INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL

MEDIA MARKETING FOR

BUSINESS

Social Media
Marketing
WORKSHOP MANUAL
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 2

T A B L E O F

CON TENTS

3 WHAT IS SOCIAL
MEDIA?

4 THE VALUE OF
SOCIAL MEDIA

5 FACEBOOK

9 TWITTER

13 INSTAGRAM

18 PINTEREST

24 LINKEDIN

30 YOUTUBE
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
What is
Social Media?
"Social media" is a way for people to
communicate and interact online.
In the last 10 years or so we've seen
a surge in both the number and
popularity of social media sites. It's
called social media because users
engage with (and around) it in a
social context, which can include
conversations, commentary, and
other user-generated annotations
and engagement interactions
The purpose of social media is to
allow individuals to connect with on
another electronically regardless of
their physical location. Users can
access their social media pages
from their desktop or
Smartphone’s. As a business
interested in tapping into this
network, you can join in this online
community and engage
users in conversations, invite them
to events, and inform them about
your business's products and
services.
PAGE 3
There are several forms of Social
Media and each network has a
specific focus. Here are just some of
those categories. In many cases, you
could place one network in two (2)
or more categories:
1. Blogging - Wordpress, Blogger
2. Social Network - Facebook,
LinkedIn, Google +
3. Social Curating - Pinterest, Etsy,
Stmblupon, Tumblr, Evernote
4. Microblogging - Twitter,
Snapchat, Vine, Voxer, LinkedIn,
Vine, Instagram
5. Social Bookmarketing - Digg,
StumbleUpon, Mixx, Reddit
6. Video Sharing - Youtube, Hulu,
Vine
7. Broader Content Sharing -
Slideshare, Scribd
8. Forums - Yahoo Answers, Ask,
Wikipedia, Quora
There are many sites which fall into
one or more of these categories.
Some even consider social gaming
as a part of social media. If you can
comment and reply, it’s social.
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 4

The Value Of
Social Media.
Over the last several years, there
has been an explosion of growth in
popular social media platforms like
Facebook, Twitter, Google+,
LinkedIn, YouTube, Pinterest, and
many others. It's safe to say that the
era of social media is just getting
started, and the need for social
media in business will only become
stronger over time. The whole
world has seen the impact of the
expansion and adoption of social
media tactics, and the rising
statistics speak for themselves.
Whether you are running a small,
local operation, or heading a global,
enterprise-level effort, the statistics
above make it clear: Your customers
are online. They are interacting in
social channels with their friends,
colleagues, and other brands in
search of information,
recommendations, and
entertainment. If your company is
not around to answer, a competitor
will be. In doing so, your
competitor will quite likely take
away the customer at hand, along
with anyone else listening.
Benefits of social media for your
business:
Cost-Effective
Increased Brand Awareness
Build Brand Loyalty
Helps You Engage With Your
Customers
Helps You To Promote Your
Products And Services
Enhances Search Engine
Rankings
Makes You A Brand Thought-
Leader
Helps You Keep An Eye On Your
Competition
Increase Traffic To Your
Website
Research and Data Gathering Of
Target Market
Reputation Management
Crisis Communication
Humanize Your Brand Online
Targeted Advertising
Retargeting
Analytics and ROI Measurement
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 5

Facebook

Since its inception, Facebook has become an integral component of

people's online social presence. For many, Facebook is the only
online social network in which they participate, though the level of
engagement varies across the user spectrum. From those that check
the network periodically throughout the week to those who are
almost compulsively active, the core driving force to participation
is connection: connecting with colleagues, friends old and new,
alumni networks, and for an increasing percentage of users, even
professional connections.

The network itself has transformed into one with highly

customizable privacy and visibility settings. Users can dial down
their visibility to the point where they are nearly invisible on the
platform. They can choose which posts or updates are visible and
to whom. Conversely, those users who have chosen a more all-in
approach can leave everything completely public, from the images
they're tagged in to their active stream on Spotify. Features go
beyond the individual user's page to brand pages, events, groups,
and now a pseudo-standalone messenger service.

As users increasingly rely on social platforms, these social networks

will grow and respond as Facebook has. While there's still a great
deal of opportunity in this space, Facebook offers users the most
choice for the many facets of their lives while enabling flexibility
for privacy and visibility. As users continue to adopt new behaviors
and ultimately expectations, Facebook will need to continue to
adapt to stay at the top of the social pile, so expect continued
change and evolution. This change is necessary and beneficial.

