Social Media 101

Building your brand in a digital age

A bit about me

Laura Alkhoury

Software Developer @ IBM

 

          @laura_alkhoury

 

Past Director of Social Media @

  • Carleton Computer Science Society
  • Canadian University Software Engineering Conference

Social Media Usage

Facebook is still the preferred social media platform for Canadians, with over half using it daily.

http://www.insightswest.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Rep_InsightsWest_CDNSocialMediaMonitor_2016.pdf

Social Media Usage

Millennial’s time spent on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube growing at a faster rate than older segments. 

http://www.insightswest.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Rep_InsightsWest_CDNSocialMediaMonitor_2016.pdf

Social Media Usage

Overall, Canadians spend 18% of time online interacting with brands (vs. friends, family, etc.)

http://www.insightswest.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Rep_InsightsWest_CDNSocialMediaMonitor_2016.pdf

Social Media Usage

Consumers turn to social media to vent.

http://www.insightswest.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Rep_InsightsWest_CDNSocialMediaMonitor_2016.pdf

Social Media Usage

Brand presence of Canadian marketers (2015)

https://www.statista.com/statistics/503186/social-media-presence-brand-canada-marketers/

social media is changing

OTT Messaging

  • "Over-the-top" messaging provides an authentic experience
  • Studies have shown that brands that engage with customers via messaging during the sales process can see conversion rates increase up to 100 percent.
  •  62 percent of Millennials are more loyal to brands that engage via SMS/ OTT messaging

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Over-the-top_content

http://www.webio.com/messaging-the-key-to-cracking-millennial-customers.html

Authentic content

  • Many social networks have added a live streaming feature (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)
  • Keep your followers engaged by bringing an event they otherwise might not be able to attend directly to their screens
  • Host demo/Q&A sessions via live streaming and Twitter chats

https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/social-media-predictions-2017

So what do we do?

Foundational Strategies - part 1

  • Use images, gifs, videos, and emojis to increase engagement
  • #hashtags
  • Use infographics to convey your message

Foundational Strategies - part 2

  • Schedule your posts at the best times
  • Share more often (platform-specific!!)
  • Use social media analytics

Multimedia increases engagement

  • Images, gifs, videos, and emojis all increase engagement on posts
  • Tweets with images get 18% more click-throughs than those without.

  • Tweets with animated GIFs get 167% more click-throughs than tweets with images.

https://coschedule.com/blog/social-media-engagement-tactics/

Multimedia increases engagement

  • Facebook users alone watch 100 million hours of video every day - that's 57,142,857 movies!
  • Make sure you add captions to your videos, both for accessibility and to capitalize on timeline auto-play
  • 82% of Twitter users watch video on the platform

https://coschedule.com/blog/social-media-engagement-tactics/

#Hashtags

  • Tweets with hashtags have double the engagement rate
  • Gain followers with a genuine interest in your content
  • Get information - find relevant conversation, network
  • Keep them concise, unique, and conversational
  • Use hashtag finding tools to increase your reach - Hashtagify demo, Ritetag demo

https://www.quicksprout.com/2014/04/04/how-to-use-hashtags-to-increase-your-online-presence/

The power of Infographics

  • Did you know? Infographics are the highest shared content type
  • They use the power of visually appealing content to trick the brain into reading more about a topic
  • Studies show that we understand content better when it’s paired with pictures
  • Narrow and tall infographics have the best engagement rate

https://coschedule.com/blog/how-to-make-an-infographic/

https://coschedule.com/blog/social-media-content/

Schedule your posts

https://coschedule.com/blog/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/

Schedule your posts

https://coschedule.com/blog/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/

Schedule your posts

https://coschedule.com/blog/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/

Schedule your posts

https://coschedule.com/blog/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/

Schedule your posts

https://coschedule.com/blog/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/

At the end of the day...

 

  • Know your audience
  • Be consistent
  • Use scheduler tools to help you manage various social networks (HootSuite, CoSchedule, Sprout Social)

Post more frequently

https://coschedule.com/blog/best-times-to-post-on-social-media/

  • Yes, really!
  • Increase the number of people that see your content
  • Don't overdo it
  • Platform-specific

Social Media Analytics

  • Great social media marketing is not just trial and error
  • Quantify your reach and engagement with tools that analyze likes, unlikes, shares, comments,  clickthroughs, and more
  • Great starting point: Facebook Analytics, Twitter Analytics
  • Countless other third-party analytics tools (including Watson Analytics for Social Media!)

Advanced Strategies

  • Use live engagement methods to interact with your audience in real-time
  • Respond quickly and thoroughly
  • Engage on social issues

Live engagement tactics

  • Host a Twitter chat
    • ​build your following
    • answer questions about your industry, product, brand
    • build anticipation beforehand
    • pick a #hashtag
  • Do a live demo or event broadcast
    • ​Facebook, Instagram, Twitter
  • ​Update your story
    • ​More personal
    • Followers feel like they're getting a "peek behind the curtain"

Great responses are key

  • Respond promptly to feedback, both positive and negative
  • Add a personal touch
    • Greet with their first name
    • Ask for personal feedback
    • Use casual language, as appropriate
    • Write in the first person ("I", not "we"!)
  • Use emojis
    • Adds human emotion
    • When responding to negativity, helps to soften the blow
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