Social Media Strategyand

Best Practices for Your Brand

Pat Heffernan, Marketing Partners, Inc.Essex Chapter Meeting

June 18, 2019

• Strategic Use of Social Media for Your Business– Pat Heffernan, President, Marketing Partners, Inc. and WBON Founder & Board Member

• Trends on Communicating through Social Media• Technical Stuff on Content, Platforms, and Tools• Best Practices and Common Fails• Questions

Overview

STRATEGIC USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Pat HeffernanJune 2019

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STRATEGY IS…

• How an organization is going to achieve its mission.

• Strategy is about making choices —what you do (and don’t do) AND what you do first.

• Our focus today is on strategies for using social media to advance your business mission.

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SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS: BOTH B2B AND B2C INCREASE SOCIAL MEDIA USE

SOCIAL MEDIA TRENDS:PEOPLE IN THE U.S. ARE SPENDING MORE TIME PER DAY WITH THEIR MOBILE DEVICES THAN THEIR TVS

SOCIAL MEDIA & BUSINESS:THINGS HAVE CHANGED

• Consistency across channels matters to customers:Vision, Values & Voice

• Business examples:– #MeToo– #ClimateChange– Ben & Jerry’s: Black Lives Matter– Sustainability

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CREATING CONTENT

• Start with Strategy– Build followers?– Send people to your website?– Add signatures to a petition?

• Ask the 5 Ws: Who, What, Where, When, and Why• Find your voice

– Efficient, direct language– Build a sense of community

• Establish a cadence• Learn from your results

WHY SOCIAL MEDIA IS IMPORTANT FOR YOUR BUSINESS

• The social media marketing arena is a (fairly) level playing field.

• A strong social media presence builds brand loyalty.• Social media can help you get noticed at events, and

generate earned media coverage for your business and issue.

• You’ll find customers you didn’t know existed.• Customers you didn’t know existed will find (and buy

from) you.

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WHY SOCIAL MEDIA ON YOUR ISSUES

• “Nearly two-thirds of Americans say that after “liking” or “following” a nonprofit or corporate social responsibility program online, they are more inclined to support the cause by volunteering, donating and sharing information.”

Sources: Cone Communications, Edelman PR, Pew Research Center

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THE ORIGINAL BIG 6+(PLUS REDDIT, QUORA, YOUTUBE, SNAPCHAT…)

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HOW TO SELECT CHANNELS & MANAGE EFFECTIVELY

• Go where they already are: Choose social media networks based on your audience and the subject.

• Multiple channels: Vast majority of consumers, businesses and nonprofits are active on 2+ networks.

• Your secret weapons: Twitter Lists, plus hashtags/keywords.

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RESEARCH AND COORDINATE KEYWORDS AND HASHTAGS BEFORE YOUR EVENTS & CAMPAIGNS

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CLEAR MATCH BETWEEN COMPANY & ISSUE: WOMAN-OWNED BUSINESSES & #WOMENSMARCH

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COMPANY AND ISSUE MATCH LESS CLEARBEN & JERRY’S: #BLACKLIVESMATTER

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CONSISTENCY: EILEEN FISHER, SUSTAINABILITY AND WORKPLACE QUALITY

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KEY CONTENT TAKEAWAYS

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• Use all channels where your key audiences are: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Medium

• Engage your stakeholders and influencers to amplify your message and bring credibility to your message

• Get creative: Use GIFs, still photos, consistent hashtags, quote cards and animation to capture attention

• Identify key metrics to measure your results and build on your success

USEFUL TOOLS

• Hootsuite• HubSpot• TweetDeck• Buffer• Bitly• BuzzSumo• Hashtagify

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THOUGHTS AND RESOURCES

• Editorial Calendar• Automation• Your personal accounts, your staff and your board members

– Anyone in your circle not using social media is a missed opportunity.– Use pre-written content and toolkits to help others engage.

• Think mobile first• Use real pictures of people• Be as real-time and responsive as possible• Native and live video on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn• Tracking – does your content work as intended?

Date Platform Type Content

June 18 Email Invitation Please join us on July 2!

June 20 Facebook Post Thesebusinesses are standing up against climate change.

EDITORIAL CALENDAR

ORGANIZATIONAL PLATFORMS

• LinkedIn Company Pages: evolution from job hunting tool to content provider and news source for professionals.

• Twitter: Engage in ongoing trends and discussions by using hashtags and influencers to enhance your message.

• Instagram: Visual and personal. Not good for written content or clicks.

• Facebook: Hard to win without paying, but try native video and Facebook Live.

PERSONAL PLATFORMS

• LinkedIn: publish thought leadership pieces, share surprising/novel insights, repost articles and columns from other publications, post pictures from professional and volunteer events.

• Twitter: Engage in ongoing trends, use your account to amplify your brand, mix in your personality– Tag your brand in your bio– Aim for 2x as many followers as following

MOST COMMON BUSINESS SOCIAL MEDIA FAILS

• Didn’t Check The Hashtag• Mishandled Responses• Misguided Campaign• Didn’t Know What They Were Posting or Sharing• Didn’t Monitor Auto Tweets or Posts• Tried To Co-opt a Serious Event• Overly Promotional Content

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RECAP OF BEST PRACTICES

1. Set Goals• Never start a social media marketing initiative without

goals. The best goals are always SMART.

2. Plan Using a Social Media Calendar• Keeping a busy social media schedule organized is nearly

impossible without a calendar.

RECAP OF BEST PRACTICES - CONT’D

3. Follow Correct Social Media Image Sizes.• Use one of the handy cheat sheets

4. Have a Content Strategy for Each Social Network• What works on one network, might not on another. Have a

plan for what types of content you'll share on each platform.

RECAP OF BEST PRACTICES - CONT’D

5. Select the Best Channels For Your Business• Not every business needs to be on every social network.

It's best to focus on the platforms that provide the most opportunity for your business.

6. Define Your Social Media Voice and Tone• Is your brand serious or funny? Professional or sarcastic?

RECAP OF BEST PRACTICES - CONT’D

7. Find An Effective Posting Frequency• Posting too often causes unfollows (34.9%). Posting too

infrequently does too. (17.9%)

8. Focus On Quality Over Quantity• Some social networks require a high volume of content to

make them worthwhile. Twitter comes immediately comes to mind. Instagram and Pinterest are up there, too.

RECAP OF BEST PRACTICES - CONT’D

9. Automate Processes Where Possible• There's no sense doing things manually, when they can easily

be automated. What can be automated in your social media process?

10. Research Your Competitors• Taking the time to research your competitors could help

inspire your own content. Why? Because your competitors are fighting for the same audience that you are. If their content is drawing over your fans it might be time to revamp your social tactics.

Questions & Discussion

For materials or a copy of today’s session, please give me your business card with a note on the back:

WBON-Essex