Day 5 - Cruising Altitude (final destination of the social media marketing series)

You’ve done it, and now you’re cruising along nicely with this new business-making, relationship-building beast you’ve created using social media. (Admit it: you kind of feel like a pro right now).

 

Where are the millions of new customers?

Guess what: you’re not going to cause business to skyrocket just because you’ve learned some new tricks. Building relationships and a more visible brand name for yourself takes time. Instead of feeling disappointed if you don’t get instant results, focus on nurturing and inspiring the social media/network connections you already have. After all, it costs 3-5 (as much as 10-12) times as much to gain a new customer as it is to keep an old one.

 

Tips As You Cruise

• Catch dissatisfied customers early and make sure their issues are addressed and/or appeased

• Post on a regular basis; don’t allow lulls in activity
• Keep a constant eye out for new technology, resources and ideas
• Tailor your traditional print and marketing materials to direct traffic back to your new social media landing places
• Track your progress, visibility, traffic, etc.

 

Tools for Tracking

Want to see how your posts are doing? Use these sites to get a better idea of what’s working, what isn’t, and what other companies are doing successfully that you could customize and mimic. 

• Bitly
• Hootsuite
• Owly
• Google analytics
• Goingup!
• Compete
• Alexa

 

Track your company name and brand online with:

• Google alerts  
• Google news
• Yahoo alerts
• Technorati
• Blogpulse
• Boardtracker
• Keotag
• Twelvefold Media

 

Here comes the stewardess: treat yourself to an overpriced cocktail.

 

Day 4 - Takeoff (social media marketing series)

Before you format your website or blog post, it’s important to take into account the way people view web pages. This has been determined by a fascinating method called eyetrack research. Here’s what researchers have learned from this method.  

When people view web sites, they:

• Scan
• Jump from site to site
• Avoid ads
• Read in an F-pattern
• Do not scroll
• Are drawn to faces
• Pay attention to headlines
• Ignore banners and anything that looks like an ad

To Dodge Those Bullets and Capitalize On Those Preferences…

1. If you advertise, you want it to be in the top left because people are used to ads being in the top right, and will completely ignore it.
2. Create titles based on what people will search when looking for this article
3. Put your most important info at the top.
4. Avoid feature lead-in.
5. Google looks at copy and uses the first words as keywords, so make sure those words are strong and identifiable.
6. Write in genuine tone and don’t use jargon.

When Formatting Your Text, Use:

• Short paragraphs
• Bulleted lists
• Short sentence fragments
• Explanatory subheads
• Non-pun headlines
• Use of bold on important details to draw in skimmers and scanners

Online Tools for Your Page Creation

Pagemodo - build a Facebook landing page that really brands you, using their templates

Remember: You Are Chief

U.A.R.C.H.I.E.F. –Make sure all of your content is either Useful, Actionable, Relevant, Credible, Helpful, Informative, Entertaining and Fun or Funny.

(If you can make it all of the above, you are a master of your domain…literally).

More Than Words

Readers expect you to help them find more valuable information. So, supplement your posts and online media copy by including one or several of the following to make your content more attention-grabbing:

• Lists
• Photos
• Videos
• Thought posts (question)
• Interviews
• Live chats
• Live videos
• Slide shows
• Best-of posts
• Most linked-to posts
• Use precise numbers in the headline
• Create a series of posts (i.e. “31 days to a better you,” etc.)
• Polls and games
• Highlight your own, real customers
• Tell a story
• Give kudos to employees, partners or customers who’ve done something publicly notable
• Toot your own horn (sometimes) – Awards, donations, community efforts, etc.
• E-mail marketing (e-newsletter digest of all of daily or weekly posting to drive traffic to your site(s) and post(s)

Do you have the window seat? Enjoy that view, my friend...