Facebook is a virtual and free way for businesses to promote

themselves, reach potential customers, and communicate with
existing clients. Once you have a following, you can use Facebook
to advertise new products, offer discount programs, and announce
company news.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 6

More than one billion users are active on Facebook today –

including many in your community. Neighbors are chatting about
the takeout they just had. Parents are recommending kid-friendly
excursions to one another. Colleagues are sharing career tips and
beach reading suggestions.

As a small business, Facebook offers a convenient, and often free,

avenue to connect with potential customers, build relationships
with existing customers and become a fixture in your community,
whether that’s a small town or a worldwide virtual network of fans
and aficionados. When people Like your Facebook Page, they’re
opening your message to their own social network. When they
comment on, or Like a status update or post, it will appear in some
of their friends’ Facebook news feeds, sending your business viral –
whether on a small or large scale. And when they Like your page,
there is an opportunity for them to tag you in their own updates as
well – again, opening you up to their friend list.

While there's still a great deal of opportunity in this space,

Facebook offers users the most choice for the many facets of their
lives while enabling flexibility for privacy and visibility. As users
continue to adopt new behaviors and ultimately expectations,
Facebook will need to continue to adapt to stay at the top of the
social pile, so expect continued change and evolution. This change
is necessary and beneficial.
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Getting Started With Facebook
THE FACEBOOK PAGE
It’s like your personal account page,
but instead of having to approve
friends, anyone can come along and
click the Like button, saying “Hey,
I’m a fan.” Your Page contains
information about your business (as
much as you want to add). On your
Page you can update your status,
add links to interesting articles or
webpages and receive comments –
both privately and publicly. If
Facebook users Like your page then
your updates have the ability to
reach more and more people as
those who Like you interact with
your Page.
The number one key to an effective
Facebook Page? Engage your fans.
You want the people who Like your
Page to read status updates,
comment on and even share your
updates with their friends. This is
important because the way
Facebook decides what to show
users in their news feed is based on
whom they regularly interact with.
If you want to be part of that –
without paying for the privilege –
then you need to be worthy of their
interaction.
PAGE 7
Facebook Pages aren’t for the lazy,
but neither do you have to be an
expert, or post to your Page a
billion times a week. In the next
sections you’ll learn how to create
an effective Facebook presence and
have plenty of time to run your
real-world business.
PAID FACEBOOK ADVERTISING
Facebook now offers the ability to
create ads and promote specific
posts. You pay for these services,
setting a specific amount you are
willing to spend on each campaign.
The cost of ads and promotion is
directly relate to how many fans
your Page already has. However,
when you have thousands of fans,
the cost of promotion rises sharply.
Facebook Ads: This offers a way to
gather a wide range of Facebook
users. On your Facebook Page, you
can create ads by going to “Build
Audience,”and then clicking “Create
an Ad.” From there, you can create
an ad designed to get more
Facebook Likes, share your latest
status in an ad or create a custom
ad.
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 8

message (think contests) or that you

You can also choose to limit the
most want to be seen. What’s good
promotion to a certain geographical
about these ads is that they are
area – such as your town. And you
simple and fast to create and let you
can set a daily budget and time
easily promote specific messages.
frame. There’s also an “ongoing”
option if you want the ad to run
RECOMMENDED TOOLS
indefinitely. What’s great about
these ads is that you can really zero
Facebook for Business:
in on the users you want to reach.

A helpful portal for business page

Facebook Share: The Facebook
owners offering support for page
Share promotion (seen as a small
creation, ad campaign management,
“Share” link on the lower right of
and other platform resources
posts) is for specific posts on your
Facebook Page. Promotions last for
Facebook Page Insights (available in
three days, or until the budgeted
the admin panel of any business
amount for the promotion is
page):
reached (whichever comes first).
This option allows you to reach all
This tool offers up increasing
the folks who like your Page as well
amounts of data specific to your
as their friends. The post
brand page. While this doesn't give
appears with a “sponsored”
you any type of competitive insight,
designation on Facebook news
this panel tells you about who your
feeds. While this option can lead to
fans are, where they're located, and
new Likes on your page and more
how much they're engaging with
interaction, it should be used
your page and individual posts.
sparingly, with a focus on posts that
Much of this information can be
contain an urgent.
downloaded into an Excel
spreadsheet for further analysis
More than one billion users are
active on Facebook today –
Facebook Studio:
including many in your
community. Neighbors are chatting
Facebook recently launched its
about the takeout they just had.
studio, which highlights great
Parents are recommending kid-
marketing and campaign work from
friendly excursions to one another.
across its platform. Here you will
Colleagues are sharing career tips
manage and create to enhance your
and beach reading suggestions.
efforts.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 9

