GUIDE TO SOCIAL MEDIA

Overview Like it or not, social media is no longer a choice for most businesses. Social networks have combined search, email, instant messaging, blogging, gaming, video sharing, and online shopping into one comprehensive user experience. Your marketing strategy should include a social media presence to win the hearts and minds of this space.

The ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in 5 years. - Erik Qualman

The social web is an incredible platform for finding, connecting with, and engaging your target audience, often at a fraction of the cost of traditional media.

• 98% of people in the U.S that are online • 1 in 5 minutes online is spent on social use social networks. (comScore Media networks. (comScore Media Matrix, Octo- Matrix, October 2011) ber 2011)

• It’s not just young people using social me- • Among customers who talk about brands dia. Users 55 and older represent the fast- on social networks, the overwhelming ma- est growing segment in social networking. jority say that the brand mentions are posi- (comScore Media Matrix, October 2011) tive. (AYTM)

toll-free: 888-600-1030 / www.blazonco.com Facebook www.facebook.com Twitter www.twitter.com Facebook is the king of all social networks. Twitter is a microblogging site that enables It is one of the most popular ways for indi- users to send short posts called “tweets” viduals to share content, create online per- to a network of other users who have sub- sonalities, connect with friends, and interact scribed as followers. Users can re-post with brands online. Consumers can “like” a content they like and directly interact with company’s page and subscribe to receive individuals or brands through replies and updates from that company, while also com- direct messages. Twitter is one of the easi- menting on your brand’s posts, posting their est ways for a brand to communicate with own content on your page, and sharing any a large target audience and build a loyal questions or comments they have about following online. your company. A strong brand presence on Facebook shows consumers that you are • 39% of Twitter users have tweeted about serious about your company and about con- a brand. (AYTM) necting with your customers. • 29% of Twitter users have retweeted a • 3 out of every 4 minutes spent across all brand message. (AYTM) social media channels are spent on Face- book. (comScore Media Matrix, October • Twitter’s unique visitor count has grown 2011) 59% in the past year. (comScore)

• The number of marketers who say Face- • More than ½ of active Twitter users follow book is “critical” or “important” to their busi- companies, brands or products on social ness has increased by 83% in just two years. networks. (Edison Research) (HubSpot state of Inbound Marketing 2011) • 42% of Twitter users use it to learn about • 58% of Facebook users have liked a brand. products or services. (Edison Research) (AYTM) • 41% of Twitter users use it to provide • 42% of Facebook users have mentioned a opinions about products and services. (Ed- brand in a status update. (AYTM) ison Research)

• 41% of Facebook users have shared a link, • 79% of U.S. Twitter users are likely to rec- video, or story about a brand. (AYTM) ommend brands they follow, while 67% are likely to buy from brands they follow. (Edi- • 67% of consumer companies have ac- son Research) quired customers through Facebook. (HubSpot State of Inbound Marketing Re- port, 2011)

toll-free: 888-600-1030 / www.blazonco.com LinkedIn www.linkedin.com Google+ plus.google.com LinkedIn is a business-focused social net- Google+ is Google’s own social network working platform. It allows individual users and content sharing platform. Many of the to share their professional backgrounds functions and features are similar to those and connect with business contacts online. offered by Facebook, but it does have LinkedIn also lets users create pages for some unique functionality such as Circles, their businesses. These business pages a feature that allows users to group their contain information about employees, connections and regulate who they share products, and services, and even offer content with. Google+ has not yet gained business owners the option to advertise the same massive user base that Face- job openings. LinkedIn is one of the most book has, but it is becoming more and valuable professional networking options more important due to Google’s ongoing available today. integration of social media signals into their Google Search algorithm. • LinkedIn has over 100 million members, more than 5 times the population of the • Google+ gained 25 million visitors in less state of New York. (Mashable) than a month, faster than any other social network. (comScore) • 49% of LinkedIn users have household incomes over $100K. (Social Times) • Google+ has 90 million registered users. (Social Beat) YouTube www.youtube.com YouTube is the most popular way to share Yelp www.yelp.com videos online. Easy to use and complete- Yelp is an incredibly popular website ly free, YouTube lets brands upload and where users write reviews of businesses. share original videos, which are often the The concept is straightforward enough, but best form of promotional or informative Yelp’s rapid innovation and user growth content. has made it a major hub for consumer- generated business information despite • 48 hours of video are uploaded every the fact that it is not technically a social minute, resulting in nearly 8 years of con- network. Businesses on Yelp have the op- tent uploaded every day. (YouTube) portunity to post information about their services and respond to reviews. • Over 3 billion videos are viewed every day. (YouTube) • Yelp has a monthly average of 61 million unique visitors. (Yelp)

