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Which Social Media Platform is Right for Your Business?
1. Which Social Media Platform
is Right for Your Business?
July – August 2012
@SocialMediaSchl
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
2. What We’ll Cover Today
• How to determine the right social media platform for
your business
• Key social media platforms
• The role of each social media platform as it
pertains to your strategy
• The pros and cons of each
• What to do next
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
3. What We Won’t Cover
• Details of social media platforms:
– How to set up a Facebook page, Twitter account or
blog
– How to find fans or followers or get people to
fan/follow you
– Specifics of creating content for blogs, Twitter or
Facebook
– Timing of blog posts, tweets or Facebook posts
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
5. Which Social Media Platform is Right for You?
• Consider these questions:
• Are you building a personal brand or a corporate profile?
• Is your business B2C or B2B?
• Do you have an existing website?
• Are you more concerned about customer retention or
new customer acquisition?
• Who is your target demographic?
• How much time do you have to commit to social media?
• How much technical skill do you have?
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
9. Facebook’s Role in a Social Media Strategy
• Key Points to Consider
• Customers must find you there (opt-In)
• How will they find you?
• 50% of Facebook users report a preference for purchasing
products from brands they have liked
• Facebook is about customer retention & relationships
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
10. Facebook Page Pros & Cons
Pros Cons
•Basic set up is easy •Not owned, but rented space
•Little or no out-of-pocket cost •Advanced set up more complex
•Huge user pool – every •Difficult to get your content seen
demographic by everyone
•Plays nice with multi-media •More consumer than B2B
•Great sharing capabilities •Takes additional apps to run
•Moderate time commitment promos/coupons/contests
•Easy targeting through •No immediate access to customer
advertising platform data
•Measurement tools included
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
12. Twitter’s Role in a Social Media Strategy
• Key Points to Consider
• Twitter is an open network
• You can follow and talk to almost anyone
• 20% of all Tweets sent mention a specific brand or
product
• Twitter is about customer acquisition & customer service
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
13. Twitter Pros & Cons
Pros Cons
•Super easy set up •Not owned, but rented space
•Little or no out-of-pocket cost •Daily commitment
•No tech involved •Can eat up time
•Great for media outreach •Limited user pool vs.
•Good platform for Facebook/blogs
coupons/promos •Lots of spammers to avoid
•Easily measured
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
15. Blogging’s Role in a Social Media Strategy
• Key Points to Consider
• You own your blog
• You determine the Terms of Service
• A blog is evolving & ever changing
• Unlike a website, which is primarily static
• A blog is your home on the web; an opportunity to tell your
brand story. With changing content, it’s also about search.
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
16. Blogging Pros & Cons
Pros Cons
•Great for getting found online •Basic set-up requires some
•Best way to establish credibility, technical skill
authority and trust •Customized set-up requires
•Readers can subscribe and technical and design resources
automatically get updates •Customized set-up can cost
•You can control the site with $500-$3,000
minimal technical skill •Requires planning & significant
•Your articles get published time commitment
whenever you want with no •Requires comfort with writing
gatekeeper
•You own the space
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
18. YouTube’s Role in a Social Media Strategy
• Key points to consider
• Google owns YouTube
• YouTube is the second most-used search engine
• Google is used the most
• Not only is YouTube about audio & visual content, YouTube is
about search!
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
19. YouTube/Video Pros & Cons
Pros
Cons
•Enhances the customer experience
•May need to hire a professional
•Potentially large viewership on
YouTube for video editing and enhanced
videos
•Easily incorporated into other social
media channels •Unwanted ads may appear on
•Easily shared by other people your videos
•Important for Search Engine
Optimization (SEO)
•Not the greatest community
builder
•Easy to make simple, unedited videos
and upload to video sharing site(s)
•Outstanding for visual content
(fashion, home, design, other visual
products)
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
21. LinkedIn’s Role in a Social Media Strategy
• Key Points to Consider
• It's more than just an online resume service
• It's more than just for hiring and job search - #1 reason
is Industry Network
• LinkedIn has a very high Google ranking, often leading
people who search for you to your LinkedIn public profile
ahead of all others
• 35% of users of LinkedIn members use it daily
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
22. LinkedIn Pros & Cons
Pros Cons
•Highly visible by search engines •Most interaction occurs within
•Feature-rich search your personal profile, not your
company profile
•Used by senior executives
•Engagement within news feeds
•Internationally focused is difficult to achieve
•Unmatched recommendations •Functionality is more
algorithm complicated and not as user-
•News feed is more focused & friendly, compared to other
relative compared to other sites networking sites
•Not as much time spent on
LinkedIn by members
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
24. Pinterests’ Role in a Social Media Strategy
• Key points to consider
• One of the fastest growing social networks
• 104.4M visitors in June
• Google+ had 61M
• Highly visual and equally as viral
• Pinterest is about customer rapport & branding
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
25. Pinterest Pros & Cons
Pros Cons
•Visual showcase for products •Limited demographic
•Great for fashion, food, •Largely female
decorating & crafts
•Requires linking to an existing
•Very easy to get started & Twitter or Facebook account
maintain
•Primarily Business-to-Consumer
•Small time investment (B2C)
•Easy to expand to other topics •Does not include
related to your brand comprehensive measurement
•Very engaged users tools
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
27. What’s Next???
• Which platforms match up with your answers?
• Also consider how much time you can commit to your
social media strategy
• Consistency is key! It’s better to be on one platform and
do it really well than to be spread too thin across
multiple platforms.