Twitter

The word “tweet” may sound silly, but the results of tweeting are
not. Millions of users on Twitter tweet updates everyday including
celebrities, media outlets, businesses, and musicians – They’re all
part of the mix. Using Twitter is fun, easy, and it may take a few
tries to get your message into 140 characters, but you’ll pick up
some tricks along the way (like using Bitly.com to shorten your
links!). Twitter is meant to be updated daily, so if you aren’t active,
it’s harder to gain followers and create a presence. Writing quick
tweets and @ mentions to customers is as simple as saying thank
you for a recent order or sharing a link to an article you thought
was a good read. Twitter is conversational, so as long as you
have something to say, you’re golden!

Twitter is a popular microblogging platform where users share

short status updates including links to webpages, photos and
articles. Twitter is a great way for smaller businesses to build a
following, announce news or promotions and respond to customer
questions, or even complaints. Being succinct in your tweeting is
absolutely essential on this platform. Say what you need to say in as
few words and characters as possible.
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Getting Started With Twitter
Twitter is all about conversation
and making connections with
others. Thus effective tweeting
begins with tweets that are
interesting, informative or useful.
Don’t waste character space with
unnecessary words or phrases, and
don’t bother sending out generic
“Good morning!” tweets. Instead,
focus on interesting observations,
links to webpages, blog posts
and articles (with a brief description
beforehand) and responding to
others with useful insight.
The point is that there are way too
many social networking sites out
there to ever have a presence on
them all, and your time would be
better spent focusing on the sites
that get the most traffic. Of all the
social media sites out there, the top
ones in terms of monthly active
users include Facebook, Twitter,
Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest and
Youtube.
TWITTER TERMS
Tweet – A 140-character message
sent out by a Twitter user. All
tweets are limited to 140 characters
– including hashtags, links and
mentions.
PAGE 10
Hashtag (#) – A hashtag is a subject
or topic mentioned in a tweet and
indicated by a # mark. For instance,
for Disney-related tweets, the
hashtag might be #Disney and
appear in or at the end of a tweet.
At (@) – The @ sign appears before
a user’s name in a mention on
Twitter. For instance, if you want to
mention your friend (with a Twitter
account), you’d use.
@TWITTERNAME in your tweet
(replacing TWITTERNAME with
their handle.)
Avatar – The small picture that
accompanies tweets. For people,
this is usually a headshot. For
businesses, a headshot or logo could
be used.
Connect – This tab at the top of the
Twitter page takes you to where
you can view your mentions (@s),
messages and more. It shows you
who has interacted with you and
how.
Direct Message (DM) – A private
message sent between two Twitter
users who follow each other on
Twitter. Other users cannot see this.
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Follow – When you follow
someone, their status updates
appear in your Twitter stream.
Likewise when folks follow you,
your updates appear in their
Twitter stream.
Handle – An individual’s Twitter
name.
Mention – See At (@).
Retweet (RT) – Forwarding
someone else’s tweet to your
Twitter followers. When you hover
over the tweet, simply click the
“Retweet” button and then confirm
that you want to send it.
Follow Friday (#FF) – A weekly
event where Twitter users simply
tweet folks they recommend others
follow. This used to be quite
popular, but isn’t so much
anymore. If you try it, be sure to
include reasons why to follow the
Twitter users.
Twitter party/ Twitter chat –An
organized meetup held for a
specific time duration. Those
participating in a Twitter party or
chat are connected by using a
special hashtag. Users can follow
the hashtag or use a thirdparty
application such as TweetGrid to
follow and participate. All
participants must use the hashtag in
their tweets during the party.
PAGE 11
HASHTAG USE 101
Using hashtags is an easy and
simple way to have your posts seen
by many users. However, you need
to be smart – and conservative –
with your hashtag usage. How?
1. Choosing Hashtags – Only
hashtag a tweet if it truly relates to
the topic of the hashtag. For
instance, if you make an
observation about a television show,
you might hashtag it with the name
of the show or a popular
abbreviation. If you tweet about a
new product for use in school
classrooms however, you’d want to
hashtag it with popular education
hashtags like #edchat or #school.
2. How Many Hashtags? – When
hashtagging, limit yourself to no
more than three hashtags per tweet
– and vary the number you use per
tweet. Using more threatens to
make your tweet look more like one
long link rather than an interesting
and useful statement.
3. Avoid Hashtag Spam – Let’s say
you find a Twitter party hosted by a
brand whose users are similar to
your demographic and you think,
“Hey, if I tweet them, I can reach all
those people.” While it’s okay to
join the party, tossing the party
hashtag on an unrelated tweet is
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Twitter spam and will garner you a
bad reputation among other Twitter
users.
TWITTER ADVERTISING
Twitter now offers advertising
options for business users. Twitter
advertising can build your fan base
and engagement – though it may not
be as effective as organic community
building. It should also be noted that
Twitter advertising can be expensive.
Promoted Tweets - With this option,
you pay to get your tweet in front of
more eyes. It stays at the top of the
Twitter stream (unless the Twitter
user chooses to minimize it). It’s a
way to have your tweets reach a
larger audience.
Promoted Trends- Want your
hashtag to be a trending topic? While
that can happen organically, you can
pay to have your hashtag appear at
the top of the trends list. This can get
more folks interested in, or
participating in, the topic you’re
tweeting about.
Promoted Accounts - This option
puts your Twitter handle into users’
“Who to Follow” box. It’s essentially
buying followers – but Twitter’s
algorithms mean that you’ll be shown
to users who are more likely to be
interested in what you have to say.
confirm that you want to send it.
PAGE 12
TWITTER CHATS
Many industries and companies hold
Twitter chats, which are regular
discussions linked with a hashtag and
held on certain dates and times (for
instance, Monday from 7-8 p.m.). This
is another good way to reach more
people. Participate, share your
knowledge and learn from others.
Do it: There are literally chats for
every interest. The best way to learn
more about chats is to try attending
one. One of interest to you could be
the weekly Small Business Chat. The
details: #Smallbizchat – Wednesdays,
8-9 pm, EST – The discussion focuses
on small businesses and lets owners
come together and ask questions.
RECOMMENDED TOOLS
Followerwonk: Followerwonk lets you
analyse any Twitter account to help
optimise your Twitter marketing
strategy. It can help you optimise your
strategy through doing the following;
analysing your followers, where they
are located, when they tweet, help you
find and connect with the top
influencers within your industry and
deliver clear visualizations to compare
your social graph to others. It really is
an extremely useful Twitter analytics
tool which can help you manage your
followers, increase Twitter followers
but most importantly get more
targeted Twitter followers.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 13

