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Social Media and your Small Buisness

Is social media right for your small business?

Consider these points:

1. Social media is booming. Facebook

reports over a billion monthly active users,

Twitter over 300 million and Pinterest 100

million users. The takeaway: go where you

audience is.1

2. A social media presence will help you hire

top talent -- a plus as the economy recovers

and employee turnover increases.

3. Social media lets you connect with

customers (and potential customers),

respond to questions, amplify compliments,

and diffuse complaints, all in real time.

4. Speaking of time -- social media needn’t be

all-consuming.

5. Social media costs a fraction of traditional

media.

OK, then - let’s get started!

1Facebook and Pinterest data from 9.2015; Twitter data from 11.2015.

ContentsFormulating a Social Media Strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

• Step One: Define your Goals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

• Step Two: Balance Marketing with Engagement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2

• Step Three: Focus on the Audience Experience . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

• Step Four: Interact, Share and Respond . . . . . .3

• Step Five: Cultivate Your Brand Advocates . . . .4

Pick your Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

To Blog or Not to Blog . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Social Media Tips for Busy Business Owners . . . . .7

Social Media Metrics 101 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Social Media Use in the Workplace . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Create a Social Media Ripple for your Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Additional Social Media Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Social Media and your Small Buisness

2

Formulating a Social Media StrategyTake the “overwhelming” out of social media with this five-step action plan.

StepOne:DefineyourSocialMediaGoalsIdentify how social media could help achieve your business goals. Focus on one key objective, such as:

• Increase customer loyalty

• Increase direct sales

• Generate brand awareness

• Become a thought leader and expert

Once you’ve determined your objective, stick with it!

Step Two: Balance Marketing with EngagementThe most successful businesses use social media to drive ideas, not product or offers. Engage your

audience by providing value for their objectives. Invite them into a conversation, rather than talking at them.

And just like a good conversationalist would do, remember to change topics regularly. Offer some surprises

beyond a “business as usual” viewpoint.

Experts recommend using a 70/30 rule of engagement, i.e., talk about business-

related topics 70% of the time and use the remaining 30% to talk about:

• Your company’s mission and vision

• Social endeavors and projects that involve your company

• Your employees and customers (be sure to get their permission first)

• “Behind-the-scenes” stories about your company’s culture

In your blog posts, company website and other social media channels,

use a storytelling lens that draws people in. Demonstrate your company’s

mission and values by describing actions and results.

Above all, create content that’s shareable. Before you send out a Tweet or publish a blog post,

ask, “Does this message reflect our company’s reputation? Will it benefit our business?” If not,

revise or delete it!

Social Media and your Small Buisness

3StepThree:FocusontheAudienceExperienceRather than focus on audience size or the number of followers and fans, build a meaningful connection

with your audience and industry. Adding value to social media conversations helps your target audience get

to know your business better – and encourages that audience to grow.

Cater to your core audience’s needs. Provide them with resources, advice and information on a regular

basis. Talk about industry trends of interest. Make every touch about their needs. Be friendly and generous.

The more you use social media to engage your target audience, the more it will help cultivate business and

referrals in the long term.

TheGoldenRuleofSocialMedia: Generatepositiveconversation, engagement and participation.

StepFour:Interact,ShareandRespondSocial media is about more than your own voice and viewpoint. Be sure to keep in mind these guidelines as

you respond and comment on other blogs, forums and discussions:

• Stay positive and respectful.

• Add something noteworthy to the conversation.

• Include a link to your own content if relevant to the topic.

• Link to other content that you find of interest on your own social media platforms.

• Respond promptly to social media comments left on your blog. (See To Blog or Not to Blog)

• Encourage engagement!

• Build relationships with your industry’s influencers.

• Reference individuals in your social media community with expertise and insights.

These simple actions will boost your online credibility and boost search engine ranking – and encourage

others to share your content.

Social Media and your Small Buisness

4StepFive:CultivateyourBrandAdvocatesRecognizing that your employees (and these days, just about everyone else) are actively using social media

sites, why not make them your company’s brand advocates?

First, make sure they understand your company’s values and mission and how best to express it with social

media. Your company reputation depends on it.

Your army of brand advocates will share your company’s message and brand online with potential

customers and employees. Thus be sure that you establish some simple ground rules:

KeepThingsTransparent

Employees should always identify themselves as

employess in their social media posts to avoid any

perceived conflict of interest.

