How to use social media as an effective part of your marketing strategy - as presented to the FSB Yeovil & Mendip group in Somerset

1. How To Use Social Media As An Effective
Part of Your Marketing Strategy
FSB Y&M
By Chris Wood

2. • Online Marketing &
Social Media Specialist
• Provides training to businesses on how to use
social media & other online marketing activities
• Showing how to engage & promote online to
customer base
Intro to Chris Wood
@qChrisWood

3. Intro – Seminar Goals
To show how Social Media can be used
as an effective Marketing &
Engagement tool for your business
To Answer Your Queries
Current use? Tw / FB / Ld

4. What is Social Media for Business?
Engaging with other businesses & individuals online
+
Effective Communication
+
Real-time Customer Support
+
Powerful Effect On Brand

5. • Facebook – 34m UK members – 50% of population
• Twitter – approx. 10m UK members
• LinkedIn – over 5m UK members
• Blogging – a great way to build trust & draw in
customer base (Content Marketing)
Intro to Social Media Platforms

6. How To Use Social Media?

7. Local Success Story - #Exeter #Indiexmas
• 28 independent Exeter based retailers
collaborating
• Each using their Twitter account to
promote #Exeter #Indiexmas
• Followers of these profiles picked up on
this and it spread virally online
• Benefits:
• Free local press exposure
• New customers
• Buzz about independent shops
• FSB & City Council involvement
• New Exeter Trails 2013!!

8. Examples of Big Brands using Social Media

9. 1. Strategy & Action Plan
2. Mix Up Content
3. Building Following & Online Relationships
4. Complement other marketing activities
5. Inhouse vs Outsourcing
6. Tracking Impact
So …. How to Make Social Media Work for You?

10. • Social Media will fail without purpose
• Not Quick Win – Free To Do But Takes Effort
• Key to Success – Strategy & Action Plan
• Matching to Business Objectives
– Increase Website Traffic
– Raise Online Presence
– Further Build Relationships with Existing Clients, Prospects, Suppliers
– Gain (or re-gain) Google Presence (Google highly values social media traffic)
– Increase Internet Leads / Online Sales
• Implement for medium to long benefit
Strategy & Action Plan

11. • Requires good mix of content
• Informative Messages / Website Sub-pages /
Articles / Blogs / Photos / Videos etc
• Apply inbound marketing techniques to draw
your customer base(s) in
• Internet enables people to research easily before
buying – be part of their research process!
• Know your Keywords – will help you be found
Mix Up Content

12. What to Say?
Be informative (& interesting) rather than trying to
hard sell:
– The products or services you offer (Special Promotions)
– The sort of tasks you are working on
– Latest news / Articles of Interest / Top Tips / Key Features
– Bookings, availability, i.e. info useful to customer base
– Types of events hosting or attending
– Training received
Promote Others

13. Mentioning Sub-Pages & Keywords
By driving traffic to sub
pages and using
keywords you’re helping
Google to improve your
online presence
Google is looking for
social signals
i.e. hits from social media platforms
to your website

14. #Tags
Reach Out To Wider Audience Online
Now work on
Facebook

15. Know Your Audiences & What Platforms They’re Using
• Identify and follow customers, suppliers, business partners,
prospects etc
o Could you upsell or cross-sell to existing customers?
(via a soft touch approach)
o Acts as a Customer Service channel – handling queries
• Social media not just about marketing, it’s your online resource
tool for business
o How Else Could Social Media Benefit Your Business?
o Research / keeping up to date / new suppliers / business partners
/ recruitment / getting help …..
Building Following & Online Relationships

16. • Twitter – identify key industry/local profiles to follow
• Follow who is following them and or who they’re following
• Twellow – find profiles by location
• Use of #tags will help naturally pick up new followers
• Use of informative messages, blogs, articles, photos, videos – will
lead to retweets and new followers
• Facebook – Ad Campaign to build likes
• Only shows to set criteria
• Helps build reach within Facebook (once 100 likes – Boost Posts)
• Mention in offline marketing – flyers, leaflets, ads etc
Gaining Followers
• LinkedIn
– suggests contacts
to you

17. What other activities could social media complement?
• Networking - LinkedIn / Twitter #BNSW
• Tradeshows/Conferences – connect online with
people met offline (& vice versa)
• Email Marketing – syncs with social media
• Traditional Marketing – mention on social media
– gain retention (Big Brands do this with TV ads)
Complement other marketing activities

18. Inhouse – undertaking it yourself
Inhouse vs Outsourcing
Pros
• You Know Your Business Best
• What’s going on day to
day
• Industry Knowledge
• Can Potentially Respond
Better/Faster
vs Cons
• Time
• Requires Some Technical Know
How
• Although perhaps less
technical than you think, more
about content & engaging
online

19. Outsourcing – managed by social media experts
Inhouse vs Outsourcing
Pros
• Freeing up your time to do what
you do best
• You know it’s being handled
• Better than not at all
• They have Technical Know How to
make it work
Cons
• Cost
• Lack of Industry Knowledge to your
business
• Lack of communication between 2 of
you
• Processes can be put in place to
minimise this
vs

20. Time Issue
• Hootsuite – saves times
– Post to many platforms
– Schedule Messages
– Keyword Searches
– Lists
• Smartphones / Tablet Devices
– Use Social Media on the go – particularly for Tweeting

21. Tracking Impact – Google Analytics
• Social Referral visits often correlate to Overall
Visits – triggers impact on Google & Direct visits

22. 1. Strategy & Action Plan – key to success
2. Mix Up Content – be informative & interesting
3. Engage Following & Build Online Relationships
4. Complement other marketing activities – networking,
email marketing, flyers, leaflets, ads etc
5. Inhouse vs Outsourcing – weigh up pros & cons
6. Tracking Impact – is it working over medium to long
term basis – check stats for indirect impact
To Summarise

23. Q&A
Q&A

24. We Can Help with Implementation
• Onsite Social Media Training
– How to Make Twitter, Facebook & or LinkedIn Work For
Your Business & Industry
– Options to upgrade to Strategy Package – we write your
strategy and action plan to implement social media
• Outsource Activities
– We Manage Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn Activities on your
behalf
20% Discount book by end of July – contact for quote

25. Follow Us On:
@qChrisWood
@qSocialMedia
www.facebook.com/qsocialmedia
www.linkedin.com/company/q-social-
media
www.youtube.com/user/qsocialmedia