Social Marketing Presentation at 2013 NiUG Discovery

Social Marketing

by Tim Sloan (ATS) & Debbie Willis (ASI)

Who are we?

• Tim Sloan– Senior Consultant at ATS– Twitter: @sloant

• Debbie Willis– Senior Email & Social Marketing Specialist

at ASI– Twitter: @dalvesw

What are you doing?

I keep six honest serving-men(They taught me all I knew);

Their names are What and Why and WhenAnd How and Where and Who... – “The

Elephant’s Child”, Kipling

Identifying Goals

• SMART

• Strategic • Operational• Tactical

• Who knows them?

Measuring ROI

Gains CostsHigher Join RateBetter Member RetentionIncreased DonationsGreater Visibility

New Staff SalariesOpportunity CostsMore InfrastructureReporting Tools

Making the Commitment

• Who is going to manage this?

• How much time should you spend per day?

• How do I make my organization’s social media accounts stand out?

Choose the Right Person

“only give the keys to your social media castle to those who

you completely trust”(source)

Make the Right Schedule

Did you know?

59% of marketers are using social media for 6+ hours a week.

And, 33% of marketers are using social media for 11+ hours a week. (source)

Use the Right Tools

1. Use a social media management service

2. Create a social media calendar

3. Write posts ahead of time in a spreadsheet

4. Optimize your posts using my Top 10 Best Practices

=LEN(cell1)

Debbie’s Top 10 Best Practices

Debbie Says…

10. Type of content matters– Photos receive 50% more

likes than non-photo posts on Facebook. (source)

– Links are great on LinkedIn and Twitter.

– Text works everywhere!

Debbie Says…

9. Don’t spam!– The “tweet spot” is 4 tweets

a day on Twitter. (source)

– 1-2 posts per day is a good target for Facebook.

– 3-4 posts is normal for a business, 1-2 for an individual on LinkedIn.

Debbie Says…

8. Timing is everything– Monday thru Friday

between 1-3pm ET on Twitter. (source)

– Wednesday at 3pm ET is THE prime time for Facebook. (source)

– Post during your business hours on LinkedIn.

Debbie Says…

7. Write subject lines– Tweets with LESS THAN

100 characters get 17% higher engagement. (source)

– Facebook posts with 100-250 characters see 50% more likes, comments and shares than those with 250+ characters. (source)

Debbie Says…

6. Use #hashtags wisely– Tweets with hashtags have

twice the engagement, BUT drops by 17% if you use more than 2. (source)

– List hashtags at end of Facebook posts.

– Remember the 3 NOs:• If NO one is using it, then

NO one is searching it, then NO one will see it.

Debbie Says…

5. Use @ mentions– Tag people, organizations

and other users on Twitter and Facebook

– Give credit when linking to articles, or when sharing and retweeting

– Creates an opportunity for engagement!

Debbie Says…

4. Listen– Monitor the hashtags,

people, publications, etc. that matter to you.

– Use the “List” function in Twitter and SM tools to monitor conversations.

– Listening is essential for customer service.

Debbie Says…

3. Be overly thankful– Critical to success on

Twitter.

– Thank people for sharing your content and for following.

– Thank your new followers for following, and follow them back*

Debbie Says…

2. The URL is important!– Use a URL shortening

service!

– Append Google Analytics codes to your site URLs!

– Know who your visitors are, and if they achieved one of your goals!

Debbie Says…

1. Get off your soap box!– Avoid the “It’s All About Me-

ism”. (source)

– Share content that is not yours.

– Followers will increase simply because you are posting interesting content.

And Now a BIG Don’t…

DON’T Set It and Forget It– Monitor your interactions

daily on each account.

– Pay attention to the news!

– You are not a robot.

Tips to Get You Started

• Look for influencers in your industry and follow them on Twitter.

• Start finding what hashtags are being used on Facebook or Twitter.

• Promote your accounts through your email campaigns.

Examples of Things to Post• Create a Pinterest board of all the new products and books you have in

stock.

• Show your members a benefit on your website with a Vine or YouTube video.

• Share the details about your upcoming annual meeting.

• Tell your story with Instagram photos, showing your staff behind the scenes, featuring your new hires, etc.

• Announce when a popular item is back in stock.

• Create an event in Facebook for your large conferences, get people connected BEFORE the event.

Debbie’s Result

• ASI gained 100 Twitter followers per month July 2012-July 2013 by seeking out and reciprocating followers in our industry.

• ASI’s LinkedIn followers increased at a rate of 60.73% for the 1st half of 2013 because we stopped being a soapbox.

• As of August 1, ASI’s site visits are up 37.33% and

conversions are up 21.88% over last year for social media.

Questions?

• Tim Sloan– Email: [email protected]– Twitter: @sloant

• Debbie Willis– Email: [email protected]– Twitter: @dalvesw