FollowtheRules

Employee online behavior should adhere to your

company’s existing employee policies. (see Social Media

Use in the Workplace.)

ContentDistribution

Designate one or two employees as your social media

deputies, giving them easy access to information that you

want shared that supports the company’s mission.

EncourageFeedback

Employees who are active on social media can serve as your eyes and ears in tracking industry trends and

commentary about your company.

Consider this: If 100 of your employees or recruits posted something positive about your company right

now, their message could potentially reach 13,000 social media users. That is significant leverage!

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Social Media and your Small Buisness

5

Pick your PlatformUtilize a variety of social media platforms to create your strategy.

YourCompanyWebsite

Allow employees to contribute content to your company website or blog by highlighting recent events,

accomplishments and success stories. Doing so will give them a sense of ownership and pride in their

company. It also humanizes your company, your culture and brand.

FacebookforEngagement

A company Facebook page can be a meet up for your workforce, a place to engage customers – but most

of all it can demonstrate your company brand.

A dynamic company Facebook page also demonstrates your company culture to potential job candidates.

PinterestAddsInterest

As a visual platform, Pinterest uses images to engage your audience. It can

support your business objectives by linking users back to your company

website or blog. Use it to create a company storyboard. Add rich pins

to include more product and service information. Include content

creation and sharing to make your Pinterest strategy a success.

Twitter

The 3rd-most popular search engine is a great platform for businesses.

The platform allows you to include video, images, twitter cards, quizzes

and more. Be creative!

MakeUseofMedia

Have a professional photographer take photos of employees in action

(be sure everyone signs a release first) for use on your company

website and other social media platforms. Encourage employees to

share this content via their own social networks.

Besides building your brand, visual content gives job candidates a

sense of your company culture. Videos of management and team

members let job seekers see if they’d be a good fit for your company.

Publish your media across multiple social media platforms.

Social Media and your Small Buisness

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To Blog or Not to BlogA company blog can help differentiate your business, its services and brand, while building

our company’s reputation as an expert and resource. Consider these tips as you create your blog strategy.

CareandFeedingofyourBlog

• Be realistic about your available time and resources

• Consistency is more important than frequency

• Line up internal support to maintain your blog

• Engage a responsible employee who is

experienced in social media

CreatingContent

• Invite others to contribute to your blog, including:

• Employees

• Industry experts

• Satisfied customers

• Establish a publishing schedule and guidelines for

blog contributors

• Allot time to review and revise content as needed

prior to publish

• Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly test to check if your

website’s design is mobile-friendly

CreatingCommunity

• Regularly monitor comments and discussions

• Maintain freedom of expression

• Edit or delete negative comments directed at individuals

• Address customer service inquiries directly or refer them to the best place to get assistance publicly

WhattoWriteAbout

• Make your blog a source of industry news and information

• Include links to related resources in your posts

• Share brief stories that exemplify your company’s unique culture, brand and ethics

Social Media and your Small Buisness

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TipsforBusyBusinessOwnersAre you too busy for social media? The key is to keep it simple:

CreateaSchedule: Set aside a portion of time each day to post to

your blog and other social media platforms. Give yourself a regular

amount of time to complete the task. Choose a time of day that will

give you the peace and quiet needed to think and write clearly.

StayConnected:Check in briefly with key social media sources

throughout the day to help inspire content ideas for your own blog and

Twitter feed. A good way to do this is with an RSS reader or a curated

Twitter feed.

BeConsistent:While you don’t have to post new content every day,

strive to publish content on a regular basis – at minimum a few times

a week. Besides broadcasting your own content, remember to join

other conversations as well.

Keep It Short and Sweet: It’s always difficult to find the time to create

online content. The good news: your audience’s time is limited too!

Keep your blog posts brief and conversational. Take more time to edit

your writing. Brevity and clarity are always greatly appreciated.

FollowasMuchasYouLead:While your point of view is valuable, also look for ways to solicit responses

and feedback from the audience in your blog posts, tweets and other communications.

BeaServant:Be of service to your audience. Keep their needs in mind as you write. This point of view will

inherently drive engagement and participation (and potentially conversion).