• Yelp users have written more than 22 mil- lion reviews. (Yelp)

toll-free: 888-600-1030 / www.blazonco.com foursquare www.foursquare.com Pinterest www.pinterest.com Though not technically a social network, four- Pinterest is a virtual bulletin board that allows square is nevertheless an incredibly signifi- users to organize, share, and comment on cant part of the social web that allows users content. Though fairly new, Pinterest is rap- to “check in” via mobile phone at various loca- idly growing. Users can “pin” content to vir- tions around the world. The foursquare plat- tual pinboards, categorizing their interests, form turns a visit to your local grocery store or and can also “repin,” “like,” or comment on coffee shop into a social game, where users content that they like. The more popular the compete to earn badges based on the num- “pin,” the more likely it is to be featured in a ber of times they check in at particular loca- place of prominence on the site, such as the tions. It’s important for brick-and-mortar busi- homepage. Companies can create pinboards nesses to be aware of this platform and the to share their own content as well as content more than 10 million people who use it, as they feel is of interest to their target market. foursquare provides businesses with promo- tional tools to retain these socially connected • Pinterest has more than 3.2 million unique visitors. Incidentally, the name “foursquare” is monthly visitors. (TechCrunch) never capitalized. • Pinterest has sustained a 45% monthly • 4 million check-ins per day. (foursquare) growth. (TechCrunch)

• 30 million venues listed. (foursquare) StumbleUpon www.stumbleupon.com StumbleUpon is a discovery engine that finds • 600,000 merchants utilize foursquare’s and recommends web pages, videos, photos business tools and provide special offers. and other content from across the web ac- (foursquare) cording to the specified interests of the user. When shown a website, video, article, or oth- Reddit www.reddit.com er piece of content, users have the option of Reddit is a social news website where users “liking” it or not, and the more often a content can share content and “upvote” or “down- piece is “liked,” the more likely it is to be rec- vote” the content they find interesting or un- ommended to other users. Brands can utilize interesting, respectively. The more favorable StumbleUpon’s Paid Discovery platform to votes a piece of content receives, the more promote their websites and content, and can prominently it will be featured on the Reddit also create their own channels to share con- homepage. Brands can also share content, tent for free. which users can vote on. • StumbleUpon’s “Stumble” button has been • Reddit has more than 35 million unique visi- clicked more than 25 billion times. (Mashable) tors each month. (Site Trail) • StumbleUpon sends more traffic to U.S. • Reddit has close to 2 billion page views websites than Facebook. (GigaOm) each month. (Daily Dot)

toll-free: 888-600-1030 / www.blazonco.com Setting Up Your Social Presence The setup process is different for each social media platform. Most of them are very easy and intuitive to use, and some allow a greater level of customization than others. When setting up all of them, keep the following points in mind.

1. Make sure the information you provide is complete and accurate. If a customer is seeking information about your company on a social network, the last thing you want is to provide incorrect or inaccurate information. 2. Make your contact information easy to find. Your goal is to market your services, which means your customers need to be able to get in touch with you. Provide your phone number, a link to your website or your blog, and, if appropriate, Google Maps directions to your place of business. 3. Provide links to your other social networking sites. 4. Place buttons on your website for each of your social networks, making them easy to find for web visitors. 5. Encourage consumers to share blog posts, news, and other content you create with their own social networks by placing social sharing buttons on your website.

Branding Your Profiles Customizing the branding on your social networks is a great way to create a professional look that promotes your company’s image. Making the color schemes, graphics and images consistent with your brand’s image is key to creating a comprehensive online presence. There are certain aspects that you can easily do yourself. In some cases, though, you may need an experienced designer to achieve the level of customization you are looking for.

Facebook – Facebook provides a variety of customization options to business owners. To start with, businesses must create “pages” rather than profiles on Facebook. Pages are specifically de- signed to help businesses and organizations connect with their customers. Businesses can create custom tabs on their Facebook pages, which can incorporate graphics, branding, welcome mes- sages, downloadable content, promotional offers, contests, and other information. Custom designs, professional photos, and compelling graphics give your company an edge over the competition.

Twitter – Twitter offers fewer options for customization than Facebook, but does allow the use of custom background imagery. Companies that chose a standard background are wasting valuable space and losing an opportunity to display their branding, messaging, and contact information to potential customers.

YouTube – Like Twitter, YouTube profiles can incorporate custom backgrounds that bring your brand to life. Unfortunately, the customization options largely end there. Focus instead on creating incredible video content for your channel.

toll-free: 888-600-1030 / www.blazonco.com Content Creation When thinking about what to post on social media, it’s tempting to make it all about you. While promoting your products or services is an important part of building your brand, your audience will shut you out if you’re too self-centered. Think about social media as a conversation. No one wants to be friends with the guy who goes on and on about himself. Make the content you share valuable to your target market and you will build an online community that is excited about your brand.

With today’s constant information flow, it is important to continually update and add to your content in order to stay relevant and keep your audience engaged. Try posting your content at different times of the day and on different days of the week to see what works best. Try creating video content, text content, and graphical content to see what format your audience responds to best. Experimentation is important to all types of marketing. Don’t be afraid to try new things.

