Smart, Simple Social Media for Small Business

Liz JostesPrepared for the Arlington TN Chamber of Commerce

October 2014http://www.EliRose.com

Facebook.com/EliRoseSocialMedia@EliRoseSocial

*Photo credit Rawpixel/Shutterstock

Saturday, November 8, 14

Overview• Who I am

• The “Whys” of Social Media

• The Challenges of Social Media

• Social Media Best Practices

• Pros & Cons of Popular Platforms

• Tips to Make it Manageable

• Questions

EliRose.com

Saturday, November 8, 14

My Background

• Education: Bachelor of Science in Marketing

• Corporate Experience: Consumer Behavior Research

• Developed a personal presence & website back in 2008

• Merging of business background and corporate experience with online marketing

• Eli | Rose Social Media, LLC has been helping individuals and small businesses grow online for the past 4 years

EliRose.com

Saturday, November 8, 14

What About You?Before we get started, let’s do a quick audience audit!

Please tell me...

- Business industry

- Do you have a website?

- How long have you

been using social media?

- On what platforms are you currently active?

EliRose.com

Saturday, November 8, 14

The “Whys” of Social Media• The online version of your brick &

mortar store, address, and phone number

• It’s how consumers are shopping, buying & asking questions

• Real-time response and messaging vs. traditional advertising & marketing

• It’s how people choose to spend their time

EliRose.com

Saturday, November 8, 14

The Challenges of Social Media

• It moves fast (though it does not speed up the selling process)

• It’s always changing

• It’s not something business owners are very experienced with

• It can be time consuming

• It’s one more thing to keep up with

EliRose.com

Saturday, November 8, 14

Social Media Best Practices

• Consistency is Key!

• Less (profiles) is more!

• “Relevant & Complementary” Content

• Reply promptly to questions & private messages

• The 80/20 Rule (a.k.a. Don’t take a bull horn approach)

EliRose.com

*Photo credit Vacant Fever

Saturday, November 8, 14

Pros & Cons of TwitterPros Cons

- Real-time conversations

- Ad options

- No difference between user types

- Lists to organize those you follow

- High capacity for updates

- Easy to localize

- Limited characters

- No real “staying power” of tweets

EliRose.com

Saturday, November 8, 14

Pros & Cons of PinterestPros Cons

- Female-dominant user base

- Ad options

- No real difference between user types

- Present deeper view of your brand

- High capacity for updates

- High virality potential

- Beautiful images a necessity

- Online store, blog, or website with several pages a necessity

EliRose.com

Saturday, November 8, 14

Pros & Cons of Google+Pros Cons

- Part of Google

- Images favored

- No difference between user types

- Circles to organize those you follow

- High capacity for updates

- Easily customize the audience of each update

- Tied to Google Reviews

- No ad options

- Not seen as main stream as other platforms

- Male-dominant user base

EliRose.com

Saturday, November 8, 14

Pros & Cons of Facebook

• Most users

• Affordable ad options

• Content variety

• Facebook Algorithm

• Limited engagement capabilities

• “Pay to Play”

• Constantly changing ‘best practices’

Pros Cons

EliRose.com

Saturday, November 8, 14

Making it Manageable

• Create a social media policy

• Content planning & content sources

• Make scheduling & auto-posting tools your friend

• Incorporate your social media planning with your traditional marketing plan

• Designate one or 2 people to handle all the social media work

EliRose.com

Saturday, November 8, 14