Instagram

Now owned by Facebook, Instagram is for creating and sharing

photos and short videos. With over 150 million monthly active
users, the network boasts an incredibly active and vibrant user base
that posts over 55 million images per day. Users can subscribe to
pages curated by their friends and brands they like.

Through the "Explore" function, users can also view the most
popular videos and pictures across the network and search using
keywords and hashtags. The app has lightweight editing features
allowing users to creatively alter their images before they're shared.
The videos have a maximum length of 15 seconds, so creativity
counts. Instagram allows users to share their videos and pictures to
other networks, including Facebook, Twitter, Foursquare, Tumblr,
Flickr, and through emails.

Boasting over 500 million daily active users, Instagram has huge
potential for marketers. But the potential in Instagram lies more in
the user behavior than the numbers. Instagrammers like to connect
with brands. Research shows that brands enjoy a number of distinct
benefits and advantages on the network:

Instagram, brands enjoy regular engagement with 4 percent of

their total followers. On networks like Facebook and Twitter,
engagement is less than 0.1 percent. 
70% of Instagram users report having looked up a brand on the
platform 
62% of users follow a brand on Instagram 
Only 36 percent of marketers use Instagram, compared to 93%
of marketers who use Facebook 

Social media has been proven to influence purchase decisions. And

if you can find the right mix of content, your audience will soak it
up – and even buy from you – without the need for a hard push or
sales pitch.
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 14

Getting Started With Instagram

USING HASHTAGS ON 3. Tags, which suggests popular

INSTAGRAM
Instagram feeds are always
changing, which makes sense
considering that 80 million photos
are shared everyday. With that
much content, it can be difficult for
your account to get noticed. That’s
where hashtags come in handy.
On Instagram, hashtags aggregate
posts from a wide variety of users
into a single feed … although only
public accounts can be shown when
searching hashtags.
hashtags that include your keyword
and how many other Instagram
posts have been shared with that
hashtag
4. Places, which displays nearby
locations that include your keyword
For example, if you’re planning on
tagging your post with #coffee, you
may want to tag related hashtags
like #coffeebar, #coffeeholic, or
#coffeehouse broaden your post
reach.

Instagram makes it simple and easy

for users to find tagged content.
When you search a word or phrase,
the search results page shows you
four parts:

1. Top, which displays the top

Instagram accounts, hashtags,
and locations that include your
keyword (typically accounts that
are popular or that you're
following).

