social media for historic sites: real places telling real stories

Social Media for Historic Sites: Real Places Telling Real Stories

THC Historic Site Managers’ MeetingSeptember 17, 2012

About Me

About Me

GEEK ALE

RT!!

Download a Copy: http://slideshare.net/pagetx

Today We’ll Cover …

• Social media review• Common social media platforms• Best Practices• What to say• Try new things• Social media “Don’ts”• Know your audience• Exercise• Q&A

Social Media Review

Photo: erinjpattisonContent: Tourism Currents

Social media is FREE!

Benefits of Social Media• It’s FREE!• Builds deeper relationships• Increases brand awareness • Broadens your network• Helps SEO• Increases website traffic• Can help reach journalists/media• Empowers fans to be viral ambassadors

for your brand

Source: Social Media for Tourism Pros

Common Social Media PlatformsFacebook & Twitter

What Is Facebook?

• Social networking service that allows users to connect to friends, businesses, and organizations

• Share content, links, photos, and videos• Comment on others’ activity• Remember: Personal profiles are for people, not

businesses. Develop a fan page instead.

Facebook Stats

• Over 955 million active users• Fastest growing demographic is women 55

years old and up • Average user is connected to 80 pages, groups,

or events• 552 million users log in to Facebook daily• 543 million users access Facebook from a

mobile device– This group is 2x as active as those who don’t

Source: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

What Is Facebook?

Facebook Benefits

• Low cost• Engage with fans of your page• Fans receive your updates and can upload

comments, photos, and video• When fans engage you on your page, their

activity shows up in their friends’ streams– This can prompt others to check out your

page and your organization!

Facebook Benefits

• Can incorporate content from other social media platforms– Ex: blog posts, updates from Twitter, photos

from Flickr or Pinterest, videos from YouTube, location-based apps (FourSquare), etc.

• Targeted advertising opportunities (cheap too!)

What Is Twitter?

• Free social networking and micro-blogging site that allows users to send and read messages known as “tweets”

• Tweets can have no more than 140 characters & are delivered to the author’s subscribers, known as “followers”

Twitter Stats

• 465 million Twitter accounts• 11 new accounts are created every second• 55% of active users use their mobile phone to

tweet• Twitter users are 3x more likely to follow a brand

on Twitter than any other social networking site

Source: http://blog.hubspot.com

What Is Twitter?

Twitter Benefits

• Low cost• Speed of feedback• Potential reach of message• Customer engagement/service• Track what people are saying about your organization• Create buzz around upcoming events• Promote your organization and your content

Best Practices

Have a Compelling Bio

Link To Everything …

… on Everything

Cross Promote

Integrate

Integrate

Create “Terms of Use”

Create “Terms of Use”

Use Personality

Tag on Facebook

Be Consistent

Be Consistent

So What Do I Say?

So What Do I Say?• FAQs• Tutorials• News (sales, discounts new products/services, etc.)• Events you’re hosting• Your own content• Content from others• Information to extend their stay• Observations• What you’re reading or watching

Go Behind the Scenes

Tell the Story

Celebrate Volunteers

Tie In To Current Events

Have a Little Fun!

Promos, Discounts, & Deals

Promos, Discounts, & Deals

Tout Your Living History

Respond To Comments

Try New Things

Pinterest Bookmarklet

Apply Instagram Filters

From this …

… to this!

But Don’t …

Social Media “Don’ts”• Don’t be something

you’re not• Don’t experiment with

the company logo • Don’t think you have

to be on every social media channel

• Don’t tell, show• Don’t feed Facebook

to Twitter (or vice versa)

• Be authentic

• Try new things with personal accounts first

• Start slow and be selective

• Use images whenever possible

• Know your audience and post accordingly

Know Your Audience

Photo: stijnbokhove

Facebook Insights

Facebook Insights

Your Turn: Find the Flaw

Follow Me

@ColoradoRiverTr

Facebook.com/ColoradoRiverTrail

@pagetx

Sarah PageSenior Economic Development Specialist

LCRAsarah.page@lcra.org

512-578-3513