Public Sector Social Media Training – 17Th March

Public Sector Social Media Training – 17 th March James Fitzgerald, Social Media Academy Director Agenda 1. Background 2. Social Media Marketing – Disseminate – Engage – Participate 3. Measurement & evaluation metrics My background My background My background My background Social Media Marketing Social Media Objectives Increasing the number of links Raising awareness from quality websites Search engine ranking boost Website traffic Social Media Marketing • A social media strategy can broadly be defined as possessing three parts 1. Dissemination 2. Engagement 3. Participation • The extent to which you perform either will be essentially be dictated by – Overall objectives – Timings – Resources (manpower vs. spend) • In an ideal world you would maximise all three parts, however given potential restrictions, as outlined above, you may begin with the first element and then graduate to include all three • There are few examples of companies exercising all three well and simultaneously Social Media Marketing • There a variety of ways in which you are able to evaluate your social media activity, given the ease of capturing data and usage online • Decide how you wish to evaluate your success based on your overall campaign objectives • If you want to drive people to download a report then you need to plan in advance how this will be recorded? Alternatively if you want to brand awareness how will you measure this? Data Capture? Drive traffic? Improve SEO? • Deciding upon this in advance will not only help determine your overall strategy but will also help demonstrate ROI which actually has value • Typically it makes most sense for internal/ agency marketing personnel to work together on this, i.e. PR/ Marketing/ Digital as different departments possess useful skills Online PR tactics Blogger outreach Twitter promotion Audience mapping Online media promotion • Content pitching • Client Twitter feed set-up • Guest blog posts • Post drafting • Blogger events • Twitter feed promotion Social network Social bookmarking Forums Podcasts promotion • Thread sponsorship • Production • Facebook groups • Interview pitching • MySpace profile recruitment • Niche networks • Ning Video production Video promotion SEO PR Widgets • Script writing • Search engine optimisation • Press release optimisation • Production • Filming & production • Seeding • Syndication • Promotion • Editing • Measurement & reporting Online monitoring Online PR measurement • Online media buying value • Search engine visibility • Web analytics • Social media metrics Dissemination Overview • Using social media as a means to disseminate information surrounding an organisation, or its content, is the very basic tenant of a social media outreach campaign • This can be carried out in the following forms: • Corporate blog • Company Twitter profile • Optimisation of press releases and online syndication • Creating a presence within social bookmarking sites • Sharing video content on video sharing sites • Uploading all company images and photography to Flickr or similar • Many of these activities can be carried out simply and relatively easily Overview • A high degree of Dissemination will: • Help keep people up to speed on what you think and what you are doing • Build brand awareness • Improve the presence of an organisation online, in particular within search engines returns • Make an organisation more visible within environments where consumers/ prospects/ decision-makers/ journalists spend time, i.e. video sharing sites • Allow your content to be more accessible online so people can share and write about you • If you have limited resources or are just dipping your toe into social media Dissemination can often be a good first step Blogs Blogs • Matured - blogging has now matured as a phenomenon to cross all consumer interest areas • Extensive - vibrant communities can be found collecting around vast ranges of topics • Culture - blogger outreach carries with it different expectancies in regards to form of communications than traditional media Blogs • 70% of bloggers are talking about brands on their blog organically • 46% of respondents post about the brands they love (or hate) • 38% post brand or product reviews • Professional and part time bloggers talk about brands at a much higher rate (80%), with one in three posting reviews at least once a week. • 72% of bloggers are classified as Hobbyists, meaning that they report no income related to blogging • Fewer than 10% of bloggers say they don’t know the traffic to their blogs *Source: Technorati, State of the Blogosphere 2009 Report Blogging • Have something to say – Be clear on the following before starting – What do I hope to accomplish? – Will I have enough material that’s of interest? – Will I have enough story ideas to update regularly? • Look at examples of success – Best Job In The World – Snow Mamas • Find someone/people actually interesting to blog for you • Don’t use your company blog as a sales tactic – A blog is a communications tool, not a pitch • Be as open as you can – No one’s