Using social networking to promote your business

Geekup Doncaster 23 February 2011

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About me

• Helen Kitchen, Reputation Manager - @HelenKitchen_PR

• Freelance consultant for 8 years www.helenkitchen-pr.co.uk

• Yorkshire-based specialist PR & full service marketing agencies, web-based publisher, Press Association

• CIPR member since 1998

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About this presentation

• Practical tips about how you can use social media to promote a business

• Examples of how other businesses are already using social media successfully

• Checklist to get you started

• What’s stopping you/your clients?

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Reputation matters!

• Reputation = what you say, what you do, what other people say about you

• Reputation management = engaging with people who matter to you, to raise awareness of what you say and do

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Why social networking?

• Social media is the fastest growing communications medium ever

THE PEOPLE THAT MATTER TO YOU ARE

ALREADY THERE

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Tip #1: Find your focus

• Check out your social media landscape

• Set goals and objectives that are measurable and achievable

• Create a clear strategy to strengthen customer service, reach new customers, raise your profile, improve your reputation, or network with more peers

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Tip #2: Showing up is not enough

• Find “your” audience – go where your customers go, rather than expecting them to come to you

• Get your profiles right

• Start slow: listen – communicate – engage

DON’T JUST BROADCAST / SELL

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Tip #3: Spread the word

• Integrate your social media marketing with other activity (email signature, business cards, website, brochures, PR)

• Link your social media profiles – make it easy for people to find you

• Grow your network – quality not quantity

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Tip #4: Develop your content

• All work & no play… be yourself! Your personality could be your USP

• Share your expertise & advice for FREE

• Use multimedia – words, photos, videos

• Use Google Adwords to identify keywords

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Tip #5: It’s not all about YOU!

• Key to success is 2-way communication

• Let people know you’re there:

Twitter - retweet, reply, DM

Linkedin – comment, answer questions

Facebook – “like” pages, comment

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Tip #6: Measure your success

• Use analytics (eg Facebook, Google) to monitor what sort of content works well

• Keep an eye on what your competitors are doing

• Review your objectives and aims regularly

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Start building your community

• Website/blog – give your audience what they want

• Use social networks to find your audience, connect with them, listen to their conversations, join in and direct them to your content

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Introduce yourself…

• Create a WYSIWYG bio & use a photo

• Comment on/reply to other people’s tweets

• Share blogs/news• Be interesting &

interested• Link to your other

profiles

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Examples of Twitter bios

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Target business networks• Complete your profile:

ask for recommendations, upload a photo, link to your website

• Create a company page• Join relevant groups and

engage with members• Use Questions &

Answers to demonstrate your expertise & find inspiration!

• Share business tweets using the #in hashtag

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Business expertise

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Get social

• Make a welcome video• Provide quality wall

posts & consistent engagement

• Get your “vanity” URL after 25 “likes”

• Use the functionality that’s already there - get people talking, posting pictures & videos, entering contests, playing games

• Add links to other social media activity

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Case studies

The Marmarati social media case study

Ikea facebook case study

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Helpful? Interesting? Or not?• If you would like more tips

on social networking, why not connect with me:

Twitter - @HelenKitchen_PRLinkedIn – Helen Kitchen PRFacebook – HelenKitchenPRBlog – www.helenkitchen-pr.co.uk

• Or give me a ring 07870 213974 or drop me an email helen@helenkitchen-pr.co.uk

• I’d love to hear what you thought of the presentation…