NEDMA15: Humanizing Your Corporate Brand on Social Media - Bob Cargill and Amanda Fakhreddine

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38 Everett St | Allston, Massachusetts 02134 | 617-254-5000 | www.ovrdrv.com

Humanizing Your Corporate Brand on Social Media

May 27, 2015

Bob Cargill (@cargillcreative on Twitter) Director of Social MediaOverdrive Interactivewww.ovrdrv.com

Amanda Fakhreddine (@afakhreddine on Twitter)Senior Social Media SpecialistAkamai Technologieswww.Akamai.com #NEDMA15/@NEDMA

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Speakers

Bob CargillDirector of Social Media Overdrive Interactive@cargillcreative

Amanda Fakhreddine Senior Social Media SpecialistAkamai Technologies@afakhreddine

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Humanizing Your Corporate Brand on Social Media

Agenda

Social Media Revolution 2015 by Erik Qualman Most Popular Social Media Channels How to Plan a Social Media Strategy in 12 Steps How to Stand Out on Social Media We’re ALL Social What Does Your Online Brand Say about Your Company? What Does “Humanizing Your Brand” Mean? 10 Ways to Humanize Your Corporate Brand on Social Media Selfie Time Questions and Answers

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Social Media Revolution 2015 #Socialnomics by Erik Qualman

Source: https://youtu.be/jottDMuLesU

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Social Media

Social media are digital, online and Internet tools and technologies that are used for creating, sharing and discussing news, information, opinions and experiences with other human beings.

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Why social media marketing…

It only takes a few minutes to set up most accounts – and in most cases, it’s free.

You don’t have to write the great American novel. You can easily share pictures and videos.Customers and prospects will follow you. It’s built for engagement.Stalking the competition is fun. It’s a great way to keep up with new trends. You can use it to drive traffic, leads and sales – both

organically and promotionally (paid). It humanizes your brand – that is, it allows you to show

you don’t just have a pulse, but a personality, too.

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The last thing you want to do is overlook the first thing you want to do…

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Social Media Strategic Plan

Establish a team.Agree on your objectives. Understand your audience.Research the influencers.Study the competition. Develop your content. Consider paid posts. Identify your channels.Choose your tools. Deploy your tactics.Monitor your activity.Measure the results.

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How to Stand Out – and Be Found – on Social Media

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Social Media Audience Sizes are HUGE*

*Approximate numbers based on various sources.

1.4 Billion 1 Billion 347 Million 300 Million 300 Million 300 Million 200 Million 70 Million 40 Million

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You? Not So Much!

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For instance, how do you stand out – and go from lost to found – in a crowd of about 300 million* Twitter users?

*Source: http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/march-2013-by-the-numbers-a-few-amazing-twitter-stats/

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How do you stand out – and go from lost to found – on Twitter? There are about 300 million users on the channel. Less than half of these users log on every day. Less than one third of these users check Twitter multiple times/day. The average user follows more than 200 people. The average user is only on Twitter about six minutes/day. About 500 million tweets are sent every day (that’s almost

6,000/second). The “half life” of a tweet is about 24 minutes. Data extrapolated from these two sources:

http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/march-2013-by-the-numbers-a-few-amazing-twitter-stats/ and http://lkrsocialmedia.com/2014/07/this-is-why-nobody-sees-your-tweets/

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Take a Page Out of Dale Carnegie’s Book

The truth is, to be successful on social media is really as easy as being mindful of the “Six ways to Make People Like You” featured in Dale Carnegie’s classic book, “How to Win Friends & Influence People”…

1.Become genuinely interested in other people.

2.Smile.

3.Remember that a person’s name is to that person thesweetest and most important sound in any language.

4.Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

5.Talk in terms of the other person’s interests.

6.Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.

Note: The source of “Six Ways to Make People Like You” is Dale Carnegie’s book, “How to Win Friends & Influence People.”

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8 Qualities of a Great Social Media Communicator

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The Three A’s of Social Media1. Ability

2. Affability3. Availability

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1. Ability

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2. Affability

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3. Availability

©2015 AKAMAI | FASTER FORWARDTM

We’re ALL Social


What Does Your Online Brand Say About Your Company?


What Does “Humanizing Your Brand” Mean?

https://www.simple.com/video/when-did-you-know.mp4

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10 Ways to Humanize Your Social Media Brand

1. Don’t be a Stranger

2. Talk in the First Person

3. Avoid Corporate Speak

4. Address Others by Name

5. Share Content in Real Time

6. Show and Tell

7. Have a Sense of Humor

8. Help Others

9. Listen and Learn

10. Admit Mistakes

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1. Don’t be a Stranger

Don't hide behind a corporate logo and post in anonymity. Put a collective face on your brand by making it abundantly clear to your audience that there are real people behind the scenes. Your interests and emotions count as much as the facts and information. Show that you have more than just a pulse, show that you have a personality.


1. Don’t Be A Stranger

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Your social media accounts are run by human beings, not logos. So talk that way. Refer to your brand in the first person – the collective “we,” or if you’re your own boss, “I,” – not the name of your company. Be available, responsive and conversational. If you personify the qualities you admire in a best friend, you’ll not only spark more meaningful engagement, you’ll build a lot of trust.

