smart, sensible social media for small businesses
DESCRIPTION
A social media for small business presentation made for a local chamber of commerce. These slides serve as an overview of the Whys and Whats of social media, general social media best practices, tips to easily manage your social media presence as a busy small business owner, plus Pros & Cons of popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Google+.TRANSCRIPT
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)
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*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