7 Insane Social Marketing Tips from Fortune 100 Companies

Number 4 will AMAZE you.

Photo credit: https://www.facebook.com/MikeHerronPhotography

Insane Tip #1: It’s Not About Me, It’s About You

• What were your expectations from the title today?• How will you know you got it?

– You will FEEL a certain way– You will use something that you learn today– You will tell others about it

• What are MY expectations as presenter?– Be useful to you– Have a conversation with you, not a monologue– Learn from you & adapt as we go

• That is social media marketing in a nutshell• Set expectations, be useful, engage for insights, measure, review, reset in real

time• More on this later, but remember: – It’s not about me, it’s about YOU.

Okay, it’s a little about me

• Mark – my brand– Creative Director, Social Strategy at LiveWorld

– Forrest Gump of social media

– Lots of big brands over the past 15 years

– Tahoe local, world traveler

– My one thing to remember: Social is a Performance

• Rules of Engagement– 2/3rd me, 1/3rd you – REVERSE THAT IN SOCIAL

– Ask questions, but be mindful of time and utility

– Need a volunteer or two to listen to backchannel

– FrieNDA

– 10K/1K/ground view

Client history includes

• Kraft Foods, HBO, MINI, QVC, Sprint, TJX, NBA +

• #1 retailer in the world• #1 CPG• #1 Travel/Financial

Services• #1 and #2 Pharmaceutical

Audience Discovery

• Skill Level (advanced, intermediate, beginner)

• Agency or client side? • How many clients, how many properties, what kind of content

and comment volume?

• How big is your team/program?• FT, PT? Small, medium or large?

• Job focus in the house?• Strategy, Content, Mod/Engagement, Media Buyer, Reports

• What do you want to learn today?

Audience Discovery in Real- Time

1. Skill level %: Advanced _____ Intermediate _____ Beginner __________

2. Agency/Client %: x/y

3. Number of properties managed: 1-3 ______ 4-8 _____ 9-20 _____ 20+ _____

4. Volume of content? 1X/day ____ 2X/day ____ 2+ per day ___ <7 times per week ____

5. Volume of comments? Small ___ Medium ___ Large ___

6. Size of team: Sole ______ 2-4 ______ 5-8 _____ 8+ _______

7. Job role: Strategy ___ Content ____ Moderation ____ Report _____ Buyer ____

8. What do we want to learn today?

1. X2. Y3. Z

7 INSANE Tips to Make Your Social Marketing Better

1. It’s not about me, it’s about YOU2. Give people what they want3. Stop using social marketing to sell4. Fail. Faster.5. Stop trying to get engagement6. Take an improvisation class7. Think like a SEAL

Okay, You Can Go Now

• Tips #1 -7 in action • #1 It’s Not About Me, It’s About You

• Be useful. Maybe the best use of your time is something else• #2 Give people what they want – set and meet expectations• #3 Stop selling, listen and engage for insights• #4 – Fail Faster – maybe I can fix in real-time, or use for next time• #5 Stop measuring engagement – measure interest, passion and actions• #6 Improvise based on who walks out and stays• #7 Think like a SEAL, be agile and change the battle plan. “No battle plan survives

contact with the enemy”

Change Your Perspective

Social Media Is a Performance

Social Competes For Attention

It’s Not About Me, the Brand

(but it is a little bit about me too)

Ask Yourself…

• Why do I want to see this in my Newsfeed?

• How is this useful to someone?

• What is the story that I’m telling?

• How can I make this a thumb-stopping moment?

• Why would I want to share this?

Oh…one more thing on perspective…

Social is now pay-to-play

• You MUST budget for FB ads• LinkedIn ads do well too• Twitter is effective but costly• Instagram is too pricey

But you can still do effective organic content on Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube, Yelp, Trip Advisor and Facebook Groups (for now)

Insane Tip #2: Give People What They Want

Social Marketing: The Basics

• Connect people to brands

• Connect brands to people

• Connect people to people

• Connect people with their passion

• Social is Sharing

What Do People Want In Social Channels?

