Carolyn Boyes - Social Media

▪ Post.There are so many different social media tools now. Discover which ones you should use and what the best ways are to use them.

▪ Position.Use social media to build a long-term brand on the web which will grow your business for years to come.

▪ Monitor.By keeping in touch with what your customers want you can consistently tweak your social media presence and make it effective.

▪ Be real.Social media is entertaining and fun. Don’t just have a business conversation: be human. Be entertaining.

▪ Follow web etiquette.Observe some basic guidelines and legalities online just as much as you do in your offline business.

If you follow these seven chapters, you will know everything you need to know in order to use social media effectively for yourself and your business. People will know about you and your brand and, more importantly, they will want to become your clients.

Social media isn’t just fun, it’s also the future of your business.

Contents Cover Title Page SOCIAL MEDIA SECRETS Carolyn Boyes Copyright Introduction 1 Plan 1.1 Ditch the old thinking 1.2 Know your channels 1.3 Create a brand 1.4 Make a promise 1.5 Create a goal 1.6 Stake a claim 1.7 Draw up a content strategy 1.8 Be aligned 1.9 Take an inventory 1.10 Do it 24/7 2 Promote 2.1 Be sociable 2.2 Determine your ideal customer 2.3 Convert the grazers 2.4 Build a community 2.5 Become a friend 2.6 Inspire 3 Post 3.1 Start a blog 3.2 Tweet 3.3 Create a Facebook page 3.4 Link in 3.5 Video it 3.6 Share slides 3.7 Instagram it 3.8 Blog on Tumblr 3.9 Pin it on Pinterest 4 Position 4.1 Lead opinion 4.2 Have values 4.3 Look consistent 4.4 Have a tone of voice 4.5 Use professionals 4.6 Google well 4.7 Network offline 5 Monitor 5.1 Listen and learn 5.2 Monitor 5.3 Use surveys 5.4 Use hashtags 5.5 Find the influencers 5.6 Use professional tools 6 Be real 6.1 Be authentic 6.2 Get feedback and endorsements 6.3 Go off topic 6.4 Hang out 6.5 Start a competition 6.6 Be memorable 6.7 Contribute to the conversation 7 Follow web etiquette 7.1 Be nice 7.2 Know your copyright 7.3 Manage your crises 7.4 Keep up with the news 7.5 Stop the muggers 7.6 Do good Jargon buster Further reading About the Book About the Author About the Publisher

The world has changed.The mindset of the business world has had to shift enormously from even a few years ago. Over the last decade we have seen the globalization of the marketplace and an enormous appetite to buy, research and socialize online. No business can afford to be offline now. But a website is not enough. You need a strategy for multiple social media platforms.

In the past, if you had a business you probably had an office, possibly a shop, and you advertised your products or services in the press and via a website. You would broadcast without really knowing who was listening to you. If a customer wanted to give feedback to a business they would need to write a letter and wait for a response. Now so many people use social media the whole process has been speeded up: from weeks to seconds.

Social media and old media are very different. With old media you could only have a one-way conversation between the business and its prospective customers. You can talk to your customers and they can talk back to you. There are other differences, too:

▪ Old media markets to a mass, unknown audience. Social media is a way of tailoring your marketing to one person at a time.

▪ Old media is written by professional marketers. Much of social media content is generated by users and commentators in response to what you post.

▪ Social media channels are open, democratic and responsive. Content can be forwarded and adapted by its users, unlike with old media.

“TV took 30 years to reach 50 million people. Facebook took 2 years” Anon

one minute wonder Think about marketing your business on social media in a professional way. Do your research and look at which channels your users follow. Not every channel will be used by the same type of user. Start by thinking about the top five reasons why you want or need to use social media.

▪ Marketing on old media is usually highly edited and polished. Posts and commentary on social media are rougher but often more authentic.

▪ Users pay to access old media: newspapers, magazines and TV. Social media is usually free for the user. You can access it when you want and from where you want.

▪ Old media is controlled by the owners and the business which pays for the content. Social media content is jointly controlled by the user.

▪ Old media is often focused on people in a particular country. Social media is global.

You can use social media to share news and expertise, upload product images and videos, write a weekly blog and start discussions. It can become a promotional tool for your business; helping to build your business brand and customer base as well as your profits.

Create a marketing plan that suits social media, not old media.