Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Table of Contents
Introduction.............................................................................................................................4
Facebook Marketing.............................................................................................................14
Community Management.....................................................................................................21
My students back then talked about word-of-mouth marketing. If they provided a good product or
service at a fair price, and offered great customer service, then the hope was that people would
recommend them to their neighbours across the street, or at church. If someone wasnt happy then it
was unfortunate, but at least it was contained to the local area, and hey people have short memories.
Fast-forward less than a decade and few businesses dont have a website, and those same customers
are now searching out reviews online for everything from restaurants, hotels, cars, televisions and
1,001 other items. Theyre searching out what people have said about your company - but do you
know what theyre saying? Today there is nowhere to hide. It doesnt matter if you dont have a
website, people can still talk about you for good or for bad. The problem is that if you dont have a web
presence, you wont know it and you cant handle the fall out.
Just recently I was on a business trip; I stayed in a small town for a week and ate at restaurants, drank
coffee, good and bad, at coffee shops, visited a few museums and stayed in a hotel. When I returned
home, I went to my TripAdvisor account and wrote seven reviews. Some were good, some were
average and a few were scathing. It doesnt matter where your business is, and it doesnt matter how
big or small it is, your customers have the ability to talk about you behind your back.
The question is, do you want to hear what they are saying? Do you want to be able to defend yourself
if they slag you publicly? Do you want to carry out some damage control, by offering to deal with
their complaint? Do you want to build a positive online reputation BEFORE they start complaining
so that their negativity is outweighed one-hundred to one by those with positive experiences? If the
Social media is not just about dealing with what people say about you online though, its about
communicating with your customers and future customers, its about building a community, being
part of other communities; its about educating people, listening to them, and letting them know all
about you, your company, the people that work for you, your products, your services, your business
philosophy, your integrity and your organizational culture.
There is a saying that it takes a village to raise a child - perhaps today it takes a social media
community to grow a business.
In the pages that follow, you will learn: how to develop a social media strategy; how to become your
own community manager; avoid the rookie mistakes people make when starting out in social media;
understand how Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+, Twitter and more can help grow your business; how to
build your social media network; manage you reputation; save time through social media; and a little
about the new kid on the block, location-based social media.
Id like to thank the several social media writers who have contributed material to this publication, and
in particular social media guru, Chris Burdge of bWEST Interactive who wrote the chapters, Developing
Your Social Media Strategy and Grow Your Business With LinkedIn. Id also like to thank him for all the
guidance he gave me in compiling, and editing, this small business guide to the world of social media.
Mike Wicks
(Publisher: Blue Beetle Books Inc.)
This opening chapter Nestl Purina. Chris also wrote chapter three: Grow
was written by Chris Your Business with LinkedIn.
Burdge, a social media
guru who runs bWEST Developing Your Social Media Strategy
Interactive. bWEST is a The surest way to fail at social media marketing
marketing services firm is to rush into it without a plan or strategy.
that helps companies Unfortunately we see it happen all too often. Maybe
create genuine and youve done it yourself; set up a Twitter account
lasting relationships with or Facebook page without really knowing why,
their target audience what youre going to do with it or how to measure
and customers using whether its successful or not.
Social Media, Email and
emerging online media. The best place to start is to understand what
Chris first got involved with online marketing in social media is, and what it isnt. Social media is
1993, just prior to the launch of Netscape the not like traditional marketing or advertising. Social
worlds first web browser. Since that time Chris has media is the integration of technology, with social
been leveraging Internet based communications interaction and the sharing of words, images, video
to build brands and move products for Fortune and audio. In a word its conversations made
1,000 companies such as BMW Japan, HP, Kia and richer and more convenient.
Who are you talking to? Which networks they use and how much time
What channels are you using (website, email, they spend there
newsletters, phone)? If they initiate conversations, or comment on
What is the tone of the message? them
Do those channels reflect your companys If they would be comfortable engaging with your
mission? company online
What does your messaging say about your Map Your Assets
brand? A common myth about social media is that its
free, or at least very cheap. While it may be free to
Sales Cycle
Segments of your customers and prospects have
different relationships with the brand. Some have
never heard of you. Others are raving fans. Which
are you trying to reach with social media? What
your target audience already knows about you, will
dictate what you can credibly have a conversation
about in social media.
