Overview of Different Social Media Platforms

Video 1Social Media Training for Business Teachers

#socialmediaforbusiness

Overview

1. 6 major platforms2. Descriptions of each including best uses3. How to choose which platform/s to use in

business

#socialmedia

6 Major Social Media Platforms

• Originally started to share and compare pictures at a Harvard University College

• Opened up to anyone 13 years or older with an email address in 2006

• 1.23 billion monthly active users

1. Facebookwww.facebook.com

Main components:• News Feed: up-to-date stream of latest

status updates from friends and pages• Timeline: a collection of all your

personal info and activity on Facebook. This is called Pages for businesses

Typical content shared:• Status Updates! Can include images,

text, links, articles, videos, events, offers

1. Facebook

• Conversational• Informal and personal• Source of up-to-the-minute

information• Provides social proof – what have

your friends said, have they been there, what did they see/find/feel?

Flavour of Facebook

Best uses:• Person to Person• Business to Customer• To share a variety of interesting, fun, entertaining,

light-hearted chunks of info with friends/fans• To keep in touch, share new happenings and

offers • To develop relationships, have an online presence

and promote products and services• To reach a large number of people

instantaneously

1. Facebook

TwitterShare: Best Uses:

Text updates Drive traffic to a website

Web links Raise awareness

Videos Become top of mind

Photos/Pictures Display credibility and expertise

Ask questions, get feedback

Facebook for Business

• Create an online community – your fans

• Run campaigns• Provide information and give value• Provides a convenient, direct method

for customers to get in touch• Ask for feedback to shape and form

your business decisions

• Founder Dorsey – ‘The definition was 'a short burst of inconsequential information,' and 'chirps from birds'. And that's exactly what the product was’

• To be like an SMS service for a small group• Launched in 2006• 2.55 million monthly active users

2. Twitterwww.twitter.com

Main components:• Timeline: your Twitter feed of tweets by

people you follow• Account: a collection of all your tweets and

activity on Twitter. • Hashtags: a way to see all tweets on a

particular topicTypical content shared:• Tweets! You only have 140 characters to get

your message across. Can include: images, text, links, articles, videos

2. Twitter

• Short messages – maximum 140 characters

• More savvy, techy users, often an Urban demographic

• Source of up-to-the-minute information• Fast moving• Groups information according to

hashtags (#)

Flavour of Twitter

Best uses:• Person to Person• Business to Customer• Suitable for quick, fast-paced messages and

messaging to a large number of people• To share a variety of interesting, useful, fun,

entertaining, light-hearted chunks of info with friends/fans

• To keep in touch, share new happenings and offers • To develop relationships, have an online presence and

promote products and services• For urban, national and international markets

2. Twitter

TwitterShare: Best Uses:

Text updates Drive traffic to a website

Web links Raise awareness

Videos Become top of mind

Photos/Pictures Display credibility and expertise

Ask questions, get feedback

Twitter for Business• Share up-to-the-minute information• Drive traffic to your website• Create a # for people to tweet to eg.

events, conferences, issues, products, etc eg. #WorldCup

• Provides a convenient, direct method for customers to get in touch

• Ask for feedback to shape and form your business decisions

• Re-tweet useful tweets

• The idea was developed after 2 guys had difficulty sharing videos shot at a dinner party and difficulty in finding video clips on the internet

• Developed and launched in 2005• More than 1 billion unique users visit

YouTube each month

3. YouTubewww.youtube.com

Main components:• Videos: view individual videos by

searching• Channels: view multiple videos created

and uploaded by a single channelTypical content shared:• Video only

3. YouTube

Best uses:• Person to Person• Business to Customer• To tell a story• To convey a message or educate• To entertain• To create awareness

3. YouTube

YouTubeShare: Best Uses:

Videos only Create content

Raise awareness

Deliver a message

Create & display credibility and expertise

Entertainment

YouTube for Business• Tell stories• Share happenings at events• Educate your audience• Provide training to customers and staff• Opportunity for customers to ‘meet’ the

people behind the business, gain trust, build rapport

• Showcase products and services• Deliver marketing messages

• The evolution of Pinterest is based on the shared interests of its users & relies on its users to create the content

• Launched in 2010• In 2012, it drove more referral traffic to

retailers than LinkedIn and YouTube• ? Number of active monthly users

4. Pinterestwww.pinterest.com

Main components:• Home Feed: up-to-date stream of latest

pins from people and businesses you follow• Pin: a visual bookmark, an image, which

links to its origin on the web• Board: a collection of your (or others) pins

on a similar topic eg. African SafariTypical content shared:• Images - JPG, PNG and GIF image files, as

well as YouTube, Vimeo and Ted videos

4. Pinterest

• Visual• Image-based• Creative• Inspirational• A place to browse, discover new ideas• High proportion of female users

however males are active on Pinterest also

Flavour of Pinterest

Best uses:• Person to Person• Business to Customer• To drive traffic to your website• To create awareness of your content,

products and services

4. Pinterest

PinterestShare: Best Uses:

