Social Media Day

Sam Flynn trained in business psychology and started working on personnel surveys but learned everything she could about social media. This turned out to be a speciality of hers and ended up speaking at business events and doing social media courses.

Aim was to examine how to increase sales and keep in touch with past and present customers.

Why use social media?
Customer Services – people easiest to attract back is those who use you already. Responding to questions. People do not get on the phone anymore, they email you.
SEO – search engine optimisation – getting as high up Google as possible.
Press do not walk about seeking stories anymore.
Follow experts
Brand awareness
Getting involved in the local business community
Testimonials
Referrals – tips about where to shop
Reputation management, people say bad things about you even if you are not on social media and sometimes actually because you are not on social media.
Lead to websites and blogs
Hire people – anyone know someone?
This will never overtake meeting customers face to face.
Research
Position as expert – IMPORTANT
Win new business and get repeats

Twitter
Twitter is a microblogging site. Maximum 140 characters to update.
Find out more about people by following them.
The more followers you have the more people see you.
Good way to reach target market.
Can build conversations and share conversations.
Can search for key words on Twitter.

Points to note
Profile : Use a picture of a person, more engaging, gives face to the business, sets you apart, don't be corporate twitter, should be fun. Background picture should be your shop or counter. Bio should be a little about you. Introduce the person, stand out and say something different. E.g. Sunday, I like to go off and play golf. If they know you and trust you they will do business with you.

Brandonality
Rather than just posting sales messages, promote your personality to post out special offers. Be different from the others. Ice bucket challenge has created opportunities to see behind the scenes at businesses. Got to be friendly approach just like when you go in the shop. Make customer interested and knowledgeable about your business. Give them same as they get when they come in to your shop. Don't bore your customers on social media.

People do not go on Twitter to BUY. It is to interact and getting to know people. Get people to want to walk into the shop. Get that feeling of trust.

What to say
Your aims:
Leads to website
Raising brand awareness
Engaging in conversation
Winning business

Your target market:
Do not use for selling (too much)
Pull people in and be the expert, real people to assist decision making
Spur peoples' interest
Add value to their day
Stand out!

How many times?
Tweet at least 4 times a day, not same message four times.
Preferably every day including Sunday.
These can be pre-scheduled, through Hootsuite. This is a Social media management platform. Up to five different platforms for free. You can pick the time and date up to three years in advance. Do use a mix of live and scheduled. Can be lunch time tips that are pre scheduled. Scheduled releases could be especially useful at Christmas.

Hashtags
Any letters or numbers after # symbol. It creates a clickable link. Without this no one can see this, other than your followers. # allows you to view all other comments on the subject. Pulls all mentions of the same thing together.
Can be used as a 'yourname hour'.

What to talk about
Not the same thing every week –
Meat of the Week, a different cut each week. Offer plus recipes or just link to recipes online. Cooking advice. Repeat updates with a different recipe. Use a unique hashtag eg #FlynnsMOTW Pre scheduled well in advance is possible.
Because only 140 characters in a Tweet use a blog on your website. Fresh content on a website also raises your Google ranking. Link from Twitter, click here to find out more, later click here for cooking ideas. Link to the same blog in two different ways.
Blog template – eg our meat of the week is blank, etc.
Important that they are not just sales messages. Raises interest in offers. Put offer at the end of the blog. Will act as an advice archive. Discreet and gathers interest and trust.

Needs to send people to your website
To add value to people's day. Embed videos, tips page, promotions and competitions.

Tip
Align with MOTW
These encourage retweets, builds your reputation as an expert and trust
Use to direct people to others blog posts eg about buying from butchers.
Be a knowledge hub, what kind of things does your target market want to know.
Share funnies, and can be random

Your business
Day to day happenings and chat over the counter.
Things that you would tell your partner about when you go home.
Word it to be interesting.

Questions
These build conversations but don't schedule these if you cannot be back on Twitter in three days time. This is criticised for being time consuming but conversations lead to business. The more conversations, the more business.
What is of your dinner plate tonight?
Comment “this weather calls out for beef stew”.

Personal
Non business to share personality and make you stand out. This builds more conversation.
Talk about local events and issues. Talk about what your staff are up to.

Offers
Tie in with MOTW
Deadline offers
Countdown to deadline
Not 10% off – that's old hat
Build value rather take away profit, for every purchase of £50 you get a free recipe book.
Try Twitter followers with an offer code – quote

Competitions
To clear surpluses
Build brand reach
Follow and retweet to enter prize draw has downside
Use hashtag and ask them to share
Use competitions sparingly

Capture leads
So that you can email them. Offer them something in exchange, could be vouchers or coupons. Better if it requires people to walk through your door. You do not want people miles away from you.

Pop up domination
Works if new visitor only. Asked do you want this, fill in name and email address. Aweber or Mailchimp allows you to create a form and code for web developer. These would have autoresponders. Email to customers inboxes “We are your local butchers” 80% value ones then slip in 20% sales ones. Think beyond just Twitter and Facebook. The more marketing, the more business. Can expand to text or mailing lists.
An autoresponder is a reaction to joining a list. Set up to get regular sequenced follow up emails. Could be weekly and should be generic. Can also add that to broadcast emails weekly. To be easier ask have you been in yet? Elaborate on one part of it. Emails must have value or else they will delete. Get to know that for every 100 emails you send out you make £xx.

Summary: Make the time or find someone else in the business to do that. Getting to know your customer and letting them get to know you. It is about engaging and the new word of mouth.

Questioned on whether Facebook would be better. Felt less personal on Twitter, but Facebook page are important too. It is about finding your markets needs.