2. Accounts, which shows you the

top Instagram accounts that include
your keyword.
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Using hashtags is easy! Simply
create hashtags using characters,
numbers, or emojis; you can add up
to thirty to the caption. Just
remember — your account must be
public for your posts to appear on
hashtag feeds.
How do you choose which hashtags
are best for each post?
Our best answer is by
brainstorming related keywords
and researching relevant trends,
which is actually easiest within
Instagram itself.Start in
the Explore tab (the magnifying
glass icon on the bottom menu).
There, you’ll find popular posts and
see what hashtags were used.
If you already have a hashtag in
mind, you can also use this page to
find popular, related hashtags. Just
type the hashtag in the search bar,
and filter your results by Tags to
see how many posts have used that
hashtag as well as other related
hashtags.
Try to blend general, trending
hashtags and specific hashtags to
increase your post reach and
relevance.
Also, consider creating your
own branded hashtag.Many
businesses use their own hashtags to
roll out a new product, manage an
PAGE 15
Instagram campaign, promote an
event, and collect user-generated
content. If you’d like to do this for
your business, make sure yours isn’t
being used for another purpose …
and then encourage your audience
to use it!
INSTAGRAM ADVERTISING
Instagram advertising offers a
unique opportunity for brands to
engage with their audience.
Since Instagram ads appear in feeds
like any other post, they aren’t as
obvious or disruptive as typical ads.
They provide a natural way to
encourage users to learn more
about your business or product.
INSTAGRAM HACKS
Let’s explore a few little-known
Instagram hacks to make the most
of the platform. We recommend
downloading the latest version of
the app to follow along.
1. Post to Instagram at the best
times - Instagram users are active at
all times of the day. However, there
are a handful of optimal times to
post on Instagram. For peak
engagement, the best times to post
are Mondays and Thursdays at any
time except between 3:00 p.m. and
4:00 p.m. This is for the time zone
of your target audience.
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Many users tend to engage with
more content during off-work
hours on weekdays.
2. Link Instagram to your
Facebook page - One thing that
makes Instagram unique is that you
can share your content seamlessly
across other social networks.We
don’t recommend automatically
linking to your other social
platforms like Twitter and
Facebook; what works on Instagram
won’t always yield the same results
on other channels, especially as you
get up and running. For this reason,
tailor your content to each
platform.
However, linking your Instagram to
your other social accounts like
Facebook does increase the number
of eyes on your posts. Remember,
your Facebook Page will already be
linked to your Instagram if you set
up an Instagram business profile.
If you do decide to do this, go to
your Instagram settings and
click Linked Accounts under  list. Under All, you’ll see all your
Privacy and Security. Log into
Facebook and pick the Facebook
Business Page to which you’d like to
link.
Next, under the Share
Settings menu, the Facebook logo
should be blue to indicate that
sharing is on.
PAGE 16
3. Save photos and build
collections - There’s lots of
incredible content on Instagram.
Maybe you’ve seen content by
competitors that you want to
emulate, or maybe you’ve found
some user-generated content you’d
like to repost.
How can you save this content to
access later? Well, Instagram makes
it easy — through Saved content.On
your Instagram feed, you can like,
comment, and message posts. You
can also save them, using the
ribbon icon in the right corner.
When you tap it, you’ll see Save to
Collection pop up along the bottom
of the post. If the image or video
you’ve saved falls into a collection,
such as UGC content or inspiration,
you can create a collection for that
content.
Access your Saved content through
your profile. Tap the three
horizontal lines in the top right-
hand corner and click Saved in the
saved content in chronological
order. Under Collections, you’ll
find that content organized into
Collections.
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 17

INSTAGRAM ANALYTICS The individual metrics you track on

Instagram doesn't have an built-in,
in-depth analytics platform like
Facebook … yet. When you switch to
a Business Account, you do gain
access to some limited analytics,
such as follower growth,
impressions, reach, and
engagement.
Access these by clicking on the View
Insights option below your
uploaded images and videos.You
can also track Instagram
impressions, spend, and
engagement on ad campaigns
through Facebook’s Ad Manager.
Instagram will vary depending on
your goals, but you should always
keep an eye on engagement (likes
and comments) and your number
of followers over time. If you’re
posting valuable content, your
account will steadily gain followers
and engagement.Whether or not
you have the budget for more in-
depth analytics tools, track these
basic metrics to make sure your
account is growing and performing
well.

While helpful, these metrics are

limited to individual posts and
campaigns.You can access more in-
depth Instagram metrics using
third-party apps. 