Day 3 - Buckle Up (social media marketing series)

Buckle Up for Takeoff - List Your Ideas Make a list of relevant or useful topics to use as potential posts. These can include:

• Month-specific topics (i.e. national awareness, holiday, weather)
• Company announcements (i.e. promotional events, general events, activities or changes)
• Industry topics (changes or big moves in your industry)
• How-to topics (safety procedures, tips)
• Prompt questions (for your audience)
• Surveys
• Articles
• Quotes
• Credible industry sites

Stow Your Luggage

Based on each topic’s timeliness and relevance, determine a rough monthly outline of when you plan to post it, in which media it will be posted, and whether or not you plan to include multimedia (graphics, surveys, video, etc.). There are bound to be topics that come up on-the-fly, in which case, these other items can be rearranged. If they aren’t too timely, they can be stowed away for later use when there’s a lull in post-able activity.

Other Hot-Spots for Topics (Juicy Sources)

First, build a list or database of key individuals associated with your business who you’ve either worked with in the past or who are willing to be contacted for quotes, advice or other content. This can include individuals within the company. Include their preferred times to be contacted, as well as their contact information in this database.

In a separate database or spreadsheet, keep these hot-spots and tools on hand:

• Youpolls.com – current and popular polls and surveys
• Wildfireapp.com – grow, engage and monetize your audience on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn
• Northsocial.com – design your own Facebook applications
• Stufftotweet.com- what’s hot to talk about at the moment
• Edgebankchecker.com – tool to help determine best times to post to get maximum exposure
• Alltop.com – hot topics of every kind, like pop culture, business, technology, etc.
• Popurls.com - a landing page for popular topics, conversations, how-to, and images
• Marketing.Grader.com – grade your website’s traffic compared to competitors
• Tweetgrader.com – See how you grade and rank on Twitter, compared to all other users

Remember: Don’t just throw your own content around out there; participate in others’ polls, discussions and forums. Also, don’t talk just to talk. Be prepared with an actual contribution to the topic on the table. As you monitor your own posts, you can also see what’s popular and what isn’t based on the various tools for measuring traffic.

Begin tailoring your content accordingly.

Runway-ready, baby.

Day 2 - Safety Presentation (social media marketing series)

Though this section on creating your social media policy is short and sweet, but please pay more attention to it than you do to the flight attendants’ safety presentation. (I know you’re usually already knee-deep on your Skymall wish list… “Exit rows are WHERE?”).

Get these key individuals involved in creating your policy:

• Representative from legal department
• Compliance officer
• Social media coordinator
• Corporate communications and/or marketing director and team
• Information technology team (they will bring up technical issues you may not have considered)
• Human resources director

Don’t fret: you don’t have to create the entire policy from scratch. Most likely, there are already preexisting communications policies and standards your company has set in place. See your employee handbook or manual to reference these. Otherwise, here is an example of a document detailing terms of use, as well as a social media policy template that I’ve already created.

Where It Should Go

Once created, edited and finalized by all involved departments, make sure your social media policy and terms of agreement are easily accessible via the company’s intranet, as well as included in the handbook. Upon creation, it would be a good idea to send an all-employee email outlining the policy, and requiring every employee to electronically sign and submit a form confirming they have read, understand, and agree to comply with all company social media policy and terms of use.

Time to belt in for the fun part!

Day 1 - Preflight Inspection (social media marketing series)

5 Reasons Social Media Trumps Traditional Marketing

Social media has a definite edge over traditional marketing strategies such as direct mail, web sites, trade shows, and broadcast and print media:

1. Quick, real-time interaction with customers
2. Easy, widespread reach—integrates online and offline campaigns
3. Cuts marketing costs
4. Social media campaigns are more efficient, producing greater results when it comes to conversion rates, leads, traffic, brand awareness/perception, and time it takes for the impact to peak
5. More effectively increases brand exposure and creates a buzz within and outside of the company

Overall, social media campaigns actually costs about 1/10 of traditional marketing tactics, leaving more resources to invest other utilities―such as a social media coordinator, who generates or gathers content for these campaigns so they have as much impact and breadth as possible.

Set the Destination and Seat the Passengers

Ask yourself the following questions, and use these to formulate your goals, objectives and tactics for launching your social media efforts or campaign.

