InTouch Why?

guides
Social
media
marketing
A beginners guide
E
N
G
A
G
E
t
r
i
b
e
R
E
A
C
H
t
r
e
n
d
i
n
g
B
2
B
B
2
C
t
w
e
e
t
s
e
o
I
d
e
n
t
i
t
y
i
n
s
i
g
h
t
e
x
p
e
r
i
e
n
c
e
a
d
v
o
c
a
t
e
C
O
N
N
E
C
T
InTouch Social media marketing
www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
R
E
A
C
H
s
e
o
i
n
s
i
g
h
t
What is
social media?

If you werent sure by now, social media
marketing, in one form or another, is here
to stay.
Put simply, social media is a channel for
communication.
And like web and email channels it is
growing and developing spontaneously
as people nd ways to make it work for
them. Properly harnessed, it can be a
powerful and effective business and
brand development tool.
Customers are willing to engage through
social media channels more readily
than through other media, allowing
businesses and brands to gain insight
into what customers are thinking, saying
and doing. By listening and then acting
they can inuence desire for products and
services. But getting it wrong can have
damaging consequences.
Wed like to help you get it right.
InTouch Social media marketing
In simple terms, social media is a
topical dialogue.
It provides a unique opportunity to
hear what customers are thinking
and saying about your business
and your brand in real time and
in a context where they feel able
to express their opinions more
openly.
Seen as less invasive and more
spontaneous than traditional
channels social media marketing
offers customer engagement
in a way that can be extremely
compelling to your audience.
For many brands, the ability to
have a daily audience with its
customers is a communication
gold mine.
New social media channels are
being launched all the time but,
at present, we consider the main
forms of social media to be:
> Social networks eg Facebook,
Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+,
YouTube, Pinterest
> Blogs
> Podcasts
Social media shares most or all
of the following characteristics:
> Participation
> Openness
> Conversation
> Community
> Connectedness
Have you
seen the
latest?
BIG
www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
In a way, this question is no
longer that important. Nearly
every guide we come across
reels off stat after stat of how
sensational and exponential the
growth of social media has been
over the last few years, so theres
probably no need to convince you
any further of how big it is.
Lets just say that social
networking is now the most
popular online activity for UK
internet users.
Which means that the potential
audience is massive.
However, we couldnt resist
including a few compelling facts!
The story so far amongst UK
internet users:
> A third of adults post at least
once a week to social sites such
as Facebook and Twitter
> Every minute, over 24 hours of
video is uploaded to YouTube.
> Nearly 60% maintain a prole
on a social networking site
> 77% read blogs, tweets and
watch video
How big is
social media?

BIGGER
InTouch Social media marketing
Do B2B brands follow the same
rules as B2C ones?
The principles are the same, but the
channels, tone and strategy will be
different.
The emphasis on emotional v
functional properties of a B2B
brand tends to be weighted
differently.
As a consumer, your choices are
about spending your own money
on products or services that not
only help you to run your life most
efciently but which will bring you
the most pleasure/enjoyment/
kudos.
Decisions on functional objects
such as a washing machine will
usually be ruled by the head,
whereas the decision to buy, say,
perfume will generally come from
the heart.
In a business environment, the
brands you choose are generally
not selected for personal emotional
reasons but for more practical,
functional reasons: service, product
quality, delivery, cost effectiveness
etc.
There can still be an emotional
aura around a B2B brand, because
we are all consumers too and
we carry some of the emotional
connotations through into our
professional world.
So, what platforms
should I use?

The simple answer is as many as
possible, but to be more realistic,
and efcient, which platforms you
choose to use depends on your
type and size of business.
Weve called this a beginners
guide, so well assume that if
youre reading this then youre not
working for a large brand because
the chances are youve been
using social media for yonks and
understand how to harness it.
For many businesses the
challenge is often nding the
time and resource to use social
media properly and regularly. And
one thing is for certain, once you
start to engage, you need to keep
going.
Here are our basic
recommendations:
www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
Setting up a Facebook page for
your brand or business enables
you to share your products,
services, news and events with
other Facebook users.
It can be a great shop window and
can be updated easily and quickly
to keep your audience informed
or even entertained.
With the right strategy and
messages it is suitable for both
B2B and B2C brands.
Pros:
> Massive potential reach
> Instant
> Easy to use
> Customisable for your brand
image
> Links back to your website
> Can be integrated with other
platforms
> Free
Cons:
> Time
> Creating good content
> Requires commitment
> Negative posts
To increase awareness even
further, Facebook advertising can
be used to drive more users to
your page. Facebook can add any
extra information to the advert,
such as friends interaction with
the page.
Advertising can be very effective
in promoting a companys
own website or something on
Facebook such as a special
promotion or event.
The real power is in the targeting.
Audiences can be ltered by a
number of factors including:
> Location
> Age
> Gender
> Education
> Workplace
> Relationship status
> Interests
> Keywords
Facebook
InTouch Social media marketing
The ease of use of Twitter for
sending instantaneous messages
(tweets) to followers means that
this platform has rapidly moved
up the popularity ranks.
For those not familiar with
Twitter, tweets are text-based
posts of up to 140 characters,
which are displayed on the
authors prole page and
delivered to other users
(followers) who have subscribed
to them.
Twitter is a very powerful vehicle
for viral marketing if one person
writes a particularly interesting
tweet, some of their followers
may choose to re-publish
(retweet) on their own stream
so that their followers can read
it. Popular retweets can reach
a large audience very quickly
(trending).
Using symbols, such as the hash
tag (#), before words can alert
users to topics of interest eg
#design or allow you to target
your tweet towards a particular
individual or entity eg
@intouchables (us!).
It provides a natural home for B2B
brands but is also a great tool for
consumer brands too.
Pros:
> Very accessible tweet on the
move from your mobile
> Instant
> Quick and easy to use
> Customisable for your brand
image
> Links back to your website
> Quickly share other users
content
> Integrates with other platforms
> More public than Facebook
> Free
Cons:
> Time
> Creating good content
> Requires discipline
> Constant tracking required due
to volume of incoming tweets
Twitter
Hey
read
this!
www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
Linkedin is online networking.
Its main purpose is to build the
prole of the individual rather
than a company or a brand.
But an individual who attains
a position of high authority on
Linkedin can also bring benets to
the business they are connected
with.
Once you have built your prole,
you rst connect with friends,
colleagues, even clients. You
can then start to raise your
prole, gaining recognition and
recommendations. It can be a
slow burner, but persistence
proves that it can deliver good
connections, and ultimately fee-
paying clients.
Our ve key actions:
1 Build prole, change it regularly
2 Include website links and insert
relevant keywords
3 Use Outlook to nd people
4 Try not to reciprocate
recommendations recommend
people from different sectors to
your own
5 Join discussion groups and start
your own
Pros:
> Good potential reach
> Instant
> Quick and easy to use
> Links back to your website
> Integrates with other platforms
> Free (upgradable)
Cons:
> Time
> Can take years to build
inuence
> Not ideal for brands
Linkedin
The rest
Google+ Gaining ground as
a tool for building authority
for you and your website.
YouTube Video hosting for
your website.
Pinterest Post images and
recommend content to your
audience eg new product
images (audience currently
80% female).
Blogs Build fresh content
on your website (Google
likes this) and share ideas
and innovations.
Podcasts Build inuence
through topical audio
messages.
InTouch Social media marketing
Developing
an effective
communications
strategy