Iconosquare and Simply Measured 
allow you to track additional
metrics such as followers and
engagement over time, optimal
post time based on previous posts,
and performance compared to
selected competitors.

Although both platforms require

you to pay to use them, you can
start with a free trial to see if their
analytics offerings are right for you.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 18

Pinterest

Pinterest is a must, especially if you’re a business looking for new

customers through website traffic. Pinterest has business-specific
pages and it allows you to pin everything from product photos, to
services you offer with pricing, and fun or informative content.

Pinterest is all about visuals - You can create boards with themes,
or organize boards into projects. Whatever you decide to do,
remember to keep the content interesting and engaging (and don’t
forget to have fun)!

5 STEPS TO GETTING STARTED ON PINTEREST

You may be wondering how pinning pretty pictures on a virtual

board can help you grow your business? With 11 million users and
counting, Pinterest is the third most popular
social media site in the U.S, according to Mashable. It’s also right
behind Twitter and more popular than Google + in driving website
referral traffic.

And website visitors means more opportunities to convert

prospects into paying customers. Plus, with the addition of
Pinterest business-specific accounts, this ought to tell you there’s a
heck of a lot more on the site than felting techniques and bridal eye
candy.

1. Create your Pinterest business account

To create a free Pinterest business account, go to business.pinterest.

com. (You can also convert your Pinterest personal account to a
business account).

Choose a business category, enter your business name and website

URL.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 19

Filling out the ‘’About” section of your profile is key. Make it

inspiring and thoughtful. Use keywords your ideal customer would
use in a search. For example: Marin County native plant
landscaping or native plant landscaper in Marin; or Mac repair in
Grand Haven, PC repair in Grand Haven, etc.

Now, upload your logo or a pic of yourself. For ideal results, use a
square image that’s at least 165x165 pixels.

Next, verify your website so that people see the full URL on your
profile and in search results. When you log into your account for
the first time, you’ll be asked to choose five boards to follow.
Choose categories and boards that relate to your business and
interests. These are fellow pinners and potential followers. It’s all
about building your Pinterest tribe—and your business.

2. Pin to turn followers into customers

The cool thing about Pinterest is that your boards are what you
make them.

Create a board for any topic, categorize it and give it a cool name.
Install the Pin It bookmarklet (get it at
https://pinterest.com/about/goodies/) onto your browser. This
button lets you quickly pin content from your site and other sites
directly into your boards. You can also pin images from your
computer, by clicking “Add” on the top-right toolbar on Pinterest,
and follow the instructions.

What to pin, what to pin…

If there’s a rule of thumb for what to pin it’s this: Make your pins
fun, inspiring and informative. (Jpg, png, and gif files only,
though).

Pin product images. If you offer a service, pin pictures of people

using your service. Include a call to action, i.e., “Learn how to do
this.” Pins with a call to action have an 80% higher engagement rate!
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 20

• Pin or repin. This is when you share pins from boards you follow
which includes relevant third-party content, not just your own.

• Be trendy. Pins relating to trending topics on Pinterest have a 92%

click-through rate. Search Pinterest’s “Popular” category and tailor
your pins according to the hottest trends. Also pin random stuff
you just think is cool!

• Price your pins. Don’t hold back; pins that include prices (for
products or services) get 36% more likes. And, if you mention the
price in your pin description, Pinterest automatically generates a
price banner.

Have a contest. Create a “Pin it to Win it” contest that challenges

entrants to create boards around themes that relate to your
business
(have them pin products from your own site as well). Are you a top
bridal consultant? Conducting a “Dream Wedding Pin It To Win It”
contest might do the trick to promote your top package. Check out
pinterest.com/pinchat/contests-on-pinterest/ for tons of Pinterest
contest ideas.

3. Follow the rules of the pinning game

• Be real and be inspiring. Pinterest is an expression of you and

your business. Don’t be afraid to show your personal side. Pin your
passions and interests along with the business stuff.

• Link pins back to their original source. The “Pin It” button
automatically grabs an image’s source link, crediting the original
publisher. If you repin something from another board, click the pin
to make sure it links back to a legitimate website. If not, report it or
leave a
comment.

• Pin in a timely fashion. Conventional wisdom says to pin between

2-4 pm or between 8 pm-1am (perfect if you tend to burn the
midnight oil).
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 21

Bit.ly, the URL shortening company, swears by the success of

Saturday morning pins. Experiment with your own pinning
timeframes. Use the Pingraphy bookmarklet to grab images and
schedule your pins during
different times.