Define Your Goals 4. Advocacy. They are fans of the brand. Frequent
At this point youre ready to set your goals. The purchasers, they tell their friends.
best goals are quantifiable, so everyone is clear on
what you want your social media plan to achieve. Choose Your Channels
It is also important to identify what metrics you are There are thousands of channels to choose from.
going to track, and how youre going to measure Which ones are the best fit with your brand,
them. Potential goals include: customers, resources, and goals? Do you need
to create regular blog posts to demonstrate
1. Sales: using social media to create first-time your expertise? Perhaps your target audience is
customers, or introduce them to the brand. women who might be found on Pinterest, which
is a pinboard-styled social photo sharing website
2. Leads: incoming calls, contact from submission allowing users to create and manage theme-based
forms, email subscribers. image collections (see www.pinterest.com). Maybe
3. Marketing: You may simply want to improve youre a professional with lots of contacts on
Join the Conversation With a solid, well thought out strategy in place,
Start tweeting, pinning, posting and liking. There youre on the right track to successfully leveraging
are no hard and fast rules, but there are some best social media to grow your business.
practices you should follow:
www.bwest.ca
Mind your etiquette. Each of the various social
networks has its own unique nuances. For
example #hashtags are popular on Twitter and
can be used on Google+, but mean nothing to
Facebook or LinkedIn users.
Be transparent. Let people know who they are
talking to. Use a name and where appropriate
a picture. People like to talk to people, not
brands, icons or logos.
Keep it conversational. Lose the corporate
speak. Write like youre talking to a friend or a
customer in the store. Ask questions and look
for feedback.
Stick to your knitting. Talk about what you
know and whats relevant to your brand and
company. Dont get pulled into conversations
about politics, religion or other potentially
controversial issues.
Admit mistakes they happen. Be the first to
admit when you make a mistake and do your
best to make it right. Its better than being called
out on Twitter and having thousands of people
retweet something before you see it and react.
Incorporating social media into your business of your social media campaign, how often you
operation is important, so that your business is not will interact with customers this way, and how
left out in the cold while everyone else is tweeting you will measure the success of your campaign.
away, updating their Facebook pages and having
2. Going overboard. Once you start learning about
a grand time. If you dont have a presence in that
all the options, you may want to grab them all
world, get one. Sure, todays customers can find your
and go, but slow down. Just like other facets
website and might email or call, but many regard
of business, its better to do one or two things
Facebook as a part of their everyday life. However,
well, rather a whole bunch of things poorly. If
as you take the plunge, beware of pitfalls along the
your customers are heavily into Facebook, start
way. Here are 10 common mistakes to avoid.
there. If you offer job-related services, such as
career placement or resume building, consider
1. Not planning. Dont just rush in make some
starting with LinkedIn. If you can spin off some
noise and assume it will all be good. You
educational material related to your business,
need to have a specific social media plan
such as how-to videos on whatever it is you
and incorporate it into your larger business
sell, look into YouTube. Pick one or two outlets
strategies. Dust off your business plan and
and develop your use of them as professionally
figure out how social media can fit into your
as you would develop any other part of your
overall goals, tasks and benchmarks. Then
business. After you have a successful campaign,
study how social media works, how it can help
consider gradually adding other outlets.
businesses, which media are available, and
which are most popular with your particular 3. Not keeping it up. Using social media can
clientele. Consider surveying your customers to be fun, but its also work. One of the biggest
see how many use which outlets. Write down changes social media has brought is the
which media you will use, who will be in charge immediacy of interaction. Its a far cry from
Professionals and small businesses ignore the about you. The more detailed and up-to-date
power of social networking at their peril. Sites like your profile is, the better the chance you will be
LinkedIn have become critical in building a network found and contacted.
and connecting with customers, generating
Complete your profile as carefully
leads and screening new
as you can and provide detailed
employees.