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Forget the buzzwords and jargon. You don’t have to impress anyone with your vocabulary. This is your chance to come across as the colleague next door, someone who’s as down to earth as they come. It’s okay to talk business. You certainly want to establish yourself as a credible authority. Just be sure to speak in layman’s terms, not yours. Small talk can be a big deal on social media.

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4. Address Others by Name

Whether you have space limitations or not, heed what Dale Carnegie wrote in his bestselling book, How to Win Friends and Influence People, “Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.” Don’t cut characters at the expense of the sound your fans, followers and friends want to hear. Cut somewhere else. Names are that important.


4. Address Others By Name

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5. Share Content in Real Time

Most of us schedule at least some of our posts in advance using automation tools. That’s how we maintain a consistent, ongoing presence across the social landscape. But planned content shouldn’t make up the majority of your stream. The more extemporaneous you can be, the more props you will earn for your timeliness and authenticity.


5. Share Content In Real Time

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6. Show and Tell

As a copywriter, I hate to admit this, but even the best written content can’t always capture the right tone of voice. Personality, mood, context – none of that’s easy to get across in words alone. Pictures of whatever you’re doing, wherever you are, are more realistic, intimate and explanatory. Video is even better.


6. Show and Tell

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As I wrote recently on ClickZ, no brand wants to be perceived as uptight, old-fashioned and out of touch. Yet far too many of them remain reluctant to share anything more than everyday news with their followers, never mind a chuckle. Remember, laughter is the best medicine for a lot of things, including a business that’s stuck in a rut on social media.

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8. Help Others

You may think it’s old-fashioned, but don’t forget the golden rule. There’s a lot to be said for doing good. Give someone your attention and you’ll get theirs in return. Provide them with your assistance and they’ll be grateful forever. Don’t just share your own valuable content, either. Share others’ as well. This will be taken as a sincere form of flattery and go a long way toward showing them you’re genuinely paying attention as opposed to simply automating your feed.


8. Help Others

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9. Listen and Learn

Not everyone realizes you don’t have to say a thing on social media to reap some of the benefits of it. You can’t empathize with your constituents if you don’t understand them. Monitor what people are saying about you and your brand. Keep an ear to the ground and take feedback seriously. Hang on the words of others and you’ll learn a ton. Respond in kind to them and not only will they put you on their radar, they’ll be thankful for the attention and likely reciprocate.


9. Listen & Learn

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10. Admit Mistakes

When all is said and done, don’t forget that to err is human. Not that you want to make any mistakes. Of course not. But if they’re honest, harmless blunders and goofs, you shouldn’t have to lose any sleep about them. Spelling, punctuation, good grammar and accuracy are of utmost importance. There are no excuses for inattention to detail. But if you drop the ball rarely, not regularly, most people will be quick to forgive you if they even notice at all.


10. Admit Mistakes

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The Selfie

Hey, don’t forget the type of visual made famous by Ellen DeGeneres – at last year's Oscars ceremony – and Boston Red Sox superstar David Ortiz at the White House. Don’t forget the selfie. Thanks to these two celebrities, the ubiquity of the front-facing camera on smartphones, and people's seemingly insatiable desire for attention, the selfie is an incredibly hot trend you don't want to ignore.

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The Selfie

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The Selfie

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The Selfie

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The Selfie

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The Selfie

Who’s in?

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10 Ways to Humanize Your Social Media Brand

The presentation, “10 Ways to Humanize Your Social Media Brand” is based on an article written by Bob Cargill for ClickZ (www.clickz.com) on April 21, 2015 here: http://www.clickz.com/clickz/column/2404858/10-ways-to-humanize-your-social-media-brand


Amanda Fakhreddine

• Senior Social Media Specialist at Akamai Technologies

• 5+ Years of Experience in Digital Marketing

• Earned Akamai a spot on the Top 25 Most Socially Engaged Companies List by LinkedIn and Altimeter in 2014

• Earned Akamai a spot on the Top 100 Companies Using Social Media for Corporate Communications List By Investis in 2015

• Avid Fitness & Upcycling blogger

• Follow her on Twitter: @afakhreddine

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Bob Cargill

• Director of Social Media at Overdrive Interactive • 30+ Years or Experience as a Marketing Professional• The New England Direct Marketing Association’s Direct

Marketer of the Year in 2009• Over 40 Awards for Copywriting, Creative Direction and

Social Media• Gold from NEDMA for Blog in 2006• Gold from NEDMA for Best Tweets in 2010

• Frequent Speaker at Industry Events and Elsewhere• Past President of the New England Direct Marketing

Association (‘99-’00) and Two Toastmasters Clubs• Graduate of Leadership MetroWest’s Leadership Academy

(‘92)

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Thank you!

Bob CargillDirector of Social Media Overdrive [email protected]@cargillcreative on Twitter

Amanda FakhreddineSenior Social Media SpecialistAkamai [email protected]@afakhreddine on Twitter

NEDMA15: Humanizing Your Corporate Brand on Social Media - Bob Cargill and Amanda Fakhreddine

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Transcript of NEDMA15: Humanizing Your Corporate Brand on Social Media - Bob Cargill and Amanda Fakhreddine