4. Build your brand with your words.

Write concise and conversational pin descriptions. And, use humor

—researchers say it boosts learning and info-recall.

• Pin on popular boards (if they’re open to everyone). These boards

tend to have high subscriber numbers, and will expand the reach of
your brand.

Use the Pin It button (get it at pinterest.com/about/goodies). The

Pin It button is a must-have for your website or blog. It lets people
share your content on their Pinterest boards, linking their followers
back to your site.

• Build backlinks into your pins to boost your SEO rankings.

Backlinks occur from links included in captions and other info on
your Pinterest posts.

• Use keywords in your “About” profile, content and pins to help

increase your Pinterest page rank when your prospects search.

• Build community. If someone follows you, follow them back.

Comment on, like, and repin their images. This will encourage
them to like you back. The bigger and more active your Pinterest
community, the more exposure for your biz.

• Integrate. Add Pinterest social sharing buttons to your blog, email

campaigns and/or website. Ask Facebook, Google+, Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn fans to follow you on
Pinterest. Tweet your pins and share them on Facebook.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 23

5. Do the numbers

Like any social media platform, Pinterest has metrics: Number of

repins,
likes, etc. Want to see what people are pinning from your own site?
Just go
to your Pinterest source page
(pinterest.com/source/yourdomain.com).
Pinfluencer, Pinreach and other third-party tools give you a slew of
data,
such as the number of referrals and your business influence.
All of this juicy info can help you plan strategic pinning campaigns!
One last final tip to keep you and your followers engaged:
Download the Pinterest app onto your iPhone or Android. When
you’re
running around town and see something cool, snap a pic and pin it!
Wishing you and your business mega-pinsuccess!

ages. This will encourage them to like you back. The bigger and
more active your Pinterest community, the more exposure for
your biz.

• Integrate. Add Pinterest social sharing buttons to your blog, email

campaigns and/or website. Ask Facebook, Google+, Facebook,
Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and LinkedIn fans to follow you on
Pinterest. Tweet your pins and share them on Facebook.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 24

LinkedIn

The world's largest professional social network connects colleagues

with each other and businesses with current and potential
employees, all while enabling community development and
content sharing. LinkedIn's potential lies in its power to build
authority, establish thought leadership, and cultivate a robust
network. Join us for a peek behind the curtain to see if LinkedIn is
a match for your business.

People build out their profiles to showcase their professional

background and resumes. They are able to connect with individuals
they know or have worked with, leave each other
recommendations, and find new connections. LinkedIn can also be
a great place to look for and find a job, as it takes the utility of job
boards and adds in the human connections
that are so invaluable in finding the right position.

For companies, especially recruiters, that is just the beginning.

Business professionals have created their profiles and gotten
recommendations from co-workers, making it a solid fit for brands
looking to recruit new talent. LinkedIn allows hiring managers to
search and filter candidates base on multiple factors, and users can
join groups based on professional interests. Beyond recruiting
efforts, LinkedIn is a great place for a variety of helpful social
activities to boost your business.

It’s also right behind Twitter and more popular than Google + in
driving website referral traffic.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 25

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

LinkedIn is a fantastic platform for generating B2B leads, with

nearly three times the conversion rate of Facebook or Twitter.
Your mileage may vary, but this certainly signals the platform is
one that comes with great opportunity. Some tips include:

Keep your company page up-to-date

Use the products and services spotlight
Solicit recommendations for your products

ESTABLISHING THOUGHT LEADERSHIP:

Establishing yourself and your brand as an authority in your area

of focus will help build authority and trust among your customers,
both current and prospective. LinkedIn's feature set can help
brands stay up-to-date on users' professional networks, in addition
to establishing a business presence and sharing company news.

BUILDING CUSTOMER ADVOCATES

Be careful not to overdo self-promotion. Advocacy and word-of-

mouth magic happen through positive engagement. When brands
engage customers and build strong relationships based on respect
and trust, customers will "like" the brand and perhaps even love it.
LinkedIn makes it easy to be both personal and specific. You know
a lot about the person you're interacting with, so use that
information.

LinkedIn drives business value because it is based on a user's

professional interests. This makes it an obvious and natural fit for
sharing brand-based updates, news, and info; as well as driving
traffic to company-focused websites.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 26

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESS

Personal use:

Complete your personal profile thoroughly and honestly.

Find your connections and reach out. Every once in a while,

pick someone you haven't talked to recently and send them a
note— without needing anything—just to say hi or share
something interesting that you think they'll enjoy.

