Social Media 101 for

Business With Special Guest

Caroline Gault

About Me• Alex Kulas• Program Facilitator and

Training Development with AWE

• B.Com in Entrepreneurial Management, Diploma in Marketing

• Social Media Consultant and Addict

About AWE

• 20 years of impact in Alberta

• Variety of programs for start-up to growth clients

• Loan program, up to $150k

• Market Expansion Support

What we will cover

• What are the main social media platforms• What platforms should you use in your business• Importance of creating brand advocates• Highlights of Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and

Pinterest• Importance of content creation and curation• Next steps• Resources

Who are you?• Name• What stage of business you’re at: start-up, operating 2+

years, growing?• Is your business (or theoretical business) B2B or B2C?

Social Media isn’t going away, and if you are a small business you

wouldn’t want it to!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMAr_gKRQmI

What is Social Media?Any website or mobile phone function that allows you to share content and ideas with

other people.

What are the main social media sites?

• Your blog• Facebook• Twitter• LinkedIn • YouTube• Pinterest• Instagram

There’s good news! You do not need to be active on all

of the platforms.

Social Media Explained• Twitter: I am eating a #donut• Facebook: I like donuts• Four Square: This is where I eat donuts• Instagram: Here’s a vintage photo of my donut• YouTube: Here I am eating a donut• LinkedIn: My skills include donut eating• Pinterest: Here’s my donut recipe

What platforms should I use?• Depends on the business you have

– How does your target market look for what you provide?• Everyone should have a website that includes a blog

regardless of what you do• Content is king. Being able to create and curate content will

help you in all social platforms.

What are the main benefits of Social Media?

• You can now contact thousands of people that you never could before

• You can have your customers do your marketing for you as Facebook Fans and Twitter followers share their experiences with you and your business

• Social media lets you reveal more of your business and what you can offer to people who are listening

Why even bother with Social Media?

• Get badly needed feedback and reviews• Answer and address complaints quickly• Share photos to increase location and product awareness• Grow your mailing list• Hold contests to increase your following:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mi4NeoMYCMM • Study, study, study!

Create Brand Advocates • 71% of all customer complaints go unanswered on Twitter.• 46% of online customers expect customer service on

Facebook. Only 23% of brands provide it.

71% of consumers who experience a quick and effective response on social media are

most likely to recommend that brand to others!

The Dangers of Social Media for Small Business

• People are mean and overly critical behind a computer screen

• Bad timing and poor planning can be deadly• Laws can be broken • Privacy is an issue

More about the major platforms…

Facebook• 1.44 billion monthly active users• Market leader for social networking• Average user spends 55 minutes a day on Facebook• Track all posts through insights, see what your clients are

interested in

Twitter

• 302 Million Monthly Active Users• 500 Million Tweets Sent Per Day• 80% of Active Users are on Mobile Devices• Great for B2B or B2C companies• Hashtags (#) are big!

The Worst Ways to use Twitter for Business

• Be overly self-promotional• Only include links to your own blog • Follow anyone and everyone• Don’t establish a personality • Don’t interact with other Twitter users• Only tweet once per week

InstagramInstagram has overtaken Facebook and Twitter as the network with the largest population of young users.•300 Million Monthly Users•75 Million Daily Users•20% of Internet Users Are On Instagram•Hashtags (#) are important!

Instagram

LinkedIn • Market yourself and use a professional photo• Complete your professional profile• Know your tagline• Make connections• Get Recommendations• Join relevant groups• Great for B2B companies• 10 Steps to Create a LinkedIn Company Page

Pinterest• Converts browsers into potential buyers• Drives traffic to your website• Users engagement is described as highly addictive• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AfyByLwiIe8

Content, Content, Content!Content marketing isn’t about spending money, it’s about

investing time.

If you consistently share valuable information and stories with a community, your value and authority within the community will

grow. You don’t want to buy likes, you want to earn them.

How do I manage my social media?

• Don’t spread yourself too thin! • Know where your target audience is hanging out online• Measure each post and how you interact with your audience

The Content Calendar • Create a content calendar

– Decide what to post, where to post and how often to post for each network

– Schedule content ahead of time to save you time! Use apps such as HootSuite or Sprout Social

– Make sure that you aren’t posting everything everywhere. What works for Facebook doesn’t necessarily work for Twitter.

If you’re just starting after today, do this first.

1. Make sure you have a website and a blog2. Set up a Facebook Page 3. Decide where else you need to be after you get a good

grip on your content

Social Media Resources• HootSuite: scheduling, great tips and tricks e-mailed

regularly• Mention: Google Alerts for the social web. It includes

mentions of your brand or keywords you want to monitor on social networks, forums, blogs, and more

• Buffer: Social media publishing plus powerful analytics • Feedly: Content discovery. Finding great content to share

with your audience is easy with Feedly.

Questions?

Let’s meet Caroline!