SOCIAL MEDIA PRACTICES

MAKING MOSSIMO…

LOOK LIKE TRUE RELIGION.

@AbileneCVB @DiscoverDenton

Brought to you by …

• Our strategies • What we’ve found to be “best practices”• Social Media Campaign Ideas • Tech Trends • Our favorite tools

What Will We Cover?

Keep in mind…

• Materials will be available:– How-To Handout– Up-to-date version of slides

on SlideShare.net

• Put down the pen & tweet!

#TACVB

• It’s FREE!• Builds relationships/Broadens your network• Increases brand awareness • Helps SEO• Increases website traffic• Can help reach journalists/media• Empowers followers to be viral

ambassadors for your brand

BENEFITS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Initial Strategy with…

WHY ARE WE DOING ALL THIS? • Purpose? –Increase exposure to CVB.

Refer individuals to website & blog.

• Receive following benefits: – Increased SEO/rankings;– Increased brand

awareness;– Real-time

communication with target audience

What This Means…

• Make the visitor’s experience better than expected—potentially increase visitors to community

– Influence Decision to Travel– Social Media = Informational Service

• Start small & get a grasp on one platform at a time

• Who was our Initial Target Audience?– Leisure? Sports? Meeting planners? Locals?

• Reach people we wouldn’t be able to otherwise

• Overall goal? Transparency & Authenticity

Initial Goals & Objectives

TRIPL’S INFOGRAPHIC

• Social Media Timeline– Which platforms?– What did we want our blog to look like?

• The One-Year Plan– Get set up on all platforms– Target Audience on each platform?– Gather quality followers, etc.

• Social Media & Blogger Policy

Initial Strategy

• One-Year Plan became Two-Year Plan…Now, Three-Year-Plan

• Have solid audience on channels & know where to target different messages.

• Social Media is now integrated into the Marketing Plan

Okay…so…now what?

“What’s on the Horizon?”

• The Year of The Mobile

• Niche Accounts & Strategies – Meetings– Sports

• Track from Day 1

• Consider email accounts tied to social media platforms

• Fan Page versus a “Friend/ personal Page”

• Adapt a Policy

• Social Media “School” for Staff

• Update Content Often

• Consider Time Management Tools

Best Advice?

“It’s Kind of Like A Roadmap!”

Best Practices with…

Facebook Best Practices

• Website has social media plug-ins• Put up your “Open” Sign

Facebook Welcome Page

DiscoverDenton.com

• Website has social media plug-ins• Put up your “Open” Sign • Link other organizations in your posts

Facebook Best Practices

• Website has social media plug-ins• Put up your “Open” Sign • Link other organizations in your posts• Promote your partners through Featured

Pages section

Facebook Best Practices

• Website has social media plug-ins• Put up your “Open” Sign • Link other organizations in your posts• Promote your partners through Featured

Pages section• Tell your story through images

Facebook Best Practices

Facebook Photo Strip

• Website has social media plug-ins• Put up your “Open” Sign • Link other organizations in your posts• Promote your partners through Featured

Pages section• Tell your story through images • Designate administrators

Facebook Best Practices

• Website has social media plug-ins• Put up your “Open” Sign • Link other organizations in your posts• Promote your partners through Featured

Pages section• Tell your story through images • Designate administrators• Track results

Facebook Best Practices

• Website has social media plug-ins• Put up your “Open” Sign • Link other organizations in your posts• Promote your partners through Featured

Pages section• Tell your story through images • Designate administrators• Track results• Advertise

Facebook Best Practices

• Website has social media plug-ins• Put up your “Open” Sign • Link other organizations in your posts• Promote your partners through Featured

Pages section• Tell your story through images • Designate administrators• Track results• Advertise• Talk Back!

Facebook Best Practices

Do you twitter ?

How much can you say in 140 characters?

Great tool for conversations, educating customers of your product or service and keeping up with news.

1. Clearly label your purpose2. Keep the tone light and friendly3. Be sure to respond4. Respond as quick as possible 5. Make it clear who you are when you reply

Twitter Best Practices

Twitter glossary• @ The @ sign is used to call out usernames in

Tweets, like this: Hello @Twitter! When a username is preceded by the @ sign, it becomes a link to a Twitter profile.

• Hashtag The # symbol is used to mark keywords or topics in a Tweet. Was created organically by Twitter users.

• URL Shortener URL shorteners are used to turn long URLs into shorter URLs.– www.bitly.com

Study conducted by Group SJR for Liz Claiborne Inc.

Blog & Social Media Directory

Go Where?

QR Code Best Practices

•Inform your audience of what to expect when they scan the code.

•Your QR code should be no smaller than 1 inch by 1 inch.

•Make sure the destination is mobile friendly. You don't want them to land on a web page that does not render correctly using a mobile phone.

•Think about how your QR code integrates with the campaign. How is the user experience? Is it friendly or confusing?

•Test the user ease of your campaign and the functionality.

About.com

QR Code

A QR-HOW TO

QR…WHY?!

QR…WHY?!

Campaign Examples with…

ACVB QR CODES

Project365

FBML TAB: FOOTBALL PLAYOFFS

TWISITOR CENTER

TRAVEL MATTERS

Trends & The Future

• Paying attention to mobile Stats

• QR Codes • Location-Based

Marketing/Gamification

• Pinterest

• Social Couponing • SMS Text• Social Commerce• Monitoring

Conversations • Crowdsourcing

That being said…

Other Things to Try

Favorite Timesaver?

• www.bitly.com (URL Shortener)

• Hootsuite (Desktop & App)

Our Favorite Resources

• eNewsletter, free Webinars, eBooks:– SocialFresh.com– Mashable.com– Hubspot.com– ChiefMarketer.com

• Facebook Research:– InsideFacebook.com

• Tourism Geeks• #tourismchat• Tourism Currents (FB &

Newsletter)• AAF SmartBrief • Ragan Communications

Question &Answer

Where can I get the presentation?

• Practice scanning a QR code!– or visit www.slideshare.net/shannasmithsnyder

Contact Information

Shanna Smith SnyderDirector of Communication

Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau325.676.2556 (Office)

shanna@abilenevisitors.com @shannasmith

@AbileneCVB

Contact InformationVeronica Maldonado

Visitor Services & Communications Manager

Denton Convention and Visitors Bureau940-382-7895 (Office)

communciations@discoverdenton.comwww.facebook/vponcemaldonado

@DiscoverDenton

Sources

• Abilene CVB Social Media Sites (screenshots)• Carnival, Delta, Dell, Visit California &

Goodwill websites (screenshots)• Flickr Commons (Photos & graphics)• MGH Marketing Blog (QR Code chart

screenshots)• Social Media for Arts Service Organizations by

Sarah Page (screenshots)

Sources (con’t)

• Denton CVB Social Media Sites (screenshots)• Twitaholic.com (screenshots)• Foursquare (Photos & graphics)