Using social for business

(c)2015 Catherine Elder 1

Using socialInstructions for using Twitter and LinkedIn for the beginnerBy Catherine Elder2015


Why tweet?• 316 million users/month• Build awareness for you (your brand) as a subject matter expert• Empowers you to share your opinions and thought leadership• Enables you to support the company brand and thought leadership


ProfileSet up your account:

◦ Header photo (1500x500 pixels) ◦ Profile photo (400x400), name, handle, description,

region, website, theme color, birthday (optional); ◦ Upload photos (545x365)

Your handle should be representative of you and what you plan to talk about;◦ it is recommended that you set up a professional

handle (you don’t need to reference your company as you’ll want to keep your twitter handle throughout your career);

◦ you can set up different handles according to what topics and therefore, what audience you want


Seek and Follow Search

◦ Companies, topics, people – that you’re interested in and are or want to be connected to

Follow◦ You will receive emails suggesting organizations and people

you could follow based on who you are currently following and who your followers are following

◦ Read the profile before following so that you follow legitimate organizations and professionals and that they are relevant for the audience you will be speaking to

◦ Your company should follow clients, prospects, media, some employees and subject matter experts related to our business

◦ You can set up lists to facilitate reading tweets Analytics

◦ Click on your logo/icon to get access to analytics


Participate, connect & engage Write

◦ 140 characters Allow 18 characters for a link; use Ow.ly to shorten links

◦ be professional, friendly but not too casual, not “salesy”◦ Content should be meaningful and focused; should be quotable

Extend by adding quotes in web content that can be reweeted Align content/look with any landing page you’re linking to Create a sense of urgency when appropriate to drive participation

◦ Use the 10:1 rule (10 value add content to one promotional ) There is a 1,000 tweet per day limit. Etiquette – don’t spam Don’t use for internal audiences

◦ Tweets have a 20 minute life – however RT can expand this◦ Use photos when possible, you can include up to four in one tweet for a

collage (add one photo then “add more”); make sure you tag people in the photos – tags are additional to the 140 characters.

◦ Include a link to your SlideShare presentation and it automatically embeds

◦ Using video is a bit more involved and requires embedding a link from a video network like Vine

Images generate 55% more leads


Participate, connect & engage

Hashtags – use hashtags on topics/categories◦ Always search on the hashtag before using to ensure it is appropriate◦ Popular hashtags become trends and are given prominence so using standard categories has more of a

chance for exposure The trends you see are based on your location and who you follow (you can change the default setting)

◦ Hashtags must be appropriate, congruent with your content and links◦ Events often have their own hashtags and should be used for every tweet on that event so it can be

captured for any streaming on large screen display or in an app - note this has to be deducted from the 140 characters

Use twitter handles – when referring to a client or event use their Twitter handle; if you have a tweet that you believe has a high potential to be retweeted/favourited include your twitter handle (@YourHandle) – note this has to be deducted from the 140 characters

Retweet, embed a tweet, copy link, favourite – show that you support a tweet as relevant and appropriate; ◦ when you favourite a tweet you can refer to it at a later date◦ You can ask people to retweet important messages, don’t forget to include your @handle

Block – you can block users from following you and appearing in your timeline (this is useful if they don’t reflect your values); note that you should manage negative comments with a short, professional response – try to take it off of social media to manage

Pin a tweet – this holds a tweet to the top of your profile page for more prominence◦ If you pin an animated gif on your profile it will automatically run (otherwise it is just an image)

Responding: Notifications and messages ◦ You can view any direct messages under messages – you will also get email alerts◦ Notifications inform you of retweets and references to your handle ◦ Be prepared to respond to questions, and both positive and negative comments◦ “Direct message” does not have a character limit and allows you to send your followers ( or several in a

group) a message – see: https://support.twitter.com/articles/14606#

#

https://support.twitter.com/articles/14606


Why you should use LinkedIn Clients are using it

◦ 75% of B2B purchases are influenced by Social Media ◦ 57% of buying decisions are made before a sales rep is

involved LinkedIn facilitates introductions

◦ 76% of buyers prefer to work with vendors recommended by someone they know

◦ 73% prefer to work with sales people recommended by someone they know

◦ 59% of buyers said they are more likely to engage with a salesperson if they mention a common connections

You can share information easily and build your own profile◦ 92% of B2B buyers engage with sales professionals who are

known industry thought leaders


Profile, Connect Profile

◦ Create your LinkedIn profile - maintain your professional identity & brand Connect

◦ Connections menu: Keep in touch – shows your connects and suggests some Under settings you can sync with any of your email and calendar accounts Add connections – also links to your emails to pull in contacts Find Alumni pulls up people with the same alma mater.

You can even include notes and reminders for each contact under relationship.◦ Client contacts – search on their name or company◦ Other employees ( this strategy then connects you with their connections)◦ Seek new connections by joining groups

Search◦ Search for prospects and clients prior to meetings to learn more about them

Follow◦ Your accounts (search companies to find your accounts’ company page) ◦ Your company – stay up to date on our initiatives and support the brand◦ Relevant influencers, channels, and publishers (and then engage with them)


Engage/participate Share an article or blog post a few times per week.

You don’t need to be a writer – share articles you find interesting and relevant. ◦ Share your company’s posts.

Liking someone else’s status update also gets your name out there.

Commenting can be even more powerful than a share when done correctly, add your expertise to the thread.

LinkedIn groups can be a great way to interact with industry professionals and find new leads. Be an active participant in any group you join.◦ Can’t find a relevant group? Consider starting one and then

posing interesting questions. You must commit to maintaining it if you start it.