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Socialising Your BrandContrast, Inverness

22nd March 2012

Introduction time!

It’s no good using social networking if you can’t network in person!! ;)

BRANDINGWhat’s it all about?

Branding checklist:• Is your logo still relevant to your

company?• Is it suitable for use on social media?• Do you use it on everything you

produce?• Email signatures – is everyone using

the same?• Do your adverts have a similar style?• Does your printed literature have a

similar style?• Be consistent!

Why use social media for business?

• Raise brand awareness• Increase traffic to website• Its cheap and its fast• SEO (search engine optimisation)• Your customers are using it!• To find new customers• Widen your target market and potential reach• Build strong relationships with customers• Build strong relationships with local businesses• Market research• And much more…

Social Media Mishaps – What to avoid!

• Using social media channel purely for sales• Lack of interaction and updating• Not tying it in with your other marketing and branding• Getting too personal• Having no overall ‘plan’ in place• Reacting badly to negative feedback• Talking badly about other businesses• Inconsistent content, bad spelling, etc• Not letting customers know you are using it• Doing updates not related your business/market• Focusing too much on just one platform• Too many updates• Expecting immediate results• Using social media instead of other marketing

techniques

What, when, and how should I communicate on social media?

• Don’t just talk about your business - use it to promote other local businesses and the area also

• Social media is all about interaction and conversation

• Share your experience and expertise• Don’t just say something for the sake of saying it –

make sure it makes sense• Be careful with punctuation, spelling, grammar, etc• Keep posts/updates short and concise• Be quirky, be different, be innovative• Timing is everything

How to let customers know you are using social

media…• Icons/links on website• Icons/links within your blog• Links from other social media accounts• Icons on printed marketing materials• Links within email newsletters• Links on email signatures• Tent cards within your business premises• Window stickers within your business

premises• Mention it to customers in conversation

Google Alerts and how to use them for social

media…

The new Facebook timeline…

Use your new Facebook cover photo as your shop

window…

What you can’t do with new Facebook cover photos…

• Cover photo dimensions – 851 pixels x 315 pixels

• No price or purchase information• No contact information – web address,

telephone number, etc• No reference to user interface elements,

such as Like or Share, etc• No calls to action, such as ‘get it now’ or

‘tell your friends’, etc• Covers must not be false, deceptive or

misleading, and must not infringe on third parties’ intellectual property

Cover photos, profile pictures, Twitter

backgrounds and all that stuff…

FUN STUFFGetting creative…

Business cards from moo.com

FACEBOOK AND TWITTERKeeping it consistent…

What we’re looking for:

• Consistency across both platforms – backgrounds, avatar and colours

• What makes a good Facebook cover• Using the Twitter background• Avatars – which ones stand out

YOUR AVATARPicture or logo?

DIYBefore and after…

Things to remember:• Whatever you do online needs to be

consistent with what you already use in the ‘real world’

• Use the same avatar on both Twitter and Facebook – adapt your logo if necessary

• Keep backgrounds the same or very similar for instant recognition

• Twitter – use themes to change colours to be consistent with your brand

Key Highlights of Twitter:

• The speed of interaction• Building relationships and making new

contacts through fellow tweeters• Raising your profile• Sharing items that are likely to get

retweeted• Hashtags - Using them for events, topics,

businesses, causes and much more

Stuck for Twitter inspiration? How about…

• Use it for research• Start a trend!• Share inspirational content such as quotes• Have a conversation…just like real life!• Share local news and events• Share interesting photos• Where possible support your clients• Ask questions• Share tips that will help your target market• Share a daily wisdom tweet• Share a new design or logo and ask for

feedback

www.snowmarketing.co.ukwww.clockstudio.co.uk

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