information on your skills,
experience and any awards you
As social networks go, LinkedIn
may have received. Be sure
which launched in May 2003,
to add a photo (a head shot is
is the social media site of
best) to your profile. Make sure
choice for professionals and is
your photo is professional in
the worlds largest professional
nature and representative of
network with over 120 million
your industry. Remember this
registered members. Of the big
could be the first impression
three social networks; LinkedIn,
you make on a prospective
Facebook and Twitter LinkedIn is
customer.
the oldest and the only business-
oriented social network. Tip: Users with complete and up-to-date
profiles are 40 times more likely to generate leads
LinkedIn gives you the tools to control your through LinkedIn.
professional identity online. Have you Googled your
business lately? If you have a completed LinkedIn 2. Basic Information and Summary. Dont forget
profile, chances are it will appear in the top 10 the headline appears at the top of the page
search results. This allows you to control the first when someone views your profile and shows
impression people get when searching for you up in Google searches its your first chance
online, an important aspect of the sales process. to make a good impression. The Summary
section of your profile is where you can highlight
LinkedIn helps professionals connect with your skills, services and accomplishments. Grab
customers, partners and business prospects, and the readers attention and get them thinking by
is the one social network you can continually use to letting your creativity and passion come through.
enhance profile and generate leads. The best way to
3. Contact Settings. Your contact settings let
do that is to make sure you are using the full power
your connections (customers and prospects)
of LinkedIn to maximize your marketing potential.
know what types of opportunities you are open
to. Options include: consulting offers, new
Here are ten ways to grow your network, build your
ventures, business deals, expertise requests
brand and find new prospects on LinkedIn:
and reference requests.
1. Complete your profile. Your profile is how 4. Website and Twitter Links. The Links
you get found on LinkedIn and the first thing section of your profile is a good way to provide
prospective customers, or clients, may read even more information to potential customers
6. Your Public Profile and URL. Dont forget to Quickly browse previews of the comments in a
make your profile public thats how the world discussion to scan for opportunities to engage
can find it. You can customize which portions with prospects in your category.
of your profile are displayed to the public. You Tip: Hosting a LinkedIn Group is a great way to
can also customize your URL togive you a link build a community, connect with potential new
thats easy to share and shows up well clients and drive traffic to your website or blog.
in searches. LinkedIn Groups can also be a great source of new
7. Grow Your Network. The more connections you subscribers for your email list.
have, the more opportunities you open yourself
up to, be careful not to connect with people 10. Answers. LinkedIn Answers is one of the
you dont know. Connect with colleagues from best places on the Internet to get answers
current and previous employers, clients and to business questions and share knowledge.
people youve done business with, people you You can ask and answer questions on specific
subject matter or scan existing questions for
went to school with, or have had some sort of
answers to everything from where do you go
business or academic affiliation.
to find the best [structural engineer] to what is
Tip: Use the email contacts importer tool to import the best time of year to sell my home.
your address book directly from web-based
Tip: By answering questions and demonstrating
email clients such as Yahoo!, or Gmail, or use the
your expertise on LinkedIn, you earn recognition
desktop email tool to import contacts from email
that helps you build your company brand and
applications such as Outlook and Apple Mail.
credibility. The more points of expertise you gain,
the higher you appear onthe lists of experts.
8. Give and Get Recommendations. Prospective
clients and customers view LinkedIn
Remember, LinkedIn is a tool. Your investment in
recommendations as references or testimonials.
understanding how to best use it will determine the
Having strong recommendations can be a big
value you get out of it.
advantage if you are shortlisted for a project,
or contacted by a prospect. One of the best www.bwest.ca
By now everyone has heard of Facebook. The the risk. One wrong move, one offensive post or
social media platform that initially started as misstep can cost your business its reputation and
networking between college students (and in fact consumer base. There are rules that should be
required a college domain email to register) has followed. A business page on Facebook shouldnt
spread to all corners of the globe. With one single be treated like a personal page, but it still needs
platform reaching millions upon millions of people, to have a personal connection. After all, if people
its no surprise that its become an excellent didnt care about the personal, social touch a
platform for business marketing as well. Facebook page offers, theyd bookmark your
company site or blog and read that instead.
