Using Social Media for Gift Shops

Nancy Heltman, Visitor Services Manager

Social Media EvangelistVirginia State ParksMarch 5 and 6, 2013

What we’ll cover:

Why Social Media?

Which Social Media?

Best Practices

Helpful Tools

Why Social Media?• “We don’t have a choice on whether we DO

social media, the question is how well we DO it.”

• “We will no longer search for products and services, they will find us via social media.”

• “Social Media isn’t a fad, it’s a fundamental shift in the way we communicate.”

• “The ROI of social media is that your business will still exist in 5 years.”

 - Erik Qualmanhttp://www.socialnomics.net

http://www.socialnomics.net/2013/01/01/social-media-video-2013/

Important Considerations•Social Media is Social•Good use of social media is not on auto pilot

•Social Media Users are on social media to have fun not be sold – hard sell not well received

Social Media Users follow brands for

•Discounts•Specials•Freebies

•Inside Information

Which Social Media?

Your Target Market Should Guide

Your Use of Social Media

http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2013/Social-media-users

World’s largest social network955 Million Monthly Active Users81% of users outside US & CanadaAverage time per visit = 20 minutesMore than 50% of users have 100 friends or more

235 million people play games eachmonth

Cover Photo: 851 x 315

Profile image: 180 x 180

Photo 403 x 403

Highlight 843 x 403Facebook announcing new timeline changes 3/7

GET VISUAL

COVER

Profile Image

PHOTO

HIGHLIGHT

Facebook Ad Types (bit.ly/FBAdTypes)

• External Ads

• Like Ads

• Page Post Ads

• Sponsored Stories

• Promoted Posts

• Facebook Offers

16% of online adults use Twitter (up from 8% in November 2010 and 13% 6/2011), 8% use Twitter on a typical day.95% of Twitter users own a mobile phone; half of these users access the service on their handheld device.

African Americans and Latinos continue to have high rates of adoption of the service. 25% of online African Americans use Twitter at least occasionally, with 11% doing so on a typical day.Those under 50, and especially those 18-29, are the most likely to use Twitter.  Urban-dwellers are significantly more likely than both suburban and rural residents to be on Twitter.

Twitter the allure of 140 characters

#3 social media site with15% of internetwhites, young people, the well-educated, those with higher income, and women are particularly likely to use the site. 

equally popular among those 18-29 and 30-49 (19%). 

Women are about five times as likely to be on the site as menin this report.

EMAIL MARKETING IS NOT DEAD – YET

Use in store and social media sign ups to reach

customers

BEST PRACTICES•Smaller Companies - show YOUR personality

•Ok to be more personal – the brand is you!•When you share, your community shares

MUST be interestingAdd humor

Stay relevantAdd personality

Everything I know about social media marketing I

learned from Baby Patches

TOOLSHeyo.com

Refollow.com

Hootsuite

Contests: Offerpop, Wildfire

Social Media Examiner, Mari

Smith, Amy Porterfield