Here are some content creation tips to get you started.

1. Know your audience. Do you own a clothing store? Tweet about an upcoming fash- ion show. Do you own a restaurant? Share a new recipe you found online and ask people what they think. Consider the type of information your target market is inter- ested in, and provide valuable content that will keep them engaged. 2. Provide something valuable. Whether you provide a special discount to your social followers, run a contest, share how-to or do-it-yourself advice, or announce an up- coming sale, make sure your content is valuable. Pictures and videos are always a great way to make your content interesting and exciting. 3. Experiment. As mentioned above, there’s no magic way of knowing what will work until you start experimenting. Don’t be afraid to try different approaches. If one post doesn’t receive good feedback, try something else next time. The great thing about social networks is that they constantly evolve. 4. Be human. Showing your personality on social networks is one of the best ways to gain a loyal following and get people excited about your brand. Don’t be afraid to get personal and make it fun. 5. Respond to everything. Be sure to respond to every comment or question posted on any of your social profiles. You should especially respond when these comments are negative. It shows customers that you care and fosters valuable dialogue. 6. Don’t ignore feedback. Social networks are a great way to receive valuable feedback about your product or service. If a large number of people are having problems with a specific issue, it may be time to rethink that aspect of your business. Positive feed- back is also important, because it lets you know what you’re doing right.

toll-free: 888-600-1030 / www.blazonco.com Defining Success Social media success means something different for every company, and it’s definitely not just about the numbers. A small group of loyal, engaged followers is more valuable than a group of tens of thousands of followers who aren’t truly interested in hearing from your brand.

• Interaction is key. Getting 50 comments on a video you uploaded to Twitter is most likely more valuable than gaining 50 new followers, for example. Focus first and fore- most on creating content that inspires users to interact with your brand.

• It takes time. Social media is not a quick fix that will bring in new customers over- night. It takes time and dedication to build a following on social networks. Strong social media communities are built in months and years, not days.

• Monitor constantly. Keeping on top of how you are doing on each social network is important, as it lets you see what is working and what you need to improve on. Try to check in at least once per day to post content, respond to customer inquiries, and monitor activity.

Tools Monitoring the success of your social networks is critical, but it can also be time-con- suming and confusing. Here are a few tools you can use to make it a lot easier.

• Google Alerts - Setting up Google Alerts about your company, industry, and competi- tors is a great way to monitor what people are saying online about topics related to your business. To set up a Google Alert, simply visit www.google.com/alerts and enter key words, such as your business’s name or an industry topic, as well as your email address. Google will send links to your email address any time your specified words or phrases are mentioned online. Alerts can give you up-to-date information on a daily or even hourly basis.

• Management Tools - Often, the best time to post on a social network is on the week- end or after work hours. Want to use social networks effectively without letting them take over your life? Several companies have created great social media manage- ment tools that allow you to schedule posts days, weeks, or even months in advance. TweetDeck and HootSuite are two great free options to help you manage your Face- book and Twitter account postings and monitor activity all in one place.

toll-free: 888-600-1030 / www.blazonco.com • Free Monitoring Services - Free services such as Social Mention are a great way to get advanced knowledge about what people are saying about your brand. Metrics such as strength, sentiment, passion and reach of the people talking about your brand provide a full picture of the conversation taking place around your company online. The site lists relevant keywords for your company and the hashtags most of- ten used in relation to your brand. It even lists the top users talking about your brand, which will help you identify your company’s top brand evangelists. Insert the name of your industry or a competitor to get a broader view of where you company stands in relation to others on the social web.

• Subscription Monitoring Services - Social Mention and similar tools are free, but if you want to take it up a notch and gain access to more advanced metrics, you can try out subscription services such as Sprout Social. Paid services like this give you a wealth of detailed information about your customers and help you align your social media marketing strategy for success.

Facebook Insights - Facebook provides detailed analytics to help you understand who is looking at your business page, how they are interacting, and what content they enjoy the most. Facebook Insights is very easy to use. It provides a graph of your weekly reach, how many people are interacting with your content, and how many people “like” your page. It also provides data about each individual post, giv- ing you an idea of what content your community wants to see and what content they don’t. It even shows you the demographics of people coming to your page and where they are coming from.

The Bottom Line The biggest question most business owners have about social media is, “Does it work?” The bottom line is always about true business performance. And unfortunately, there is no straight answer here. Many, many companies have had great success with social media. Many others have seen little to no success. As always, the web is a volatile place that changes daily. Keeping up is often a complex task.

But the majority of new innovations are making the world more social rather than less social, more connected rather than less connected, which will make social media in- creasingly more critical in the years to come. And regardless of your industry, your customers are definitely present on social media platforms. There’s no better time to get started.

toll-free: 888-600-1030 / www.blazonco.com