What is Facebook Marketing?
Facebook marketing is simple in concept, but quite Why use Facebook for Marketing?
difficult in execution. The idea is to use the social Facebook marketing opens up broad new avenues
connections presented to you by the platform for your business, no matter what it is. Whether
to reach out to customers and promote your youre selling a product or service, your potential
company. Thats harder than it sounds. While at one customers are almost guaranteed to be on
time it might have been easy to purchase ads on Facebook. Through the power of social networking
the sidebar and let it do its thing, the atmosphere you can encourage your customers to recommend
has changed. Nowadays, Facebook marketing you to their friends, and help broaden your network
means creating a business page, keeping in touch and influence. Done right, a Facebook page for
with your current customers and clients, connecting your business can drastically increase revenues,
with other related businesses and opening up to productivity and success.
new customers. All of this while navigating the
social minefield that is unbridled social access. Of course, all this means navigating the sometimes
turbulent waters of social trends, avoiding faux
Facebook is an excellent tool for marketing pas posts, and generally using the tool properly.
because of how direct the connection between Its a lot to take in, when one mistake can have
business and customer is. However, therein lies long-lasting consequences. Thankfully, Facebook
Violating Facebooks terms of service is also a You can also pin new posts to the top of your
quick way to get your page shut down, and your page each week. This will allow you to highlight
customer base ruined. important things you
Facebook has rules want your friends to
about tagging people, take note of.
running contests, and
even the type of page Milestones allow you to
you use to network. point people to major
Make sure you use a events in the history
business page rather of your company and
than a personal page, dont tag people without highlight them in a similar way to starring them.
their permission, and keep an eye on the terms
of service. The new Facebook pages offer a great way to
connect with your customers, and potential
Put Facebook to Work for You customers, check them out at
With all of that in mind, its much easier to use www.facebook.com/about/pages.
Facebook to bolster your success. Facebook
Are you looking for ways to expand your business only on the most important points when
reach? Have you heard of the social network disseminating information.
Twitter, but youre a little intimidated by all of the
hype surrounding it? If so, youre definitely not Twitter users have the option to follow other users
alone. Twitter has taken on a life of its own in recent on Twitter. When you follow someone, you can
years and spawned the everyday use of terms read all of that users messages, or Tweets, that
such as Tweet in normal conversation. While it they publicly share. Following someone does not
might seem like a challenge to get started using give you the ability to send direct messages to that
Twitter for your business, in reality its pretty user- person, however. Users must follow you in order
friendly and easy to learn. If youd like to find a to receive direct messages. These are messages
way to communicate with your customers, build which are out of view of the public.
relationships and grow brand awareness, Twitter is
well worth considering. Twitter allows anyone to share their thoughts with
many other people, at any given time. You can also
What is Twitter and How Does it Work? read the messages that other users have posted.
Twitter is a social network similar to Facebook Some people never post any Tweets and instead
and Google+. While Twitter shares some common prefer to just read the messages of the accounts
features with other social networking sites, it is that they follow.
unlike the other networks in many ways. Twitter
users can post short statements with a maximum Terms
of 140 characters. This makes it a form of If you plan on using Twitter for your business, you
micro-blogging that allows users to focus may run across terms that you dont understand.
The timeline is the list of Tweets that have been On Twitter, you may also notice that it shows you
generated by the people you follow. When you log which topics are trending on the network. When
in to your Twitter account, you will see the timeline a topic is trending, it means that large numbers of
complete with messages from all of the people people are talking about it on Twitter. If you can
that you follow. get a lot of people talking about your new product
or service, it could eventually turn into a trend.