• Express Themselves

• Connect With or Make Friends

• Attention (Trolls, Experts, Customer Service)

• Gain Status (Influencers, Deals and Special Offers)

People Want Stories

Content Tips

1) Make Content You Would Be Proud to Share

2) Don’t Underestimate the Power of Cute Animals

3) Humor Is Inherently Social

4) Nostalgia Works

5) Have a Heart

6) Content Is About Identity

7) Capture the Moment

Insane Tip #3: Stop Using Social To Sell

Huh? Wha? I’m a marketer you fool, that’s what I DO.

Don’t Sell Like A Car, Sell Like Avatar

(let them buy the experience)

Offer Experiences• Customer stories are more important than yours (Yelp, Trip Advisor)

• Experience with your product

• Offer Selfie stations

• Create as many touch-points to gather experiences as possible (email, social channels, surveys, forums, CRM systems)

• Always think of the customer experience FIRST – not what you want them to do, but what do THEY want to do? (includes apps, websites and content)

What About What YOU Want?

Five Types of Social Strategies

• Branding• Education• Engagement• Transaction• Re-branding

What Experiences Can You Offer?

• Inspiration – stunning photography, places I want to visit• Aspiration – I want to do that or go there• Nostalgia – great times in my life• Education – “be a local”• Self-expression – share your travel stories• Real-time agility – this is happening now• Personal – every visitor matters and is special• Discounts and local partnerships• Concierge service

Copyright: Aaron Benedict

These LEAD To Sales

But it’s fuzzy. That’s okay. You might not be able to measure the sales easily, but your customers will tell you. Especially if you ask.

How many actions = a sale?

I don’t know. It’s different for each industry. What’s your experience?

Entertain, enthrall and give people the opportunity to buy by inviting their

participation.

Insane Tip #4: Fail. Faster.

There are lots of ways to fail *

• A/B test content for optimal types and frequency• Ads – start with small budget, change 1 thing at a time• Creative – be bold, innovative, unique• Brand tone and voice(s) – give color. Dare to be different. Find one and add to it.• Try to be viral – which means shareable. Dream big – failure is quickly forgotten• Don’t fall in love with your own ideas – trust the data• Attention span is short in social, so don’t worry about failing

• Don’t be racist – be inclusive• Don’t be sexist – women are half the

population and control 2/3rds of spending• Don’t get involved in ethics or politics –

unless that is your brand proposition• Check hashtags before using them• Check profiles before engaging• Don’t be clever when testing new features

Insane Tip #5:Stop trying to get engagement

Engage for insights instead

What Kind of Insights?

• Sentiment – how do they feel about their travel experience?• What do they like and dislike about their travel experience?• What product/experience suggestions do they have?• What else do they like? Are there partnering opportunities?• What information can you gather from them – to give them better content?

What Engagement Should You Go For?

Transactional Strategy• Link clicks• Video clicks• More info • Reviews• Product pages• UGC uploads• Community action (‘slactivism’)• Email addresses

Branding/Re-branding Strategy• Photo link clicks• Shares• Video clicks• More info/blog clicks• Partner pages• UGC uploads• Polls• Sentiment

Education• Link clicks• Video clicks• More info• Product pages• UGC uploads• Reviews

Engagement Strategy• Opinions (but meaningful)• Shares • UGC uploads• Community action (‘slactivism’)• Surveys• Sentiment

Traditional measurements

are ok too

• Activities• Reach/Impressions• Response time• ROI• ROA• COMO

Tagging

• Can be done in Excel for low-volume sites

• Auto-tagging by tools is better than nothing

• Tagging is the lifeline of your analysis

• Requires time

Insights and KPI maps – who’s got one?

1. Annual strategy – what are you trying to accomplish and how will you know if you did it?2. Monthly goals – how does social tie into your other marketing and seasonal efforts?3. Campaign goals – what portion of the annual goal does the campaign fulfill?

The goals drive the content, not the other way around.

Insane Tip #6: Take an improv class

Social is Content Marketing

Start by thinking like a movie director

• What is the story you are trying to tell?• What kind of story/genre is it?• How does it begin?• How does it end?• What happens next?• What are the visuals that tell the story?• Every detail adds to the story and is necessary• Snackable, reusable content

The Seven Kinds of Stories

• Overcoming the Monster (Life of Pi, Harry Potter)

• Rags to Riches (Slumdog Millionaire)

• The Heroic Quest (Princess Bride, Star Wars)

• Voyage and Return (Lord of the Rings)

• Comedy (When Harry Met Sally, 40 Days and 40 Nights )

• Tragedy (Romeo and Juliet, The Rose)

• Rebirth & Transformation (Avatar)

Gah. How does THAT

apply to my social

marketing?

