1.Beyond Hashtags: How to engage influencers and gain customers in 140 characters for Anna Ruth Williams, Founder + CEO @annaruth @ar_ _ pr #makenews

2. The World of Twitter Twitter is the 2nd most popular social network in the US 42% of Twitter users learn about products and services via Twitter. (via Convince and Convert) 51% of active Twitter users follow companies, brands or products on social networks. (via Edison) 67% of Twitter users are far more likely to buy from the brands they follow on Twitter. (via MediaBistro) 70% of small businesses are on Twitter. (via MediaBistro) 85% of followers feel more connected with a small business after following them. (via Twitter) 3. Brand Accounts: Getting Started 4. Identifying & Engaging Key Influencers Use Klout to identify top influencers for certain keywords (e.g. ecommerce, retail, makeup etc.) Find the Twitter handles for your key media outlets and bloggers Search hashtags of keywords your potential audience may use & follow those users Create lists to organize and showcase influencers Engage with the people on those lists: reply, retweet & share 5. Creating Strategic Content Create Content Categories This will help you identify what users are responding to Percentage of each category will vary from network to network Establish a Content Calendar Helps you PLAN AHEAD Think about holidays, awareness months etc. Can be weekly, bi-monthly or monthly or whatever works best for you. Tie in real time postings as well 6. Community Management Best Practices Tie your page to your brand: Picture, Bio, Background Remember anything you post can be seen by your followers as well those as outside of your community. Use plain English/avoid jargon Create and identify your own unique hashtag Create a customer service strategy and social media policy to minimize liability and retain your reputation 7. Community Management Best Practices Be Consistent and Respectful Have a strategy when it comes to responding to all tweets Only delete a members post if it is abusive Engage with your followers Say thank you, ask & answer questions, respond to mentions Fill posts with pictures and videos that will catch your followers attention (they show up in the feed) Identify and follow keywords that relate to your brand 8. Third Party Platforms Hootsuite TweetDeck LaterBro SocialOomph SproutSocial Argyle Social Buffer Spredfast These sites make managing multiple social media accounts a breeze. Schedule tweets in advance, monitor your engagement and more. Plus, theyre user friendly! 9. Hootsuite: Display of Feeds SproutSocial: Display of Mentions 10. Engagement, Engagement, Engagement. 11. Event #Hashtags Hosting an Event? BEFORE Create a short, generic & strategic hashtag EARLY Spread the word! Start promoting the hashtag in advance Tell people what it is & ask them to use it Post the hashtag on your website, advertising, email signature, literally EVERYWHERE DURING Have the hashtag displayed on a projection Assign someone to be in charge of social coverage Thank attendees, respond to comments and leverage the real-time power of Twitter! AFTER Continue coverage by posting pictures & videos with the hashtag Engage with attendees about what they thought Website Homepage Using Hashtag EARLY Continuing Convo After 12. Event #Hashtags Attending a Tradeshow/Event? BEFORE Look for the official hashtag on the events social media pages Send a tweet using the hashtag Say how excited you are/what youre looking forward to DURING Live tweet during the show/event with the hashtag Post photos, ask questions, encourage visitors to stop by AFTER Tweet a thank you to the host Relationship building! Writing a blog about your experience? Tweet it with the hashtag Your company will appear in the live stream and increase your presence. 13. Twitter Ad Campaigns PROMOTED ACCOUNTS Show up on side of timeline One of the quickest ways to gain advocates & influencers Reach more followers that are likely to be interested in your brand Target by: Interest, Geography, Gender PROMOTED TWEET Show up in a users timeline Regular tweets with a bonus of reaching potential followers Target by: Keywords, Interest, Gender, Geograph y, Device, Similarity to Existing Users Offline sales increased by 29% when using a promoted tweet. (via Hubspot) 14. Contests: Rules, Ideas, Strategies - Can rapidly grow your fan base - Inexpensive Regulations Discourage creation of multiple accounts Discourage posting same tweet over & over Ask users to include an @reply so you can see all entries Hashtags need to be relevant to the topic Read and Review Twitter Rules 15. Contests: Rules, Ideas, Strategies Four Different Types of Contents 1. Creative Answer Contestants write creative answer to the question asked in certain number of words 2. Sweepstakes Winners are chosen at random or through lucky drawing RT to win 3. Photo Contest Send in a photo that coordinates with the theme 4. Question and Answer Post question winner is the person with the fastest answer, or most accurate answer Make sure to brand your contest. People need to know it is coming from you. Your current followers love you, dont necessarily focus on gaining new ones. HAVE FUN! 16. Measurement: Be Strategic 17. Measuring your Success Tip 1: When you post matters Engagement rates for brands are 17% higher on Saturday and Sunday On weekdays tweets during "busy hours" performed best 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tip 2: How often you post matters Best number of tweets per day: 4 Tip 3: What you tweet matters: Tweets with images get almost 200% more engagement People are 21% more likely to respond to questions. Tweets with links are retweeted 86% more Engagement is higher for tweets with less than 100 characters 18. Measuring your Success Set up a system to track your results: weekly, monthly, bi- monthly. Using 3rd parties to track success. Sites like Hootsuite, SproutSocial, etc. can show you the number of retweets, and mentions you receive. Identify whats working and whats not. 19. Traditional PR & Twitter Collide 20. Dont forget your personal brand 80% of a new companys value is its CEO. Make sure your brands leadership is active and authentic on Twitter. 21. Make PR Reach Further 60% of journalists are on Twitter (92% of them are on LinkedIn). For every story they write, journalists visit 2.6 social media channels 22. Questions? 23. Contact: Offices in Atlanta Tech Village and Launch Pad New Orleans 855.300.8209 | arpr.co annaruth@arpr.co linkedin.com/company/arpr facebook.com/annaruthpr @ar__pr