Developing Relationships This can then lead to many users Tweeting and re-
When it comes to using Twitter for business tweeting information about your company - when
purposes, one of the best things that it can this happens the numbers can get extremely high.
do is help you develop relationships with your
customers. Once you set up an official Twitter Getting Started
account for your business, your customers will If youve decided that you want to give Twitter a
hopefully start following it. When they do, those try for your business, getting started is easy. Go to
customers will be able to read the tweets that you Twitter.com and then click on the sign-up form on
post. This gives you the chance to communicate the main page. Youll have to fill in your name, your
with your customers and start developing email address and a password and then click Sign
relationships with them. If you post tweets that up for Twitter.
have valuable, or interesting, information your
followers will start to value your tweets. They can At that point, youll be prompted to choose some
also ask you questions publicly, or make comments people to follow. This helps you get started in the
about your products and services. This gives you network and gives you an idea of how the system
a chance to answer common questions from your works. After choosing a few people to follow, you
customers, and develop some goodwill. will also be asked some basic information for your
profile. In this part of the process, you can include
Promotion information about the name of your business,
When using Twitter for business your location and your business website. On your
purposes, you can also use profile, you can also include a picture so that your
it to promote your products followers will be able to see who theyre dealing
and services. There are many with. Some users also choose a background image
different ways you can do this: for their profile as well.
for example, you could Tweet
information about a sale, or Using the Service
a coupon code to encourage Once youre signed up, you are ready to start
your customers to make a direct using Twitter to build your business. Make it
purchase from your website. a priority to respond to as many customers
as possible and answer their questions in a
Some businesses use Twitter to timely manner. Do your best to contribute to the
give customers a sneak peek at new community with quality information, and do not
products. For example, you could send out simply send out spam to promote your sales or
advance images of a new product (for your offers. If you are willing to do your part, Twitter can
followers only) - sneak peeks like be a powerful tool in promoting your business and
this can generate an online buzz. building your brand image.
Social media continues to consume larger chunks of ensuring that these accounts are still live and
of small business marketing dollars as companies actively engaging with other community members.
realize its growing potential. Managing communities Inactive profile pages are of little or no advantage
on social media is vital in maintaining a healthy to small businesses, so you must keep providing
promotional campaign and in achieving high return content to keep people interested.
on investment (ROI).
Tasks of a community manager
In order to achieve success in the social networking The daily routine of a community manager
world, you must do more than simply set up profile will involve checking all the companys social
pages on platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ networking pages and blogs. Many managers
and YouTube. An effective marketing campaign compile all comments from their various accounts
involves continual interaction with your online using email notifications, which filter into special
communities and in larger companies this is the folders. In this way, they can easily scan all
responsibility of a community manager. In smaller community interaction in one place.
companies, a member of the marketing team
might take this responsibility, or even the owner While it may not always be possible to respond
themselves may decide that this role is important to all comments and postings by community
enough for them to handle it. This chapter will members, a good community manager will interact
take a look at the responsibilities of a community regularly if not daily by providing at least some
manager, whomever that might be in your company. select responses. Your friends, fans and other
community members will appreciate a responsive
Community management involves maintaining the account much more than an impersonal page that
networks, or communities, on all your social media simply posts articles and other content.
accounts. The manager has the main responsibility
Customer service on social media Many small Tools for community management
businesses use social platforms like Twitter as A great variety of tools, many of them offered free
customer support sites. They allow community of charge, are available to help social community
members to ask questions related to their managers do their job. These software applications
products and services. Businesses can save may work over the web, or they may require
significant money with this approach, but they installation on your computer or mobile device.
must check their account frequently for this
setup to work effectively. Depending on the Some tools allow you to monitor for example, all
amount of traffic, you may have to check the your social media accounts from a single mobile
social media platform multiple times each day to application. In this way, you can check your sites
keep customers satisfied. easily even when traveling away from your desktop.
