Business Communication Skills for Managers Module 10: Social Media

Common Social Media Platforms

Facebook Facebook primarily serves to connect people, which makes social media ideal places for companies to connect with their customers in a way that feels personal How can I start a Facebook Marketing campaign? Watch video by Amy Landino to see how! Benefits of Facebook: ability to share posts from other social media sites: you can share YouTube videos, you can set up your Instagram account so your posts are automatically cross-posted to Facebook, and you can link to any other site on the internet Disadvantages of Facebook: younger individuals tend to skew away from Facebook many people have liked so many pages and have so many friends that your brand’s posts may get lost in their News Feed there have been recent concerns over Facebook’s misuse of data Video: Getting Started with Facebook Marketing. Authored by: Amy Landino. Located at: https://youtu.be/Zt7V-xO4uyk. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube License

Instagram The top users of Instagram tend to be individuals interested in creating a personal brand. This interest in a personal brand has grown as celebrities have become increasingly popular in advertising Endorsements from a celebrity’s Instagram account seem more genuine than in an ad on TV or in the newspaper Watch below video for more information on how to use instagram for business: https://youtu.be/OkUClde6a0g

Twitter What is the appeal of twitter? It can quickly and concisely reach an audience You can include images and videos in your tweets Hashtags help you to reach a larger audience Twitter was originally created as a business tool! View course page for example of how JetBlue effectively uses their Twitter account: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/wm-businesscommunicationmgrs/chapter/twitter/

YouTube Pros and cons of YouTube Pros: Ease of use Integration with other social media and websites Massive audience Cons: Data capturing and privacy concerns Sheer size and volume of content requires careful placement Creating videos requires unique skills and tools when compared to business writing YouTube is the second largest social media platform Most YouTube videos are 5-10 minutes long YouTubers can comment on videos and exchange links It’s usually best to cross-post your videos on YouTube with another social media platform to start discussions

Additional Social Media Platforms

LinkedIn LinkedIn focuses on recruiting and finding talent Individual users build profiles similarly to a personal resume, and are able to search for new jobs and work Quick and easy strategies for recruiting on LinkedIn: If you find a candidate that looks perfect, you can send them a request to connect alongside a message, exlaining the position that you think they would be interested in If you have a 2nd or 3rd level connection, you can ask the person you’re connected to if they can make an introduction, and move from there If you’re doing a lot of recruiting , it might be worth it to get a premium account Finding jobs: You can view top jobs recommended for you based on your profile Clicking on the job will lead you to a full job description where you can apply or interact with the recruiter directly

Pinterest Pinterest is an excellent platform for viewing and disseminating content organized visually by theme Users can search for things, as well as “pin” things to their own boards (the boards are essentially folders of content) What are the drawbacks of using Pinterest? Limited gendered audience Perceived usage is based around DIY projects, not products The interface is comparatively confusing and difficult to navigate Pinterest statistics: 81% of users are female 87% of users have purchased a product seen on a pin 93% of users use Pinterest to plan a purchase View the following video for more information on how your business can best utilize Pinterest: https://youtu.be/XfqTWSsnr3I

Snapchat Snapchat is largely oriented to Millennials and Generation Z it is most useful for businesses targeting this demographic! Snapchat ads are short and to the point Filters placed on Snapchat pictures can overlay a brand message or promotion Interestingly, Snapchat marketing appears to be more effective than other common platforms. What are some cons of using Snapchat? Too generational Some users view advertising on Snapchat as intrusive It is limited to what kind of message can be shared

Google Plus Google Watch the above video for a tutorial on how to use Google Plus. Pros of Google Plus: Potential for a large audience Local SEO Cons of Google Plus: Relatively low usage More manual work to integrate with other social media platforms Video: How to Use Google+ Plus for Beginners. Authored by: Yeah Likes. Located at: https://youtu.be/c25g9oSHdsc. License: All Rights Reserved. License Terms: Standard YouTube License

Selling Your Products

Product Launch Number one reason most use social media, is to bring attention to a new product or service Various tactics when announcing a product or service launch Design a hashtag, organize a countdown, develop consistency across platforms, have clear call to action When choosing which social media platform to use, consider target audience and type of message Design a hashtag. By using a hashtag, you can create a central “hub” for all posts about your new product. People posting about the product can also use this hashtag, which increases the reach of the product. Organize a countdown. Countdowns can increase interest over a period of time. As you release messages on a schedule, it gives more people the opportunity to get excited and ready for the product by the time it is released. Develop consistency across platforms. The look and feel of a Facebook post should be roughly similar to something on Pinterest or Snapchat, etc. While this is important across all social media messaging, it’s particularly important when launching something new. If your messaging is inconsistent, people might get confused about what exactly is being released. Have a clear call to action. Similarly to good web design, a social media message should be easy to interpret. You want your audience to have all the information they need to either further interact with your social media campaign or to have the information they need to get your product.

Spotlight Products We work to use real, compelling, and authentic narratives to promote interest in our organization, given product, or to increase interaction between customers Key questions: Is the message or post authentic? How easy have they made it to interact? Netflix and Kohls do a good job of this Using humor Highlight possible outfits Make sure to remain authentic, and don’t focus on making the “perfect” brand

Sales and Events Advertising a Sale: Create interest and excitement, by spotlighting size of sale or highlighting reason for sale Features to Increase Sales: Unique features to promote sales, such as embedding a “buy” button or link in social media message Easy to buy on social channels, consider paid accounts Pinterest has different tutorials, reaches to Millennial or Generation Z, Snapchat uses similar features

Building Your Brand

Cultivate Community Something like change in ownership could be expressed in a simple announcement on social media, then forwarded by customers Loyal customers blur line between internal and external Issue of authenticity in social media is challenging, as some exchanges may be hollow or misunderstood Important to be transparent with messaging Goal of having more meaningful exchanges on social media

Create a Sense of Affinity Affinity is “a liking to something, often naturally or spontaneously” Creation of narrative or story is related to affinity and authenticity Difference between the three Affinity: spontaneous liking to something Authenticity: natural realness Story or narrative: compelling description about person Storytelling organizations describe a great story, and attempt to use that story to energize customers

Company News Change in senior leadership, ownership, or other large non-product or service oriented announcement Organizations cross a divide between external and internal customers and integrate everyone into an audience Customers themselves drive company interaction, and in doing so they integrate into company business Loyal customers may talk about company items on their own social media

Quick Review Social media is used to: Bring services or products to market, and increase awareness Engage customers, often with respect to service issues Encourage “buzz” or interest around company and products Top tier of social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube Second tier: LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, Google Plus