Getting you social!

Institute for Independent BusinessNorth Midland Group

2 February 2012

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Popular social media sites

• 30 million unique UK Facebook users

• 26 million UK Twitter users

• 10% of UK population on Linkedin

• Brits watch more than 5.5m online videos a month

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Social media marketing can help

• Reach new customers

• Keep existing customers connected

• Drive traffic to your website

• Improve your reputation

But you must have a strategy or plan…

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Set goals

Set specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-specific objectives in line with your marketing and business objectives:

• Market share – sector/country specific• Increase profit – reduce costs• Survival - growth• Awareness

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Build your online community

• More than 70% of organisations worldwide are active on social media

• Majority of Britons now use social networking (ONS – 57% of adults up 14% on last year)

• Network with your target audiences online

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Monitor conversations

• Complaints – If you catch something early, you can demonstrate good customer service

• Compliments – Great source of testimonials to help persuade other people of the value of your service

• Expressed needs – Respond sensitively to requests for help

• Competitors – Keep your friends close, & your enemies closer!

Monitor conversations (cont...)

• Crowds – Following the crowds gives you a great insight into current thinking on certain topics

• Influencers – Know who they are and their opinion of your service to help you decide who to choose as advocates

• Crisis – Tracking “crisis” keywords serves as an early warning system before an issue goes mainstream

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Interact with your community

Useful tools Recommended application

Twitter Posting links to websites, images, comments

Dealing with customer enquiries and complaints, driving sales, raising product awareness

Facebook Posting images, videos, comments, links

Dealing with customer enquiries and complaints, driving sales, raising product awareness

YouTube Posting videos and comments

Raising product awareness, driving sales

Linkedin Posting links to websites, images, comments

Raising product awareness, driving sales

Blog Posting images, videos, comments

Raising product awareness, driving sales

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Integrate all your marketing

• Links in your e-mail signature• Links on your website • Interlink all of your social media

channels• Send an update to your e-mail list• Use quotes from your social media

community in your other marketing materials

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Some examples…

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Ramsdens Solicitorswww.ramsdens.co.uk

• Links to social media on website homepage

• Twitter (plus box on website showing recent tweets)(www.twitter.com/ramsdens) with over 1,600 followers

• Blog (accessed via website) regularly updated original content

• Linkedin(www.linkedin.com/company/ramsdens-solicitors-llp) Company page with 200 followers

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Kingspan Insulated Panelswww.kingspanpanels.com

• Links to social media on website homepage

• FB page (www.facebook.com/Kingspan-Insulated-Panels-UK) with interesting content and some engagement

• Active Twitter profile (www.twitter.com/Kingspanpanels) with almost 600 followers

• YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/kingspanpanelsUK) where 18 videos have had over 12,500 views

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Screwfix www.screwfix.com

• Links to online community on homepage

• Community forum• Very active Twitter (

www.twitter.com/screwfixdotcom) with almost 7,500 followers

• Very popular FB page (www.facebook.com/screwfix) with over 31,500 “likes” & lots of comments

• YouTube channel (www.youtube.com/screwfix) where over 500 videos have had over 500,000 views

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Useful resources• Going Social: How businesses are making the most of social

media KPMG, 2011 http://www.kpmg.com/Global/en/IssuesAndInsights/ArticlesPublications/Documents/going-social.pdf

• UK social media statistics as we enter 2012 http://www.business2community.com/social-media/uk-social-media-statistics-as-we-enter-2012-0115548

• 25 business-tastic b2b social media case studies http://econsultancy.com/uk/blog/8148-25-business-tastic-b2b-social-media-case-studies

• UK b2b social media case studies http://www.slideshare.net/IFslideshares/uk-b2b-social-media-case-studies

If you would like more tips on social networking, why not connect with me:

Twitter - @HelenKitchen_PR LinkedIn – Helen Kitchen PRFacebook – HelenKitchenPR Blog – www.helenkitchen-pr.co.uk

Give me a ring 07870 213974 or drop me an email helen@helenkitchen-pr.co.uk