Using social media as a monitoring tool One
There are also applications that allow you to
great aspect of social media is that it allows
post content, or to update your blog from mobile
small businesses to ascertain what the public
devices. Some of these apps come from the social
thinks about them and their products and
media platform itself, while others are from third
services. A community manager can use various
party software developers.
tools that scour the social web looking for
As you incorporate social media into your business 1. Develop a social media reputation plan.
operations, tread carefully. It is true that you need Traditionally, anyone starting a business is
to have a presence in the social media world, and advised to spend plenty of time and resources
launching a social media campaign will open doors on an overall business plan to cover things such
to further growth. However, there are also risks as finances, human resources, legal issues,
involved, and they are much different from the traditional marketing/advertising strategies and
risks you face with traditional media. For one thing, the like. Now, that traditional business plan
the viral nature of social media can take a small should include both a social media plan (how
incident and quickly blow it out of proportion with the company will use social media) and a social
countless other users. For another, the democratic media reputation plan. The latter should cover
nature of social media means anybody with an who is in charge of managing the companys
Internet hookup, or a smartphone, or other Web- reputation on social media, who will represent
enabled mobile device, can publish whatever he the company by posting and engaging with
wants whenever he wants. And what you and the community, how the company will promote
your employees post should be closely monitored a good reputation, how it will monitor its
reputation and what it will do to respond to
too, since it could be grabbed and sent around
crises that could threaten its reputation.
the Worldwide Web in the blink of an eye, or more
importantly, before youve had a chance to fix it 2. Designate a social media manager (or
or delete it. Therefore, its important to educate community manager). Whoever is chosen
yourself about the impact social media could have needs training and a policy manual for this
on your businesses reputation, and plan how to specialized form of media. See the earlier
keep that impact positive and follow it. Here are chapter on Community Management for more
seven tips to get you started.
Location based marketing strategies are a relatively money saving offers at the businesses and venues
new concept in the mobile marketing arena. they frequently visit. The most frequent visitor to a
Applications such as Foursquare and Facebook locale, with regards to number of days (with only
Places lend themselves to promoting brick and one check-in allowed per day in a 60 day period) is
mortar businesses and supporting location-based named the mayor of that business or venue.
mobile marketing campaigns. Getting started
with location-based strategies is not complicated. Users may check in via text message, or an
Simply become familiar with the location-based application downloaded to their smartphone. The
tool, set up an account and create a campaign. smartphone application utilizes GPS technology
to pinpoint the users location. In June, 2011,
What is Foursquare? Foursquare boasted approximately 10 million users.
Foursquare is a social networking platform for
mobile devices. Users check in at certain venues Foursquare check-ins may be integrated with the
or businesses. When a user checks in at a local users Facebook or Twitter account, and the social
business or network, their location is published networking site is updated whenever they check in
to let their friends know where they are and what using their Foursquare account.
they are doing. By checking in at local businesses
and venues, users earn points and prize badges. How Businesses Market with Foursquare
With enough visits to a local venue or business, Foursquare is built upon the concept of geo-
users may earn coupons to use for specials, and location. Businesses may utilize Foursquare as a
You have become an entrepreneur, and you have Linkedin. If your business revolves around research,
decided to utilize the multitude of social media utilize news sites, blogs, and podcasts. If your
resources on the Internet. There is the excitement business focuses on sales and marketing, it is
of being your own boss, the passion for promoting all about getting your product and brand to your
the product you believe in and having your dreams customer base. This can be accomplished through
of success at your fingertips. One of the keys for blogging, videos, and social networking
an entrepreneurs success is time management.
Mastering this skill by developing a communication Simplify, Automate, Consolidate (SAC)
strategy is important when utilizing social media SAC, are the three social media management tool
to promote your business. You should have traits required for success when using social media
established your business plan by now, which as a time management tool.
includes a vision and mission statement as well
as your marketing and financial plans. The steps, Your social media partnership will require you
discussed below, will assist you with managing to simplify your business practices through
your greatest commodity - your time. organization. This in turn, offers more time.
Incorporating user-friendly systems into your
When partnering with social media, you are building business will allow your business to run smoother.
a community. Your first step in time management is Using automation technology will streamline
to identify what type of social media will increase your business and increase your avenues of
your business success. communication with your customers as well as
your team members. Once you start partnering
All businesses can grow when actively networking. So, with several social media networks, it will be
by building a community, you attract an audience that time to consolidate. When you use social media
becomes a link to your market. Popular community management tools for time management you are
networking sites include Twitter, Facebook, and using communication to your advantage.
provide small business counselling services and workshops for new and