• Overcoming the Monster – travel travesties, customer service

• Rags to Riches – upgrades, unexpected bonuses or experiences

• The Heroic Quest – dream vacations

• Voyage and Return – best travel stories, most challenging

• Comedy - funniest travel stories

• Tragedy - worst travel experiences

• Rebirth & Transformation – most inspirational experiences

Campaign/Content Themes

Where does improv fit in?

• Real time• Weather• Opportunity to events, both local and national

• Audience will give you content/ideas that are better than yours

• Your story might suck (Fail Faster!)

Rules of Improv

• There is a structure behind the chaos• The audience drives the story• Storytelling needs -

• Character• Conflict/Obstacles• Setting/Time Bound• Resolution

• Yes, and…• No blocking• Reincorporate…comedy rule of 3• Trust the process – magic WILL happen if you don’t try to control

the game

Improv-ed Content Planning

• Annual content plan – big initiatives, sales cycles• Monthly content plan w/overview of KPI goals• Fill half the month with pre-planned content• Weekly content review (previous week)• Weekly content planning – trending topics that might fit, VOC• Creative planning – ideas, asset needs• Creative review (before publishing)• Snackable, reusable content (long form reduced for channels)

Insane Tip #7: Think like a SEAL

Ooops. Wrong SEAL

SEAL Tips1. You are a marketing badass – but you must train like one.

- Being elite means having standards and being accountable- Devote time to training & education

2. Know your resources- Have many skills, but be exceptional in at least one thing- Your tools are your lifeline, must always be high quality- Your creativity is your most powerful resource – “no battle plan survives

engagement with the enemy”

3. You can only accomplish what your resources will allow. Do less better.- Time- Money- People, Assets

4. Know everything there is to know about the environment you operate in- Don’t go in until you do – train/test first- Environment = social channels

5. Be agile - evaluate and re-evaluate constantly

Social Channels PrimerChannel Who’s There What is it good for Effort Required

Facebook Everyone. 1.2 B ppl, 945M mobile users, 152M daily US, 200M+ Asia & Europe daily

Targeted Ads. Facebook Groups. Branding, transaction in organic, transaction in paid

Medium, but requires budget. If no budget, go to G+ where organic still counts

Twitter Everyone, but skews millennial for very active users. 100M DAU, 50% read-only

Information, connection around interests. Targeted ads perform well, but are pricey

Medium to high for time, developing assets and relatinonships

Instagram Mostly teens & millennials, equally male & female

Visual – ppl use it to see the world in a new way – inspiration, selfies, connection, real time

Low to medium. Requires photos, creativity, time

Pinterest Mostly women 25-40, growing with males in same age range

Discovery, curation new ideas.Scrapbooking, organization, utility

Low to medium. Requires photos, creativity, time

Youtube Primary entertainment channel for millennials, but everyone uses it

Visual, action-based storytelling. Instructional vids.

High

LinkedIn 100M US, 40% daily check-in. Professional, over $75K income, 60/40 male to female, 65% over age 35

Professional travelers, recreational travelers, aspirational travelers, networking, Slideshare, Groups

Low to medium

Google + 300M active users (don’t believe it), demographic skews male, 21-35, techie

Still good organic distribution, hangouts, video & SEO optimization

Medium – like Facebook in the early days

Snapchat 100M active monthly users, 70% female under 25.

Snapchat coupons Low to medium. Can use it to just do coupons

Yelp, Trip Advisor

130M monthly users, 50% mobile, 36% 35-54, 36% earn 100K/yr, 80% have purchase intent, 72% start travel research here

Deals, monitor brand reputation Low to medium

Q & A

The ONE THING I Want You To Remember Today Is…

Social Marketing Is a Performance

Thank You.

https://www.slideshare.net/secret/iKOYxzKknIxwUN

Mark Williamshttps://www.facebook.com/mark.williams2@markwilliamsmwilliams@liveworld.com