Social Media Uncovered

A Beginner’s Guide to the World of

Social Media

What is Social Media…………………………………………….…………3 The Big Social Platforms…………………………………………....…..6 Content and Sharing……………………………………….……..…....10 How to Use Social Media For Your Business ……………..…….13

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Digital Marketing Done Right

Social media is more than just a passing fad and it’s a lot more than pictures of your neighbor’s cat. Social media is a revolutionary way to connect and engage with people.

CHAPTER 1: What is Social Media

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What’s the official definition of Social Media? Social media refers to

the means of interactions among people in which they create, share, and exchange information and ideas in virtual communities and networks.

What is it really? Social media is digital word of mouth. It’s an extension of real world conversations and real world relationships. Some will say that social media is simply the next step in society’s progress and evolution. Some will say it’s a creation of the times. Regardless of it’s philosophical reasons, social media is an added level of connectivity with those close to us and the entire world.

Social Media Uncovered

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It’s in people’s nature to share. We like to hear stories and we like to tell stories. Social media was built upon this need to share and be accepted and involved with others. There are countless social platforms online but the important thing to remember is what they all have in common, sharing. Understanding this central theme of social media is the key to having an engaging experience but also understanding what will make a social media marketing campaign a successful one.

Social Media Uncovered

“I think that people just have this core desire to express who they are. And I think that's always existed.” – Mark Zuckerberg

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There are over 200 different social media networks in use and new ones are created everyday.

All these different platforms can be a little overwhelming and it’s easy to get lost in the web of social networks. In this chapter we’ll explain the biggest social platforms and what they have to offer to their users.

CHAPTER 2: The Big Social Platforms

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By far the most popular social network with over 1 billion users to date. Originally started in 2004 by Mark Zuckerburg, Facebook was open only to college students but the service rapidly expanded and grew to the publicly traded company it is now. On Facebook people can “friend” one another and share content such as life events, updates, pictures, links, and videos. Friends can then “like” and comment on updates and share in the interactions. Gaming is also a popular activity on Facebook. This social network has fewer users than Facebook but it’s popularity is huge. There are over 500 million users on Twitter. It is different from Facebook in that you are not required to friend people but instead “follow” them. Following a person means you receive their status updates. Twitter updates come in the form of 140 character “tweets” that can be snippets of news, information to links or blurbs of live events. Twitter has received a lot of press in the past several years for it’s use as a communication and rallying tool in the middle eastern rebellions and revolutions.

Social Media Uncovered

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This social network is the media of choice for business men and women. LinkedIn is a professional networking platform where business acquaintances, friends or colleagues can “connect” and stay in touch. LinkedIn has over 200 million users in over 200 countries. The platform’s profile is a type of online resume where past work, experience and skills can be displayed for potential employment or hires.

Social Media Uncovered

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Pinterest Pin

Pinterest is centered around photo sharing and can be related to the real world hobby of using cork boards to organize ideas. Pinterest was the fastest social network to reach 10 million unique visitors and now has over 25 million users. Pinterest users, for the most part are female. Users create or post content in the form of “pins” which can be anything from recipes, decoration ideas, wedding gowns or quotes.

Social Media Uncovered

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With over 100 million active users Instagram is an impressive social network especially since it’s an app, usable only on a mobile device. Instagram began in 2010 and has seen huge growth and popularity, so much so that Facebook purchased the company for $1 billion last year. Instagram is purely a photo sharing app that lets users add artistic filters, tag friends and hash tags to their photos.

Many popular Instagram photos feature food.

Google Plus is an extension of the Google product offering. Google plus has been called Google’s answer to Facebook. It provides similar sharing and engagement features as Facebook but is integrated with all other Google products such as YouTube, and Gmail. Google+ features an intuitive layout and many added features that other social networks don’t have, such as multiple video conferencing, called “hangouts.” Google plus is the second most popular social network with over 500 million accounts and over 250 million active users.

CHAPTER 3: Content & Sharing

When it comes to using social media it’s all about the content. Content comes in many forms and media and it’s usually best when it’s candid and fun. In this chapter we’ll talk about what kind of content you can share and how to make it “shareable.”

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Social Media Uncovered

Pictures We’ve been exchanging, sharing and socializing, around images since the stone age. Things haven’t changed much, a great picture can send a message or an idea. Whether it’s your new office space or your family on the beach, people like pictures.

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Status Updates Let the world know what you think, what you feel, what you’re doing, where you’re at, it doesn’t matter, just share it and share it proudly.

Social Media Uncovered

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Links Sharing links, especially to your own website is a great way to drive traffic. Like this one: http://duogroup.com/blog/how-to-improve-your-business/

Video Everyone loves a good viral video. Posting a video for yourself or your business doesn’t mean it needs to be professionally made, just make it fun and relevant.

Blog Over 330 million people read blogs, yours could be one of them. You don’t need to be a writer or an expert to write a blog, you just need a passion and the time to express it.

“One of the greatest challenges companies face in adjusting to the impact of social media, is knowing where to start.” - Simon Mainwaring

In this chapter we’ll cover some of the basic techniques of using social media for business. For added help, you can download our article on How to Set Up a Company Facebook Page.

CHAPTER 4: How to Use Social Media for Business

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Social Media Uncovered

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Define Your Audience Before rushing to set up an account on every platform out there, make sure you find out who your audience is and where they are. It only makes sense to establish a presence in a place where your customers already visit.

Set Goals Social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn allow you to track followers and post engagement. Set some goals based on what you’ve seen in similar companies and industries. Create expectations of basic metrics such as likes, comments and followers, but also look at the bigger picture such as website traffic and sales.

Social Media Uncovered

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Create Awesome Content People won’t engage with you, won’t develop a relationship and won’t buy from you if you don’t provide a reason for them to do so. Create relevant and timely content that people will love.

“You Have To Be Different, Great or First.” – Loretta Lynn

Be Consistent The graph at the right shows that the more often you post, the more engagement you can have. Regularly posting and engaging with your audience is a must. Marketing is all about “top of mind” and the only way to do that is by staying in front of your audience with a message and a reason.

If you’re interested in improving your social media presence and getting real results, request a custom consultation of what DUO Group can do for you.

Digital Marketing Done Right

Thanks for reading!

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