1. Who are your key stakeholders? To whom is success of the social media of greatest importance, and who will most greatly benefit or be affected by the “return on investment?”
2. Who is your key audience? What individuals or groups are most important for your stakeholders to reach? Whose attention do you want your posted content to attract?
3. What message(s) do you want to disperse? More than just providing useful content, what overall impression do you want your audience to take away from each post?
4. What key action(s) to you want to ignite? What do you want the audience to do as a result of what you’ve shared in your posts?
5. Where do you want to send the audience? Do you want to send them to your agents, website, office for an appointment, or to place a call? Based on the answer to this question, make sure your post includes a call to this action, as well as information that makes the action possible and simple.
6. What qualitative and quantitative results to you want to promote? Pick a span of time during which you’ll benchmark progress for your effort/campaign. Determine which factors you will use to analyze success, and choose an exact deadline for when you will analyze this data to see how you’re doing.
7. What social media platforms are best for your purposes? If you’re trying to give your organization more of a personality and help it establish relationships, start with Facebook. Facebook, Twitter and regular blogs can all be used as excellent landing places for information, and it’s easy to link each of them to one another. However, if you’re trying to show (for example) that your agents are active all over the communities of those who follow you, you can use a program like Foursquare (i.e. “Bob Jones has checked into a residence in Panora, IA, to promptly handle the claim of his insured following a tornado”…or “Janet Johnson has checked into the Marriott in West Des Moines to present a seminar on providing the best service to clients”).

Now, outline these items in more detail to create a plan that encompasses your social media goals and approaches for the next year. Decide the exact date you want to get started, and make that your deadline for having your “Safety Presentation” (compliance and policies) and “Buckle Up” (content database and schedule) completed.

Onward!

Social Media: 5 Days to Taking Your Business to New Places

So, when it comes to social media, it's time to get your business's head in the game. But with so much going on in the world of "Web 2.0," where do you even start?


Right here.


Get your company jetting full-throttle into the buzzing, booming world of social media in just five days, with little more than the ability to operate a computer and conduct a Google search. In no time, you'll be generating your own posts and mixed media* like you were born to do it. But since you probably weren't, the Post Office will take you step-by-step through shipping your business all of the places you want it to go via social media.
*Disclaimer: if you think the internet is a device for catching something indoors or that Facebook is a photographic novel depicting the human countenance, you may want to start here or here before attempting to utilize anything on the Post Office.


The Post Office Flight Plan
Day 1 - Preflight Inspection
Day 2 - Safety Presentation
Day 3 - Buckle Up
Day 4 - Takeoff
Day 5 - Cruising Altitude


Preflight Inspection
This portion of the 5-day tutorial will ask you vital questions to help determine what your goals are for implementing social media for your business, identify your key audience and stakeholders, pinpoint the results you'd like to see and decide which social media platforms are most essential to your overall intentions and strategy.


Safety Presentation
Just because social media is fun doesn't mean it doesn't also need some serious consideration. This portion will pose important questions for helping you build social media policies and guidelines for content and interactive responses. It will also offer tips for what to do in case of an "emergency," such as posts from a disgruntled customer, or any spam or not-so-G-rated link shares.


Buckle Up
This portion will guide you through creating a topic/source list and schedule for your posted content, so you have items safely situated in your overhead compartments, valuables tucked neatly below the seat, as well as something exciting and interesting to do during the flight right in front of you. This way, you'll never find yourself scrambling for content, and you can sit comfortably in the peace of mind that comes from prior research and strategic planning.


Takeoff
You're about to be in motion, so if high velocities make you queasy, pop a Dramamine and get ready for an exciting ride. This portion will give you tips for how to format your first posts (as well as those thereafter), how to reach your intended audience, and provide helpful sites for maximizing your efficiency.


Cruising Altitude
Finally, the stewardess is making rounds with ginger ale and peanuts, and your seat no longer has to remain upright and locked. Sit back and enjoy creating content for the social media you've now activated, respond to posts according to your business's mission and pre-established policy, and get a list of the best sites for monitoring your social media activity.


Are you ready to go places?


Time for check-in.