SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING BEST PRACTICES FOR ENTREPRENEURS

By: Jennifer L. MaclachlanPID Analyzers, LLC#NERM2013 #newhavenctOctober 24, 2013Small Chemical Businesses Track

DOES THIS SOUND FAMILIAR TO ANYONE?

This presentation will highlight the mainstream social media platforms used

commonly in the business marketing world such as Facebook, Twitter, Linked-In and

blogging focusing on personal branding social media best practices for the chemical entrepreneur. Emerging social media marketing tools such as Pinterest and

Instagram will also be addressed. 

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING REQUIRES A PLAN JUST LIKE “TRADITIONAL” MARKETING

It is critical to have a social strategy As an Entrepreneur, YOU are your brand You need to develop your personal brandOnce you have developed your brand represent it consistently across the social media platformsMaintaining professionalism across all social media platforms

CRAFTING YOUR SOCIAL MARKETING STRATEGY

1. Choose the social media platform that you are the most comfortable with2. Develop your brand and stay consistent across the board3. Set up admins-Note that in order for the “voice” of the business to

“sound” consistent it is a better practice to have a primary admin and a secondary to post time-sensitive information

4. Make a list for yourself and your admin(s) of what IS and what IS NOT acceptable to post

5. Use short cuts like posting to several networks at once from one console-the one that you are the most comfortable working in

6. Set goals for frequency 7. While social media is an effective marketing & personal branding tool, it

is NOT just about self-promotion. It’s about sharing information that has value to others.

LET’S TALK ABOUT ENTREPRENEURS & PERSONAL BRANDING

For example:

The PID Brand.

We’re The PID Brand: @pidguy & @pidgirl

FATHER-DAUGHTER TEAM FINDS GOOD

CHEMISTRY

Feature article published April 18, 2013 in our hometown paper: The Barnstable Patriot

This is my father and business partner, Jack Driscoll. You might know him as @pidguy.

If you’re Linked-In with him or Facebook friends with him, you’d know him as John Jack Driscoll

Photo by M.Z. HoffmanWe all know that no one who knows him

really calls him “John”

Photo credit: M.Z. Hoffman

PIDGUY: The man, the avatar and the innovation: the commercialization of

the photoionization detector in 1973

HTTP://CEN.ACS.ORG/HOW-I-GOT-MY-JOB.HTML#DRISCOLL

How I Got My Job“Everyone has a story. We asked readers to tell us how they found their current jobs. We have posted their stories and photos below, in an effort to reveal helpful job-search strategies or provide encouragement for those struggling to find work”. –By Linda Wang

@pidgirl YOUR TWITTER PROFILE SETS UP THE EXPECTATION FOR FOLLOWERS OF WHAT YOU WILL BE TWEETING ABOUT

Jennifer Maclachlan@pidgirl

PID Analyzers is masterminded by a

father/daughter team, specializing

in analytical instrumentation. Enjoy running,

yoga, chemistry outreach &

community events

@pidguy

@pidguy is an example of someone who has a presence on Twitter but doesn’t use Twitter to initiate the tweets from

Our posts from the facbook.com/pidanalyzers page auto-populate to Twitter AND to Jack’s Linked-In

BASED ON HIS TWITTER PROFILE: @PIDGUY WILL TWEET ABOUT PIDS, #NESACS RELATED TOPICS, INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT, NANOTECHNOLOGY AND STEM PROGRAMS

This allows @pidguy to tweet from a comfortable social media platform: either Facebook OR Linked-In, while building a presence on all three platforms

This is a critical step in crafting your social strategy: being comfortable with your social platform

“If you saw me at #ACSPhilly, I probably looked like this unless you saw me plugged into a wall, sitting on the floor and live tweeting from an event”

HERE’S AN EXAMPLE OF A POST OF MINE ON PIDGIRL.TUMBLR.COM

Although I blog a lot about our Cape Cod Science Café on The Analyzer Source, my blog, I have a capecodsciencecafe.tumblr.com blog which details each café we’ve had since 2011

Tumblr is a simple and portable-can post from mobile devices &

easily live-blog from it

For entrepreneurs with limited time, this is an ideal starter blog

platform

Happy National Chemistry Week-by the way

GUESS WHO ALSO HAS A TUMBLR. THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S PIDGUY.

pidguy.tumblr.com

Again, it’s easy to use and accessible for posting from mobile devices. Ideal for entrepreneurs.

This screen capture was generated for use in my Social Media in Science

presentation at SERMACS, Richmond, VA November

2011

BE PATIENT. AND CONSISTENT. IT TAKES AWHILE TO BUILD YOUR FOLLOWING.

This slide is also from my 2011 SERMACS presentation. The 10,000 Facebook “hits” are what would today be referred to as “organic” as in “not paid”.

HERE’S OUR COMPANY FACEBOOK PAGE. 14,977 LIKES AND COUNTING

facebook.com/pidanalyzersWe use our tagline on the page name so people know what we “do”

Self-promotion: Our participation at #ACSNOLA

Our community chemistry-outreach efforts

Our friend winning an award at #ACSNOLA

Participating in #realtimechemSharing lab experiences on Twitter

FACEBOOK.COM/PIDANALYZERS

November 2008 E-Newsletter Current E-Newsletter

SURVEY SHOWS SMALL BUSINESS OWNERS THINK LINKED-IN & TWITTER OFFER VALUE TO THEIR BUSINESS

I am currently serving my second year on the Constant Contact Small Biz Council

In addition to serving on their Small Biz Council, I have participated in Market Research studies one-on-one at

Constant Contact Headquarters in Waltham, MA

I HAVE A YOU TUBE BUT WE HAVE ONLY POSTED TRAINING VIDEOS TO DATE. VIDEO IS A GOAL OF OURS IN 2014.

Google+: I like it for super fast sharing. You don’t even have to say anything thoughtful

about what you are sharing. Although you should if you can because it will

make the post more searchable #SEO

This was bare-minimum effort on my part but I got the #NERM2013 in there

at least.

This was a direct share and an example of promoting interesting stuff other people are doing.

Here’s a tweet about how @pidgirl uses #Pinterest tweeted during the Role and Value of Social Networking in Advancing the Chemical Sciences on the CINF track at #ACSindy

CONCLUDING ADVICE FOR THE ENTREPRENEURIAL SOCIAL MEDIA NOVICE

Find a social media mentor on each platform you are interested in developing-this should be someone in a similar industry

Watch for free or low cost workshops and or classes in your area on social media. Constant Contact does these as well as independent professionals

Read about social media! Social Media Examiner is a great resource

Sierra Tierra Marketing is another great resource-I went to her Pinterest class

Follow my Social Media board on Pinterest

http://www.pinterest.com/pidgirl/social-media/

Join me in Honolulu in December 2015 for PACIFICHEM where I am organizing together with my team of organizers:  Antony Williams |

Kazuhiro Hayashi | David Martinsen | Brenna Arlyce Brown

The Evolving Nature of Scholarly Communication: Connecting Scholars with Each

Other and with Society (#173)