asking you to spill internal secrets, but people do want to know what you think Blogging Identification • At the heart of any social media outreach campaign is an initial planning and identification process • Who are your target audience? Is there anyone else that might be interested in your campaign? • What interest areas will your audience cluster around? Niche groups, etc. • Research your target audience either using search engines • Technorati • Google blog search • Mix and match between the two, to combine useful features • Brainstorm all possible iterations of keywords relevant for audience • Potentially filter findings by geography or any other criteria • There are alternative paid for identification services • Social Media Library • Some monitoring tools can be occasionally used to identify contacts • Occasionally social media freelancers offer identification services Blogger outreach • It is vital to know who you’re pitching to. Specifically this includes: Reading the site’s about page Reading the last week or so of posts or news stories If possible, finding a specific, concrete example and URL that proves why the editor would be interested in writing about the campaign? If not a URL, the site should be very specific to your client/campaign Blog Pitching - Ethics Transparency • Honesty of Relationship : You say who you're speaking for • Honesty of Identity : You never obscure your identity Specifics • No monetary exchanges • Commitment to represent blogger and client • No dodgy dealings, bribery • No pestering • No anonymous posting or commenting • No spamming Language & tone • ‘PR/Marketing speak’ just does not work – Avoid exaggeration – people can spot it, and do not need to put up with it – Is it really ‘the world’s leading’ ? • Be human – Chatty, simple language works best – Avoid jargon at all costs • Be friendly – Relationships can be formed very quickly online • Be open – People are largely very understanding. If issues arise be up-front and open and maintain dialogue • Transparency – Always state your intention – Always state who you are representing Language & tone • ‘The latest such approach is from a nice man who works for Sainsbury's who starts off telling me that Sainsbury's wants to "reach out to you“ • This he tells me is because I'm an "influential blogger" (I suspect he wants to make me feel good.) • However, the nice man assures me they really do want to work with "important bloggers like you" and "yes, we have been reading your blogs for a while now. We see: *Depth of thought in your posts *How much conversation is generated both in commenting and others externally from your blog". • Impressed as they are he tells me he will be giving me a £75 voucher to use when sainsburys.co.uk goes live with an extended range of products. All I have to do is let them know what I think of the site. • Five days later, my price has dropped. The nice man tells me the new site is now "LIVE" and that he has £50 for me to spend. £50? • What I wonder did I do in the intervening period to make my price drop? I contemplate emailing him but it seems pushy doesn't it. "I'm wondering what happened to my other £25 - is it the stock market? Did I become £25 less "influential" when I wasn't looking?" The Introduction Includes: • Short introduction of who you are and what you do • Opt-in clause of participation • A hint of what might be in store • Chance to be placed on a ‘Do Not Pitch’ list Does not include: • Press releases • Hard sells • Attachments • Unsolicited advice or information Corporate Twitter Account • Corporate Twitter activity can take a variety of forms, at its most basic level – Use it to broadcast news, research, coverage and opinions – Similar concept to how might use a corporate blog – Use it to follow and keep up with key media contacts – Use it talk about company promotions and to drive traffic to company website – Use it to follow clients/ key prospects • Complements blogging - Twitter now has found a place alongside blogging, where it is used to share quick views and opinions. Blogging instead is used for more detailed descriptions and analysis Platforms and metrics Twitter • 45 – 54 year-olds are 36 per cent more likely than the average to visit the site, source: comScore • The average age of a Twitter user is 32 • The simplicity of Twitter has made it most popular with the golden oldies and 20 per cent of all tweeters in Britain are over the age of 55, compared with 12 per cent of Facebook users • 72.5% of all users joined during the first five months of 2009 • 5% of Twitter users account for 75% of all activity • There are more women on Twitter (53%) than men (47%) • In Feb 2009 the largest age group on Twitter was 35-49, comprising almost 42 percent of the site’s audience • 62% of people visit Twitter.com while at work Nielsen Online, March 2009 Case study – Nokia • @Nokia • 12,405 followers • 32 following • 98 Tweets • Limited active engagement with followers • Typically one way conversation about what Nokia is doing launching/ launching/ selling – e.g.

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