFW (Not Safe for Work) postings
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MISTAKE NO. 5
Ignoring customers
who raise their hands
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3 out of 4 complaining customers satisfied by reply
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Respond to negative posts with online apology
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Investigate problem, take conversation offline
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Reward positive engagement with incentives
Source: Maritz Research
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MISTAKE NO. 6
Letting employees sabotage
your social media goodwill
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Draft policy for increasing “profersonal” linkages
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Get educated about legal ways to recruit on SM
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Establish written mandatory SM policies
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Ask employees to post disclaimers on personal accounts
Source: Joy Butler, “The Cyber Citizen’s Guide Through the Legal Jungle”
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MISTAKE NO. 7
Giving up too soon
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Give it time and patience
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Success comes from commitment
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social media: the takeaway
• Think through your goals
• Develop a thought-out, consistent, transparent strategy
before engaging in social media.
“SMBs that use social media strategically are more satisfied with the
results than ad hoc users….. SMBs that use social media as part of a
planned corporate approach are 1.5 to 2 times more likely to anticipate
revenue growth than ad hoc users.”
— SMB Group, Sept 2012 survey
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Joanna L. Krotz
author of
online at:
muse2muse.com
online at:
joannakrotz.com
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got questions?
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Thank you for attending.
For more small-business
information, visit
Business on Main:
businessonmain.msn.com
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