Carolyn Boyes - Social Media

Know your channels 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

Social media sites are known as channels and social media can be accessed via the internet or apps. The number of channels is expanding all the time and its influence on our lives is growing.

If you have a business you can use social media to win customers and build a brand in a fun and entertaining way across global borders. Although new channels are added all the time, here are some you must get to know if you are going to promote your business effectively:

▪ Facebookis one of the most popular social networks in the world. Every day it is used by billions of people. Individuals, groups and businesses all have Facebook profiles.

▪ Twitteris a ‘microblogging’ site – a place where you can write short posts of up to 140 characters. It has become a source for people to get instant information on the news and post comments and pictures, even videos and links to blogs.

▪ LinkedInis the biggest professional social networking site. Employers increasingly expect professionals to provide a link to their LinkedIn profile before getting hired.

▪ YouTubeis the largest video broadcasting and sharing site of content such as vlogs (video blogs), music videos, talks and movie-making. Find everything from funny videos to how-to videos on here.

“These days, social media waits for no one” Aaron Lee

one minute wonder Take the time to look at how your competitors are using these channels to create social networks and online communities by tweeting, blogging, posting and sharing. Social media is very different from advertisement-buying activities and other types of digital marketing.

▪ Instagramis a highly popular sharing site for photos and short videos and has helped the craze for celebrity ‘selfies’ – a picture of yourself.

▪ Pinterestis a place where you can create your own pinboard of images that you have collected and share them with your followers on the web.

▪ Tumblris similar to Pinterest. Here, you can set up a blog, determine a theme and post all sorts of content.

▪ Snapchatis an instant messaging mobile social network. It is based around the idea of videos and photos that self-destruct after viewing.

▪ Vineis a video-sharing app. The short (up to six-second) videos can be embedded in a tweet or shared in emails or on other sites.

Use social media to make your products and services easily accessible and desirable.

What makes businesses successful is that they are always clear about their brand and where they are positioned in their marketplace.

The idea of a brand is simple. It is the thing for which you are most recognized. For example, London has Big Ben, Paris the Eiffel Tower, Nepal is known for Mount Everest. Think about a business like Virgin. Richard Branson, the owner, cleverly created a brand around himself and his business, creating a memorable name and image.

You don’t need to own a multi-million-pound business to have a great brand. Some of the best brands on the web are one-person brands. Even teenagers, posting comments and producing videos from their bedrooms, are creating valuable brands on social media. A brand is an interpretation of yourself and you can show off that interpretation across Twitter, Instagram, Google Plus or any platform you choose.

“Setting up an account is not a strategy” Businessweek

Think about what is at the core of your brand and how you want to show that to your social media audience.

▪ What do I do for a living? Do I want my brand to be around me, the person, or around the business I am involved in?

▪ What is my Mount Everest? What am I most known for? What is the core of my business?

▪ What is unique about my business? What makes me stand out from my competitors or other people like me?

▪ Why would people be interested in listening to what I have to tell them? When I meet people at a party, what do they ask me about?