Followers
They are the ones who see what you post on Twitter. Increase followers by tweeting often. Engage in conversation not just broadcasting. Be interactive. Use keywords in your bio. Make sure says butchers. Use appropriate hashtags for local area and local events. Easiest way to build is to follow people.

Your target market
What are they interested in?
Who are they already following?
What are they saying?

Tweepi.com
Helps you find people who are already following others, your competitors, other local businesses – check out who is following local bakers, pubs etc.
Benefit gives you more information that just going to someone's followers list.

Followerwonk.com
Search locations and keywords
Gives you all those in your chosen area.

Maintaining a Ratio
Aggressive following, following thousands and no one following you back.
Set up by following 100 and do not step that up until you are more than 2:1.
Use manageflitter.com to clean up, tells you who is not following you back.

Engaging
Require a balance between Broadcast and interaction
This is Social Media, engage and chat to build trust. Gets people to know you. This increases followers. Gets your tweets noticed, and people talking about you.
Pay attention to what others are saying. Make sure they are your target market.

Retweets
RT – sharing someone else's tweet with all your followers. Still their tweet but can reach a very large audience.

Direct Message
Private message is possible to a follower and is not searchable. Not seen by any other user.

Mentions
Someone's @username within a tweet
Good for referrals.

Replies
Hover over their tweet or put their name first in the tweet
Builds conversations and shows that you are paying attention.
Your opportunity to get yourself known to those you are following and gain followers.
Rule if possible use their name. Mention when you see them.

Your customers
It is much easier to sell to existing customers, interact with potential customers. Keep interacting with current interactors.

Use lists
The problem – the more people you follow, the harder to keep track.
Go to More on your Profile. Set up a My Customers list to filter out.
Make sure your lists are private.
List potential customers and current customers as separate lists.
Industry experts, Suppliers, local businesses.
Public lists can be subscribed to.

Twitter searches
These can find topics, lists, brand mentions, can find people with a current need for what you sell

Facebook
Cover image restrictions have now been relaxed to allow your website to be included. Use picture of shop front, you behind your counter. Profile picture is more suited to brand logo if it makes you stand out.
Woobox.com can help redirect visitors to your website.
Over 60,000 characters allowed so don't go over 300 and like people.
Use Facebook one per day min, three per day maximum. Facebook has its own scheduler.
Facebook is different from a Twitter and does not like third party apps like Hootsuite.
You can pin an update to the top of your page e.g. MOTW. Also can spread post across the page.
All Twitter type updates apply to Facebook. Imagery is much more important.
Ask for comments and likes. E.g. Add your recipe.

Getting posts seen
Facebook originally showed things chronologically but now it has an algorithm dependant on a number of factors that only they know. It is related to affinity and if previously liked. More weighty with links and videos the better. There is time delay that let's post slip.
Facebook works out what you like. This is because they want you to pay to be seen but they call it improving your Facebook experience. Encourage shares and comments to improve affinity. A hotel in the Lake District built likes by asking for Mars or Snickers preference.

Promoted posts can be very effective, the cost depends on reach. One day to seven days and must have 50 likes on the page initially. Facebook need revenue therefore push this.
Use this e.g. Web page for offer £50 meat for £30 then use it on Facebook to seek emails to obtain the offer. But track everything so that you know results. If you take money, collect money on PayPal and send voucher. Groupon benefits from people not redeeming vouchers. A £20 spend can reach 60,000 readers so very cost effective. Targeted to your local area.

Interact
Reply to and like comments.
Hang out where other customers might be.
Share updates to ensure good spread.
Facebook ads are another way to get your posts read. Charged at cost per click (CPC).
You can choose your audience by location and demographics.
One ad will not be effective. Run several and change only one element per time so that you can work out what gets you hits.

Facebook works well with deadline offers. These are called flash sales.
Integrate with email marketing.

So post updates, use a promote post, interact on your page, check insights to see which posts get the most likes, run Facebook ads.

Other platforms
YouTube
Google +
Instagram
Pinterest

YouTube
Can work in alignment with other platforms. It is owned by Google therefore improves your search ratings, YouTube can be embedded into your website and the good thing is that expectations are not for high quality. MOTW can be launched and can be loaded from a smartphone.

Google +
This ties in “we are Google”. Constantly evolving but not used much. Recommend set up a a Google + page, add to Hootsuite, post here what you post on Facebook. Google are turning from search to social search. Remember to set up notifications of interaction.

Instagram
Social photo from mobiles only. Similar to Twitter and must include a photo. Good for Meat of the Week, funny pics, post cooked product competitions. Also get 15 second videos. This platform is really growing in use. Target market may not be there right now but growing use in youth category. Sign up and play with it to explore use. Good to target younger market. It is very much in the moment use.

Pinterest
Is just a pin board on anything that you find of interest on the web.
Download a pin button on your browser. Can be set up in categories and much used by foodies.

Focus on the ones that are going to give you a return. Facebook is still the biggest, there first.

The time matter
Imagine that every minute on social media costs you £1 per minute.
Stick to your goals
Block time out for it.
30 minutes per day in 3 x 10 minute blocks.
Use a Twitter lists and scheduling

Have a strategy in place
Aims
Profiles
Your updates
Lead Capture
Find target markets
Your interactions
FB ported posts
Time Management
Resources

Firstly set up profile, start posting. Measure things are working with a google analytics. Gauge that social media drives traffic to your website.
Run social media only offers
Hard to measure success because people do not say that I here because I follow you on Twitter.
Flash survey – ask customers, do you follow us on Facebook or a Twitter. Have signs in shop that say follow us on Twitter.

Lots to think about, lots to do.
The more conversations, the more business.
The more marketing, the more business.
More measurable and less expensive than advertising.