• Sign Up for our “Small Biz Social Media Tips” newsletter
• It’s completely free
• http://SocialMediaSchoolNY.com
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
28. Appendix:
Social Media School Courses
for Key Platforms
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
29. About Social Media School
• Founded on a belief that people learn best when they can interact
with instructors
• Pre-recorded webinars aren’t the right format for most people
• Affordable, interactive classes on how to use the most popular social
media platforms
• Real-life examples, live instructors
• Access to instructors, even after the class is over!
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
30. Social Media School: Facebook Boot Camp
• Step-by-step instructions for creating a Facebook business page
• How to customize your page
• How to get the most from your profile picture and photostrip
• Facebook etiquette & best practices
• How to get more people to like your page
• Tips for getting customers to talk to you, answer your questions and
talk to each other.
• How to increase the chances that your posts will be seen
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
31. Social Media School: Twitter Boot Camp
• Step-by-step instructions for creating a new account
• How to optimize your Twitter profile to get found
• Twitter etiquette & best practices
• How to find people to follow
• How to build followers
• Twitter lists and how to use them
• Twitter success stories
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
32. Social Media School: Blogging Bootcamp
• What it takes to be a blogger
• How to find the most influential blogs in your space
• Examples of successful corporate blogs
• How to select a name for your blog and decide what to blog about
• How to differentiate yourself from other bloggers in your space.
• How to use images and craft enticing headlines
• Blog etiquette and principles of communication
• 100 blog post ideas
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
33. Social Media School: Video Bootcamp
• Step-by-step for creating a YouTube Channel
• How to customize your channel
• How to optimize your channel and videos for greater search visibility
• Understanding YouTube Insights
• Examples of companies using YouTube successfully
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
34. Social Media School: LinkedIn Bootcamp
• Step-by-step instructions for creating or enhancing your LinkedIn
profile
• How to make your profile searchable by the people you want to
meet
• LinkedIn etiquette and best practices
• How to make connections & build your network
• How to get referrals to clients, investors, donors and employees
• Ideal if you have a sparse profile, are just starting out, or if your
profile needs some extra TLC for a job search
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
35. Questions?
Contact:
Stephanie Schwab
Instructor
stephanie@socialmediaschoolny.com
Website: www.socialmediaschoolny.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/socialmediaschl
FB: www.facebook.com/socialmediaschoolny
Copyright 2012, Social Media School | www.socialmediaschoolny.com
Editor's Notes
Next classes are platform-specific, we encourage you to take them so you can delve deeper into one or more social media platforms
As a small businsess owner, you’re probably hearing a lot about social media – and probably have a lot of questions about it. I hope we can help you start to answer some of them.
But first, we have to ask some questions! These are things you need to consider when deciding what to do in social media.
750 million+: active users 50%: of active users log on daily 700 billion+: # of minutes/month that people spend on site 90: # of pieces of content the average user creates each month (30 billion pieces shared per month in total) 250 million: active users currently accessing FB through mobile devices (mobile users are twice as active on FB as non-mobile users) (source: Facebook) ADD: Most of you are already on Facebook, so you know its power to connect and change the way we communicate. That same power extends beyond friends and family to communicating with brands. Wide demographic; kids under 13 are the only demo not officially on Facebook. Pictures and visual mediums are important on Facebook. Facebook is a free, easy-to-use, social networking utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them It is the #1 social networking site It combines best of blogs, online forums, groups, photosharing with thousands of readily available applications Most importantly, it’s about interacting with friends and fans
200 million: Twitter users as of March 2011 110 million: number of tweets per day 92%: awareness of Twitter among Americans 7.8 million: users who access Twitter using a mobile phone 46%: brand followers claiming to be more loyal after engaging with a brand on Twitter Sources: Edison Research, Mashable , Pingdom, Quora Connect with influential people in your area of business, journalists, celebs, thought leaders ADD: Some of you use Twitter, but you’ve all heard stories about celebrities tweeting and the impact a single tweet can have on a brand or organization. Twitter is an important marketing channel which helps shape consumer perception about an organization. ADD: Best Buy anecdote – Ilana computer purchase
152 million+: total number of blogs 1.4 million: number of blog posts per day 57 million: number of US users who read blogs daily 6%: percentage of the entire US population write blogs 53.3%: percentage of bloggers who are 21-35 years old ADD: One of the earliest forms of social media, yet still important, particularly to organizations who have stories to tell, thought leadership to showcase, or a group of people who can contribute content.
800 million videos shared in 2011 3 billion views per day 66% of brands are currently using YouTube to share content YouTube is the world’s most popular video sharing site An interactive community of users A source of content for bloggers & websites A popular search engine; second only to Google ADD: 2nd largest search engine – behind Google, ahead of Bing/Yahoo. It’s easy to overlook video but an important platform for brand identity and communications.
145 million members Replacing the resume as the new business calling card Recruiters and managers are turning to LinkedIn first 160 million+ members 40% in US, followed by India, UK, Brazil and Canada 58% are male Fastest-growing = Ages 18-24 67% are decision makers 40% of members earn $100k/yr More than 2 million company profiles More than 1 million groups
STATS HERE
It can also drive more traffic to your site.
Cons: You can link to a Facebook account, but that will be your personal account, you can not link to a FB page. Currently, there isn’t a way to schedule pins for optimum timing. Any optimized pins must be done in real time. You need to have a compelling image for your pin to get attention. This could mean that you’ll need some photoshop skills.
