Leverage Social Media to Increase Brand Awareness and Image Jackie Baker Web Marketing Consultant jackie@sitelogic.com Sheila Miklos VP & Managing Director sheila@sitelogic.com
Leveraging Social Media for Brand Awareness and Image What is Social Media? The blending of technology and social interaction Leveraging Social Media for Brand Awareness and Image
Why Social Media for Branding? #1: It’s where your potential customers are #2: It provides a channel for two-way communication #3: It’s free to use and generally low-cost to maintain #4: It provides faster results than other efforts #5: To monitor and protect your brand image
Keys to Success Know your brand Know your audience Know your message Infuse your brand personality Pick appropriate platforms Monitor and measure
Know Your Brand
Know Your Audience
Know Your Message
Infuse Your Brand Personality
Pick Your Platform Blogs Twitter Facebook Youtube LinkedIn
Blogs in Plain English
What is the purpose of your blog? Blogs: Develop a Plan What is the purpose of your blog?
Who do you want to read your blog? Blogs: Develop a Plan Who do you want to read your blog?
What are the main topics you will cover? Blogs: Develop a Plan What are the main topics you will cover?
Who will be writing for your blog? Blogs: Develop a Plan Who will be writing for your blog?
How often will you write? Blogs: Develop a Plan How often will you write?
Blogs: Develop a Plan Pick a Platform Self-hosted: WordPress.org Free: WordPress.com, Blogger.com
Blogs: 5 Tips To Get Started Tip 1: Introduce yourself and your blog
Blogs: 5 Tips To Get Started Tip 2: Get involved on other blogs
Blogs: 5 Tips To Get Started Tip 3: Ask for and respond to comments
Blogs: 5 Tips To Get Started Tip 4: Share the love equally
Blogs: 5 Tips To Get Started Tip 5: Give readers a reason to come back
Blogs: Pitfalls to Avoid Posting less than once a week Only talking about your company Not taking the time to proofread Lengthy posts that are difficult to read
Twitter: Develop a Plan Sit. Stay. Listen
Twitter: Develop a Plan Tweeting is an art form that needs to be learned Short and sweet isn’t always poetic, so take the time to follow others you trust and learn how the messages are crafted. To be clever and compelling in a limited space is more difficult than typing blog paragraphs.
Twitter: Develop a Plan Establish parameters around tweeting Who will tweet? What will be the occasion? How regularly will your company Twitter?
Twitter: Develop a Plan Use a tool to connect your accounts and monitor search terms
Twitter: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 1: Join the conversation @ #
Twitter: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 2: Tweet specials, mobile text promotion codes, short information
Twitter: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 3: Follow thought leaders in your industry
Twitter: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 4: Do Tweet to warn, help, safeguard
Twitter: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 5: Don’t Tweet news that can be readily consumed elsewhere
Facebook: Case Study
Facebook: Develop a Plan What is the purpose of your Facebook page?
Facebook: Develop a Plan Determine your unique value proposition
Facebook: Develop a Plan Develop a content strategy
Facebook: Develop a Plan Develop the tab structure
Facebook: Develop a Plan Develop promotions
Facebook: Develop a Plan Implement and respond
Facebook: 5 Tips To Get Started Tip 1: Pick your name and vanity URL
Facebook: 5 Tips To Get Started Tip 2: Fill out your profile completely
Facebook: 5 Tips To Get Started Tip 3: Create a landing tab for non-fans
Facebook: 5 Tips To Get Started Tip 4: Promote your website
Facebook: 5 Tips To Get Started Tip 5: Use the Facebook Badge and Like buttons
Facebook: Pitfalls to Avoid Not responding to your fans Only talking about your company Only having one person with access to your page Posting too often
YouTube
YouTube: Develop a Plan Consciously decide what you will use your channel for
YouTube: Develop a Plan Build a following by producing great content
YouTube: Develop a Plan Try different types of videos and track what’s most popular How to Use your Product How to Use your Product in Extreme Circumstances. Humor used effectively builds your brand leverage. How Not to Use your Product Interview an Expert in the community or industry you are in Video real customers using/eating/drinking/playing with your product
YouTube: Develop a Plan Develop short, effective videos that tell your story for you
YouTube: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 1: Create a Director’s Level Status so you can control more of the content
YouTube: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 2: Allow mashups unless the brand is bastardized
YouTube: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 3: Embed your logo on every frame
YouTube: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 4: Keep it short
YouTube: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 5: Create a theme and build videos around that theme throughout the year
YouTube Pitfalls Poor descriptions Not providing enough contact information Not including a call-to-action Not linking back to your channel Posting only commercials
LinkedIn: Develop a Plan Select work colleagues to connect with
LinkedIn: Develop a Plan Update your profile frequently
LinkedIn: Develop a Plan Be generous with warm introductions within your contact circle
LinkedIn: Develop a Plan Employ the trifecta - meet or speak with someone 3 times before inviting them to connect
LinkedIn: Develop a Plan Quality trumps quantity Accept invitations from those you know and trust. Others will assume you can vouch for the integrity of a person within your contact circle.
