Social Media for Business 2014:

How Social Media Helps Create Business

Amy NeumannDirector SEO/SEM/SMONortheast Ohio Media

Groupaneumann@cleveland.com

May 8, 2014

Social Media Overview

• What is the current social media landscape?• Why does social media matter for businesses?• Who, what, when, where, why and how:

– Facebook– Twitter– Pinterest– Google Plus– YouTube– Other Sites and Resources

What is the Current Social Media Landscape?

“Social Media”

Social media = people.

Being where people are, when they are, how they prefer, with the information they want. On a phone...a computer...a tablet...at work, at home, anywhere.

Humans tend to universally like certain things: to be entertained, to learn, to save time, to save money, to be ahead of the curve, to feel inspired, to help others, to share, to grow.

How does your strategy fit into the humanness of marketing?

Highlights -201 3 Social Media Users

• Facebook: 1.15 BILLION (750 mm mobile)

• YouTube: 1 Billion+• Twitter: 550 million +• Google Plus: 500 million +• LinkedIn: 238 million +• Rising *Visual* Stars: Instagram ( 150 mm; owned by Facebook), Pinterest (70 mm)• 5.98 BILLION mobile devices globally

http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-social-media/http://www.mediabistro.com/alltwitter/45-social-media-stats_b49582

Visibility at All Times

• We “Share This”

• We talk about what we like (or don’t like)

Social Media Landscape Right Now

• Social media is the new “Word of Mouth”• Things are discovered, reviewed, shared and

recommended in real time• Credibility is developed by being visible as an

expert• Familiarity and trust are created through

ongoing interaction, in many places, many ways• Customer service is greatly enhanced by the

ability to immediately interact and connect• Brands are expected to be on social media and

to present unique, exclusive content

People You and Your Company

• What do they see?

• Is your expertise showing? • Social Media helps make sure it is.

Social Media Increases “Serendipity”

“If you want more luck, take more

chances. Be more active. Show up more

often.” ~ Brian Tracy (good summary of Social

Media)

Conversational and Other-Focused

• Remember the “social” piece – the more interactive, the more results

• Try to keep the conversation 80-90% about THEM and only 10-20% about your company

• Sharing content that is helpful and useful to people who might buy your product will drive connections

10 Questions to Ask: Social Media Strategy1. What’s our main goal behind social media?2. Who should set up, maintain our social media?3. Should we be on all the big social media platforms?4. Which social media is best for my type of business? (B2B? B2C?)5. How often should we do updates?6. What type of content should we post on each network?7. Should we use social media for customer service?8. How can we convert social media followers into customers?9. How can we measure effectiveness/success?10. What are the biggest mistakes to avoid?

Adapted from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/228324

It’s Art + Science

Facebook: It’s Personal, and It’s Business

• Entertainment focus• Photos increase

engagement by 84%• Appeal broadly to

human interests • Contests and

promotions do well*• Updates do not need

to be about your company

• Show your personality

*Third-party services like Offerpop, Woobox, Shoutlet, Wildfire, etc. are good options for running contests – FB has specific promotion and contest rules: https://www.facebook.com/page_guidelines.php

Skittles: Uses FB to connect with consumers in a goofy/quirky way—build customer relationships by appearing non-

corporate, meeting customers on a fun level. https://www.facebook.com/skittles

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NEOMG Facebook post examples

NEOMG Facebook post examples

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Twitter: @Claire’s Definition of “Tweet”

http://www.businessinsider.com/best-brands-to-follow-on-twitter-2013-9#

It’s Easy to Start

http://goodplustech.com/2010/11/03/how-to-set-up-twitter-in-3-minutes/

Twitter: Proactively Find Clients

[ https://twitter.com/search-advanced]