GetFeedbackfromTrustedSources: If you’re concerned about your level of writing, ask a trusted source

to review and edit your content. Choose someone with solid writing skills and business acumen as well as

knowledge of your company’s mission. Incorporate this process into your publishing routine to maintain the

quality of your posts and content.

BeFrank,PoliteandCivil: Keep your opinions and knee-jerk reactions in check, especially with irate

customers or others whose opinion differs from your own. Remember – you are your company’s brand

ambassador. It’s possible to turn an unhappy customer into a brand advocate by addressing their needs

head on and being polite.

Social Media and your Small Buisness

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SocialMediaMetrics101Determining what social media metrics matter most to your small business

can be challenging. These basics will help get you started:

GoWhereyourTargetAudienceGoes: Experts recommend tracking the

number of visits, leads and customers that each of your social media

platforms generate. Focus your efforts on the platforms that your target

audience frequents the most and adjust your social media strategy

accordingly.

UsingGoogleAnalytics:A statistical treasure trove for small business,

Google Analytics, including Google conversions, is used by half of the 10,000

most-visited websites. Additionally, Google’s Adwords Keyword Planner will

help you plan your payper-click campaigns more effectively.

Tracking Engagement: Follow the 70/30 rule of engagement

(see Step Two: Balance Marketing with Engagement) and focus

first on building customer relationships. Once you’ve done so,

move on to…

TrackingConversions:By adding a tracking code to links that

are posted on your social networks, you can measure the purchase of goods or services, customer leads or

other statistics that are meaningful to your business goals.

CustomerSourcing: When it comes to conversion, don’t forget to ask

in-store customers what brought them into the store. Keep track of their

responses. This will help you better allocate your social media marketing

budget.

If your business is online, include a “Where did you hear about us?” field

in your “Contact Us” form.

Social Media and your Small Buisness

9

SocialMediaUseintheWorkplaceAs social media use grows, more people access it throughout the day. Rather than prohibit its use, many

experts recommend taking a more proactive approach.

CreateaSocialMediaPolicyA social media policy will promote a better balance between work and online activities and circumvent

social media mishaps. Use it to supplement your company’s other legal documents, such as your Internet

use policy, code of conduct and ethics policy and privacy and non-harassment policies. A social media

policy will help clarify:

• Infringements on confidential company information and intellectual property rights and other

proprietary information.

• Slanderous or libelous statements that are detrimental to business and unsubstantiated that are

prohibited.

• Comments made by the employee are their own and should not be made on behalf of the company.

• Those channels that are safe and appropriate for various types of communications.

Consult your own legal counsel to create a social media policy that best suits your place of business.

As you assemble your policy, consider these recommendations:

Keep It Simple: Keep the policy easy to read and understand to prevent

employees from ignoring it altogether. Make it easily accessible online.

TrainEmployees:Train all employees about your social media policy and

corporate messaging. This will enable them to confidently and appropriately

promote your company. Include this training as part of your new hire

orientation.

InvolveyourStaff: Encourage employees to talk openly to managers

about their blogs and online profiles as questions arise.

SeparateWorkandPersonalData: Be aware of data

privacy issues on portable devices that combine work and

personal data. If the device is lost, it may require wiping

the device’s storage to maintain corporate security, thus

destroying the employee’s personal data, and potentially

creating a liability issue.

Social Media and your Small Buisness

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CreateaSocialMediaRipple foryourBusinessYou can grow your company’s social media in just 15 minutes a day!

Regularly practice the steps below to generate meaningful connections with both

customers and potential new hires:

CreateaSchedule:• Follow five new people that interest you

• Respond in a timely fashion to any mentions you’ve received

• Be positive and helpful, regardless of the other person’s tone

• Quickly scroll through the latest entries in your feed

• Share something of interest that adds value for your audience

• Engage with at least 2 people who posted something interesting

• Share something about your company:

• Upcoming events or an event round-up

• Customer testimonials

• Employee news or profiles

• A new product or service

• A special customer offer

• Thought leadership insights

• Industry news

OnceaWeek:• Review your social media metrics

• What did your audience engage with most?

• What does this feedback tell you about their needs?

• How has your audience grown?

• What platforms are generating interactions?

• Which posts drove the most traffic to your website?

• How can you build on these messages?

• How did your social media efforts impact your business?

Be consistent with your efforts to create a vibrant social media brand.

Social Media and your Small Buisness

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