
Dean opened the program by sharing what NOT to do's by citing these examples:
- HabitatUK, a furniture and décor retailer, got consistent negative feedback after using misleading hashtags on their Twitter account (such as #iPhone on tweets for their new line of spring furniture) - Don't mislead! Whatever you say, be true to who your company is.
- Starman, played by Jeff Bridges in the 80's sci-fi, attempted to drive a car by doing exactly as his human companion did, and failed miserably - Don't try to copycat. Social media campaigns will be on all different levels for different kinds of businesses.
1. Keywords/Phrases:
Think about keywords and phrases that are relevant to 1) Your company and product (or service) and 2) Influencers in that field. Dean referred to Jakob Nielsen's 1-9-90 Rule, and stressed the significance of reaching that top 10%; by considering keywords that those influencers and early adopters are likely to find, you increase awareness and interest.
2. Website/Blog:
With the attention of those influencers, however, comes the responsibility to remain consistent. Dean emphasized that creating consistent content with keywords and phrases will keep their attention and loyalty, and allow your site to be found in search engines more easily.
3. Conversion tools:
Using conversion tools such as HubSpot to tie lead intelligence to conversions is important in keeping track of efforts. He cited Google Analytics to measure web ROI as well.
4. Content Strategy:
Without a strategy, creating content for social media can seem daunting. Dean explained that keeping a live, steady stream of content is important to improve your SEO, as well as improve transparency & authenticity. He mentioned a few useful tools for keeping up with content output:
- Editorial calendar: To note all the various touch points with your audience, and schedule accordingly
- Social media operations matrix: To track the kinds of interactions you have on each social network - he cited the CMO's Guide to the Social Landscape as a good start
- Content prioritizing scorecard: As Dean stated, "One content idea can lead to many content artifacts...to generate more buzz"; keeping a scorecard of all the great content concepts can multiply your content by showing opportunities for cross-channel communications
5. Operations Plan:
Measure effectiveness of social networking efforts versus the time spent. For example, if one member of your team consistently gets better feedback (more re-Tweets, responses, etc.), increasing their time using social media would be worthwhile in the long-run. Dean later mentioned that without some sort of structure, people will become unproductive. He also stated using 60% of your networking time to promote others will build your network "like a 401k" and generate future support.
6. Content:
Once you've got your strategy, however, knowing what to say and how to say it can be puzzling for social media newbies. Dean outlined this practical and simple way of making content for your blog:
- Create a slideshow. Use any content you want with important tidbits for your audience. Guy Kawasaki's rule is great here: 10-20-30 (10 slides, 20 minutes of talk time, 30 type size).
- Make a YouTube video of you presenting your thoughts. There are plenty of chances to edit, so no pressure.
- Share the video throughout networks. Embed the file in your blog, tweet about your blog post, link your Facebook, etc.
You can see Dean's full PowerPoint deck here:
Zero to Social
View more presentations from Dean Whitney.
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