Pinterest

“Pinterest is a tool for collecting and organizing” and for learning, tutorials, infographics, DIY, product uses, inspiration, humor, and more. http://business.pinterest.com/

http://webuildbuzz.com/buzz/everything-you-need-to-know-about-pinterest/

YouTube (Owned by Google): Get Product Demos, Testimonials, Tutorials, and

Usage Ideas in Front of Buyers

http://www.jeffbullas.com/2012/05/23/35-mind-numbing-youtube-facts-figures-and-statistics-infographic/

Blendtec A champion in video marketing with a great YouTube channel where they house all their "will it

blend" videos and ask for requests for more things to blend. http://www.youtube.com/user/Blendtec

LinkedIn: Brilliant for Networking

• Find buyers at target companies

• Be discoverable

• Keep your profile updated:

– Professional photo– Current title and company– Succinct Summary including

keywords– Complete history allows for

faster networking– Add causes and volunteer work– Join relevant Groups and

interact

Instagram: Younger Demo, Owned by Facebook

Google Plus

• Jump in now!– 500 million people have joined– Marketing is now focusing on G+ for 2014

and beyond– Increasingly important from a local, social

signal, and (SEO) search perspective .– G+ already affects SEO – especially

locally – in a major way• Claim both your Google Plus and

Google Plus Local (Google Places) Page to be Verified

• http://www.google.com/+/business/get-started.html

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Metrics and Measuring

• Use a platform like Hootsuite (or Radian6, Vocus, Vitrue, Sysomos, ArgyleSocial, etc.) to monitor mentions, schedule some posts/tweets/updates, and track results from shortened links

• Shorten URLs (web addresses) with a link shortener (Hootsuite’s is built it, or try bit.ly or similar) – these track opens on links so you can determine which articles perform best

• Monitor keywords like business name, products, and #hashtags in your industry

Recommended Resources• http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com • http://socialmediatoday.com/• http://mashable.com• http://techcrunch.com • http://www.reelseo.com/ • http://www.socialbrite.org/sharing-center/tutorials/• http://mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/• http://help.linkedin.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/530• http://computer.howstuffworks.com/internet/tips/how-to-use-

facebook.htm• http://support.google.com/plus/?hl=en https://business.twitter.com/success-

stories • https://www.facebook.com/business/success• http://business.pinterest.com/success-stories/• http://tactfulsocialmedia.wordpress.com/2013/05/01/social-media-avatar-sizes-

dimensions-cheat-sheet-2013/ • https://business.twitter.com/success-stories

Summary

• A majority of Americans now use Social Media• SM can proactively create a new stream of clients,

and enhance customer service for existing clients• Top SM sites to grow and maintain a client base

are:– Twitter– Facebook (B2C)– LinkedIn (B2B)– YouTube– Google Plus– Pinterest– Instagram

Questions?This presentation can be downloaded at

http://slideshare.net/amyneumann

About Advance Publications and Advance Digital

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Founded in 1922 and currently #52 on the Forbes list of America’s Largest Private Companies, Advance Publications is a communications company whose leading media properties include more than 25 local newspapers, websites, mobile sites and apps; Conde Nast publications, websites, mobile sites and apps; Parade Publications, Fairchild Publications and American City Business Journals.

In addition to reaching more than 18.9 million consumers every month, Advanced Digital is an authorized reseller and representative of Google, Yahoo! and Bing, and was recently recognized as the 2013 Microsoft Digital Marketing Partner of the Year.

Amy Neumann aneumann@cleveland.com

Director SEO/SEM/SMO 216.999.5746

• Passionate fan of all things tech and media for 20+ years with companies like Yahoo! and AT&T. Currently delighted to be at Northeast Ohio Media Group (NEOMG) doing everything Search & Social

• Often seen writing about topics involving social media, search, social good, mobile, developing technology, and similar including for Forbes, the Huffington Post, two personal blogs (Good Plus Tech and Charity Ideas Blog) and numerous other websites and printed publications

• Originally hails from Northeast Ohio with a brief stop (16 years) in Los Angeles before returning to the Cleveland area mid-2011

• Let’s connect! Just Google me ;)