LinkedIn: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 1: Start small
LinkedIn: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 2: Keep it professional Connect with colleagues, not family and friends (that’s what Facebook is for)
LinkedIn: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 3: Think strategically Your customers and clients will evaluate your level of business, authority and leadership by the caliber of your contacts and groups/boards you are associated with
LinkedIn: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 4: Look under stones Mine your contacts’ lists for opportunities. Request a warm introduction to someone a colleague is already connected to. Then return the favor and pay it forward
LinkedIn: 5 Tips to Get Started Tip 5: Build credibility Frequently post helpful links about your business or industry, so you position yourself as a thought leader
Monitor and Measure Google Analytics Google Alerts Facebook and Youtube Insights Twitter Search Survey Monkey
Social Media Success Stories Curtis Kimball, of Creme Brulee Cart in San Francisco, amassed over 12,000 followers in a little over a year. He knows that most of his business comes from people who follow him on Twitter because Twitter is the only way you can find the cart’s location for the day. “It gives people a valid reason to follow me,” he says. The other use of Twitter for Kimball is to tell people what flavor of creme brulee he is serving in a given day. source: http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/17/how-social-media-drives-new-business-six-case-studies/ How do you turn a regional service business into an international destination for industry thought leadership? Facebook. That’s what worked for Geoff Tucker, an equine dentist based in Palm City, FL. Geoff says that over the last year, Facebook alone has generated about 100 leads and 10-to-15 customers. source: http://mashable.com/2010/05/21/surprising-social-media-business-success/ Burger King invested less than $50,000 in their Whopper Sacrifice Facebook application and received an estimated return of over $400,000 in press/media value. They received 32 million impressions as a result of this campaign. source: http://www.socialmedia.biz/2010/08/12/social-media%E2%80%99s-return-on-investment/ Lupus Foundation of America's Facebook Cause Page is used to engage members constantly by sharing news and asking for their help, and it has been incredibly successful. In six months, they increased cause membership 584% and increased online donations in Facebook by 790%. source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Social-Media-Success-Stories:-5-Tips-to-Take-Away&id=5147296
Social Media Success Stories Epic Change used Twitter to raise over $11,000 in just 48 hours to help build a classroom in Tanzania. The Tweetsgiving campaign tapped into a whole new group of supporters, with 98% of donors never having donated to Epic Change before source: http://ezinearticles.com/?Social-Media-Success-Stories:-5-Tips-to-Take-Away&id=5147296 East Coast (5-10 employee) manufacturer was spending $5,000/year in pay per click, which helped boost traffic but did not increase leads from the website, which meant they weren’t seeing return on this investment. By converting to an inbound marketing campaign using social media, they grew organic traffic by 50% within 5 months and reached an average conversion rate of 10% of site visitors to leads. source: http://www.foresitetech.com/blog/2010/09/28/business-social-media-success-stories/ Idea Paint is a Boston-area startup that sells paint that turns surfaces into dry-erase boards. The company uses social media throughout its sales and marketing process. The company blog, where employees publish videos, images and stories of product installations, is the hub of Idea Paint’s social media activity. The company uses Twitter and Facebook to share content published on the blog — then to listen to, respond to, and interact with the community that content engages. Marcus Wilson, Idea Paint’s head of marketing, says this system gives the company a level of customer intimacy and global reach and that was unheard of 10 years ago. What’s this mean in terms of business results? Social media is now one of Idea Paint’s largest sources of leads and traffic — and it is growing steadily. Meanwhile, the company’s Twitter and Facebook reach grew 70% in Q1 2010, and is expected to grow an order of magnitude in Q2. source: http://mashable.com/2010/05/21/surprising-social-media-business-success/
Leverage Social Media to Increase Brand Awareness and Image Jackie Baker Web Marketing Consultant jackie@sitelogic.com Sheila Miklos VP & Managing Director sheila@sitelogic.com