Ok. Lets just take a step back.
Weve talked about social media being
a dialogue. So if it is an interaction
between you and your audience, isnt
it best to begin by considering that
audience?
At InTouch we plan any marketing
activity around the audience.
So, as with any piece of communication,
developing a strategy will allow your
messages to be more relevant to your
audience and your brand.
www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
Audience
By answering the question who
is the audience? we will be much
better informed for delivering
the messages they want to hear
through the channels they are
likely to be most receptive to.
Message
Its a noisy world out there.
Keep your messages simple and
concise. Creativity is vital to help
stand out because everything
you say reects on your brand.
Facebook posts are like mini ads.
Media
In terms of media we can choose
from any of our tools: advertising,
PR, direct mail, email, social
media etc. Even within social
media itself the range of tools
is daunting. Integrating across
more than one media is usually a
good idea for the most effective
coverage.
Measure
With social media feedback
can be instantaneous so
understanding what is working
and what isnt can be easier to
work out than with other media.
Audience
Who do we
want to talk to?
Media
How do they
want to hear it?
Message
What do they
want to hear?
Measure
Did they
hear it?
The communication cycle
InTouch Social media marketing
1 Monitor
Optimising your internal resource
and skills
With Twitter in particular, utilising
the skills across personnel within
your business is an excellent way
of presenting the breadth of your
companys expertise as well as
spreading the responsibility for
developing your social media
presence.
So, each member sets up their own
account linked back to your main
account and tweets on subjects
that they are experts in, thus
building a following and authority
in that subject.
Track what people are
saying about your brand
Gain insights into trends
and opinions
Identify hot issues
Lets say youve got your
Facebook page or Twitter
account registered and ready
to roll.
To get your social media
campaign going, we
recommend developing
a strategy such as this:
Monitor
Monitor existing blogs, forums
and social networking sites
for discussions on your brand,
competitors and topics relating
to your brand.
www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
2 Participate 3 Advocate
Engage with customers and
gather brand advocates
Manage issues with instant
communication
Create innovative ideas and
posts to generate interest and
debate
Initiate conversations on
key issues
Share insights
Reward customers for
interaction with exclusive
content
Participate
Responding quickly to the hot
issues will demonstrate that you
are a thinking, caring, involved
brand.
Depending on your products or
service, giving free advice or
promoting offers to followers
will help to turn customers into
future brand advocates.
Advocate
Social networking sites can be
used to engage with customers
and develop long-lasting
relationships and to drive
trafc to your website.
A social networking presence
will only be successful if you can
engage with your audience.
Some suggestions for
engagement are:
> Tips and advice
> Regular competitions
> Exclusive offers for fans/
followers
InTouch Social media marketing
The art of managing reputation
and forging relationships follows
the same principles whether
on or ofine, which is why as
communication professionals
we have the skills to develop this
channel for your business.
We dont believe in bolt-on
social media activities either.
We always recommend an
integrated approach to campaign
planning which centres on
selecting the right channel of
communication for the intended
audience.
Contact InTouch for an audit of
your social media marketing.
We can also offer:
> Full web design and build,
including e-commerce and
mobile optimised sites
> Search Engine Optimisation
(SEO)
> Paid search marketing eg PPC
> Email marketing
> Strategic and creative campaign
development
Can we help?
We are InTouch
Marketing.
We take your marketing
communications
challenges and turn them
into effective customer-
driven solutions.
We help you build the
right integrated strategy,
nd the right customers
and deliver superb
creative.
We make it easy for you.
www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
InTouch Marketing 2013.
Advertising
Brand
Creative
Database
Design
Direct marketing
E-marketing
PR
Research
Sales incentive
Sales lead generation
SEO
Social media
Strategy
Web
INTEGRATED
SERVICES
Call +44 (0)1295 261161
Mail hello@intouchmarketing.co.uk
Visit www.intouchmarketing.co.uk
InTouch Social media marketing
Call +44 (0)1295 261161
Mail hello@intouchmarketing.co.uk
Visit www.intouchmarketing.co.uk