BTEC NCF Dip in Comp - Unit 08 Business Applications of Social Media Lesson 02 – Social Media For Business Mr C Johnston

Learning Outcome Know features of social media websites tailored to organisational needs Know different formats content can be published in on a social media site and the need to consider focus and meaning Understand how to develop an audience and encourage people to follow or ‘like’ the organisation Evaluate how organisations can use social media websites to support their business aims and needs

Activity Carry out some research into how businesses can use social media to help them to achieve there aims and objectives Explain as many different methods as you can think of Use the features of social media discussed last session to help – think how a business could utilise each

Social Media For Business Using Social Media in Business Organisations can use social media websites to support their business aims and needs, including: creating an image or brand promoting products and services communicating with customers customer service resolving queries and managing issues

HOW? Marketing Using Social Media Social media websites offer a number of features which are customisable to help businesses, including: advertising website and mobile device integration relationship to search engine optimisation (SEO) profile on the sites, describing the organisation to visitors usage data indicating the profile of followers and effectiveness of posts, e.g. Facebook Insights, Twitter Analytics and Google Analytics audience profiles (age, gender, income) of social media websites

Activity Book Link Article #1 | Article #2 | Article #3 Make detailed notes on how organisations make use of features of social media websites to support their aims and needs For each of the main uses creating an image or brand, promoting products and services, communicating with customers, customer service, resolving queries and managing issues think of specific features of social media sites that will help eg advertising models, website and mobile device integration, relationship to search engine optimisation, profile on the sites, usage data and audience profiles Prepare you findings to present to the class.

Extension Thought Are adverts on social media annoying or useful?

Content formats of social media posts How could each format be used by an organisation?

Posting Content That Engages Engage Social Media Audience How can organisations post content that engages people? information promotion special offers humour interactive customer service timing

Engaging Example #1 Engaging Posts Work Sheet What It Is: This is a Twitter post by Ugmonk, a clothing and lifestyle brand, using an image post to share an inspirational quote from Steve Jobs, while tying in their branding and product into it. Why It Works: According to Buffer, quotes get a 19% increase in retweets than other Tweets. Quotes are very “shareable”. Twitter users love them because they are short, sweet and effective. Tying in a shareable and powerful Steve Jobs quote with their “Never Settle” t-shirt works because not only does it allow for their product to be seen through sharing, it comes across less as promotional content and more as inspirational content. The quote makes sense with the context of the product which is why it works. How You Can Implement It: Tie in an inspirational, motivational, entertaining, educational or funny quotation with an image of your product. For a better effect, include a call to action and link back to your product or even superimpose the quote over an image of your product, with a link. If you need help finding great quotes to use, check out Reddit for some ideas. Be aware that these can become overused and abused, so it’s also a good idea to try and find lesser known quotes that speak directly to your brand values.

Engaging Example #2 What It Is: IKEA’s Twitter post is sharing user-generated content that shows real customers creatively using IKEA products. Why It Works: User generated content is excellent because it not only encourages engagement but it’s a lot less work to put together than creating your own content from scratch. It shows real customers using their products which serves as social proof. Your most passionate fans and customers get a chance to shine and it’s your opportunity to give back and say thanks by featuring them. When you recognize a customer, you gain a customer for life. The image in this Tweet is great for Twitter as it creates separation from all the text posts on Twitter as well as showing a real example of a customer using IKEA products. There’s also a great use of hashtags in this Tweet without it being overdone. Lastly there is one, clear, call to action “Check out...” with a link at the end of the Tweet. How You Can Implement It: Ask your customers to send you pictures of themselves using your product and curate the best images into a blog post or collage image and send that out on social media. Show potential customers and fans other people people using your products in creative ways. To make it even easier, you can simply retweet or quote tweet any images you get from customers using your products in creative ways.

Engaging Example #3 What It Is: Lowes created a short video providing their followers five inspiring ideas to improve the look of their bedroom, really quickly. This video is natively uploaded to Facebook and posted to their Facebook page. Why It Works: Facebook rewards Page owners that upload their videos to Facebook with more organic reach. Videos not only will get a larger organic reach but also better engagement. The video also provides valuable and compelling content to their audience which acts as a silent movie that catches your attention while you are scrolling through your feed. This captures the attention of their fans and keeps them engaged, especially if they consistently put out content like this (which they do). This kind of content is also very shareable, which drives more people to Lowes’ Facebook page. How You Can Implement It: Start creating video content and uploading it to your Facebook page instead of linking out to the video on your YouTube channel . Native videos will not only help boost that organic reach you’re already struggling with but also keep your fans engaged. Ensure you’re adding value with your content, such as providing tips and ideas that relate to your niche or industry. You’re telling a story and you want to do it in a compelling way. The key to is keep fans interested and engaged with great content first so that they are receptive to your promotional posts. At the same time, you could also create a video and upload it to Facebook to create an effective promotional post, driving fans to a product page or your ecommerce website, when it’s time to finally promote something to your Facebook page.

Engaging Example #4 Full Article: 10 Inspiring Ecommerce Examples of Social Media Done Right What It Is: Bluff Works asks their followers a fun question on Facebook and includes an image with their post. Why It Works: Questions are an excellent way to encourage your fans and followers to engage with you. This works even better when you ask your audience creative questions that still involve your audience and brand. KISSmetrics found that posts with questions got 100% more engagement. To help separate from all the noise on Facebook and catch the attention of users, Bluff Works attached an image to their post. How You Can Implement It: Ask your audience more questions. If you want more engagement and comments, this is what you need to start doing on social media. Here’s a chart courtesy of KISSmetrics to help you brainstorm and come up with great questions to ask to get your audience more engaged with your social media profiles.

Activity Read these articles to get a full understanding of methods which can be employed to engage social media users Create a guide for business called: “Social Media Engagement Best Practice” which summaries all the tools and techniques which can be used to create better social media posts Article #1: 11 Effective Ways to Boost Your Content Article #2: 5 Ways to Create Engaging Content Your Audience Will Share Article #3: 40 Things You-Should Do to Increase Social Media Engagement

Recap Activity Produce a diamond 9 to show 9 of the strategies you have researched and included within your guide Which strategy is at the top and why? Which strategy is at the bottom and why?

Video Watch the video What tools and techniques do they use to create engaging posts? What is good about what they do What is bad about what they do How could they improve?

Activity Analyse the way Thomson use social media… 9 Companies Doing Social Media Right Analyse the way Thomson use social media… What tools and techniques do they use to create engaging posts? What is good about what they do What is bad about what they do How could they improve? Analyse the way Two Further Organisations use social media…

Integrating Social Media Presence 9 Tips 4 Integrating Social Media How can an organisation’s social media representation link with their other media presence (e.g. website, ecommerce website, print and TV advertisements)? References to social media on stationary References to social media on company signs / vehicles Social media buttons placed on the organisation’s website Organisation’s website has links within social media posts Social media news feeds on the organisation’s website

Activity Produce a table which explores how different companies promote their social media presence through other streams Explain the methods adopted – include pictures of the examples found Include an analysis of how effectively the other streams link to the social media Are there any improvements you could recommend?

Extension Thought Direct vs Indirect Sales With Social Media Direct and indirect advertising – what’s the difference?

A favourite campaign People talk about campaigns for good and bad reasons and some poor campaigns can still be successful (go compare) Creating a memorable and favourite campaign is important to get people talking This is one of my all time favourite adverts… WHY? How can this be applied to social media? What are the factors which you consider to be important when choosing your favourite social media campaign?

Activity Research you favourite social media campaign and prepare a presentation to explain the reason for your choice