Photos/Pictures Drive traffic to a website

Videos Showcase products & services

Raise awareness

Collecting and grouping visual inspirations

Inspire and share ideas

Pinterest for Business• Drive traffic back to your website• Encourage website visitors to pin

images on your website, so other pinners on Pinterest can discover your content

• Include images with any content you create online so they can be ‘pinned’

• Inspire and captivate your current and potential clients

• Ideas collection tool for upcoming projects or ideas for clients eg. moodboard

• Was developed to focus on mobile photography; ‘Insta’ as in instant camera and ‘gram’ as in telegram

• Launched in 2010• 150 million monthly active users (Sept

2013)• 23% growth in 2013, compared to

Facebook’s 3% growth• Facebook acquired Instagram in 2012

5. Instagramwww.instagram.com

Main components:• Feed: up-to-date stream of latest photos

& videos from users you follow• Profile: where your own bio and

Instagram posts are locatedTypical content shared:• Photos, images and videos (3-15sec

long) – square size, with or without a filter (which change the look, feel, lighting, exposure, etc of your pic)

5. Instagram

• Mobile based – can only post images from a smartphone

• Visually show your followers where you are, what you are doing, what you can see

• Image-based• Behind-the-scenes photos, as people

on the ground are seeing things!

Flavour of Instagram

Best uses:• To keep in touch, share current happenings,

events and offers • To raise awareness and promote products

and services• To develop relationships, have an online

presence and promote products and services• To show the people and occurrences behind

the scenes• Drive traffic to your website• Encourage people to share with their friends

5. Instagram

TwitterShare: Best Uses:

Photos/Pictures Drive traffic to a website

Videos (3-15sec in length)

Raise awareness, inspire, showcase

Become top of mind

Ask questions, get feedback

Help potential customers get to know more about

you and your business

Instagram for Business

• Raise awareness• Promote products and services• Share visual messages• Create and use a hashtag that

describes your images and that others can use when posting relevant images eg. #bestcoffee #visitbundaberg

• Create a professional profile (resume`) and connect with others in your industry or business circles

• Launched in 2003• 259 million users in 2013

6. LinkedInwww.linkedin.com

Main components:• Feed: a time-based stream of updates from

your connections, channels, influencers, company pages and groups

• Profile: the foundation of your personal brand which provides an insight into your professional journey and aspirations

Typical content shared:• Updates – can include images, text, links

6. LinkedIn

• Professional networking• A place meet and develop relationships• Peer to peer, ideas sharing,

collaboration• Significant involvement in groups and

discussions• For job seekers and recruitment• Business to Business

Flavour of LinkedIn

Best uses:• Person to Person• Business to Business• To develop business relationships via

adding and ‘talking to’ connections• To keep in touch via sharing useful,

valuable content• Joining relevant groups – learn, meet, start

relationships

6. LinkedIn

LinkedInShare: Best Uses:

Text updates Display credibility and expertise

Web links Connect with leaders, influencers, colleagues

Images Ask questions, get feedback

Discussion input Contribute to discussions in your area of expertise

Conduct market research

LinkedIn for Business• Give your business a professional online

profile & resume` – both individually and as a company/small business

• Grow your professional networks – connect with people relevant to your business

• Recruit, find contractors, jobs, make referrals

• Enable people to find you via name, keyword, company

• Brand yourself• Develop credibility, industry authority

Types & Uses of Social Mediain Business Settings

Business vs Personal Use

Platform Business Account

Comments

Facebook = Page Need a personal profile for Administration purposes

Twitter No Can create a personal account as a business

LinkedIn = Company Page

Pinterest

Instagram No Can create a personal account as a business

YouTube = Channel

Business vs Personal Use

How to Choose a Platform• Where do I start?• Do I need to be on all of them if I am

in business?• “I see some of the rubbish on

Facebook, I don’t think it’s a very good place to do business”

• “I was told I should get on X platform – should I?”

How to Choose a PlatformConsider each of the following:• What is the business’s current goal?• What are the demographics of its

typical customers – age, gender, location, interests...

• Business to Customer or Business to Business?

• What type of content can/do you produce?

• Which platforms are your customers spending time on?

• Which platforms do your competitors use?

• Local business vs National/International business

How to Choose a Platform• Facebook has by far the highest

number of active monthly users – Facebook should always be heavily considered because of this. Go to where the people are!

• Start with 1 or 2 platforms and do those well before you branch out onto other platforms

• What is the main type of content you will be sharing? Which platforms support these?

• Use a tool like Hootsuite if you do want to be across all of the main ones

Activity

Activity: Choose a Business or Industry and identify the top 3 most useful Social Media Platforms for this business/industry and why.

Write down any questions you have for the Live Q&A

Webinar

#gottalovesocialmedia

More information for this video:

• Links to each social media platform discussed – about section, learn the basics, try it out

• Links to information for businesses on these platforms

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