Link to your profile from your blog, Facebook, and/or Twitter

accounts to help people find your profile. (In fact, if the content
being shared is relevant, link back to those pages from your
LinkedIn profile. Keep in mind, though, that those links might
draw hiring managers to those associated pages.)

Participate in Groups. Your personal authority and trust can be

boosted, leading to new opportunities, leads, and connections.
Note that this functionality is currently only available to
individuals.

As LinkedIn continues to become a place for people to share

quality content, we will see more engagement around that content.

Be a part of that movement: Share your own

content and share high-quality content from others.

Business Use:

Complete your company page and ensure it is always up-to-

date. If you change your structure or have company news to
share, be sure you're updating your company page on LinkedIn;
this will update in your followers' newsfeeds.

Make updating your LinkedIn page part of the compliance

process when fundamental updates occur at your company, as
LinkedIn is often a source of truth for individuals doing
research.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 27

Make sure to respond to your posts, reviews, and questions. If a

user leaves a product review, thank them. If they have a
complaint, address it. Answer questions and offer advice and
assistance.

LinkedIn can be an amazing source of competitive intelligence for

your business.

Follow your competitors' pages and watch for their news,

updates, and employee changes. Certain exits and job openings
can provide insight into strategic direction.

TIPS AND GUIDELINES

Connecting with professionals on social media involves a mindful

and even graceful back-and forth; it's all too easy to come
across as insincere or even spammy. The best relationships are
cultivated through a natural and careful progression of
communication. Pay attention to social cues, and you can avoid the
many things that might result in a complete social train
wreck.

Be genuine:

In every interaction you have on LinkedIn, be yourself as much as

you possibly can. When connecting with someone else, avoid
sending the standard "I'd like to add you to my professional
network on LinkedIn." Not only is it less likely to be accepted, you
may even get marked as spam, resulting in your inability to send
future connection requests. Personalized interactions make the
other people feel like you actually value and care about them
and take interest.

Recommendations:

LinkedIn recommendations can be an incredibly powerful thing,

but should only ever be solicited from people you know well and
who know your work. The recommendation itself will be...
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 28

much better for it. If you request one, feel free to tell the person
you're approaching about a specific goal you may have for the
recommendation. You don't want to do this in a pushy way, but
you may get a more useful recommendation, and it can actually
make their life easier as well since they'll have a predetermined
area of focus.

Cold mail:

You might find someone on LinkedIn with whom you'd like to get
in touch. If you do, use a personalized approach and give context to
the email you send. Let them know who you are and why you
would like to connect. (Your "why" should never be because you
have something to sell.)

@responding:

While LinkedIn has no smart user alerts, using the @name when
responding to comments on your Page or in Groups is a good
practice to keep conversation flow coherent and directed. However,
LinkedIn did recently start doing an activity alert; instead of just
emails, it now tells people when conversations that they've been
part of are updated.

Sharing content:

Not all your content needs to be shared on LinkedIn, as what you

share here can very easily reflect on your professional reputation
or make you look selfabsorbed. Avoid tools that automatically
transfer posts from other platforms. Above all, be conscious and
aware of what you're sharing, and try not to share too much—since
connections are so important, LinkedIn is one place where you
really don't want to be hidden from people's feeds.

Discussions:

There are ways to view LinkedIn Group activity in "Discussions"

under "Choose Your View: Latest Discussions" and "What's
Happening."
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 29

"What's Happening" shows the discussions with the most recent

activity, so you can keep tabs on current conversations. "Latest
Discussions" shows the most recently posted discussions.

RECOMMENDED TOOLS

Building a professional community can be a very different

experience from business to business, so finding the right features
and functionality that work for you is an essential step to success.
Here are some of the more useful tools to help you
customize your LinkedIn experience.

LinkedIn for Outlook:

If you use Outlook, this tool brings your professional network right
into your mailbox. It also scans your Outlook contacts and finds
new connections for you on LinkedIn. Having this information in
your inbox can help you better keep
track and engage with your contacts.

LinkedIn Maps:

Brought to you by LinkedIn Labs, this nifty tool lets you log-in
with your LinkedIn credentials and visualize your network over a
map.

TrueSocialMetrics:

For the analysis enthusiasts, TrueSocialMetrics gives you a huge

amount of data about applause and engagement on your LinkedIn
page.

Hootsuite:

This tool will will help you schedule posts and give basic
click/reach analytics for all posts on your company page, in your
groups, and in any of your individual profiles.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 30

Youtube

YouTube is one of the biggest websites around – to be more

specific, it’s currently the second most popular website in the
world. And even though most people don’t think of YouTube
primarily as a search engine, that’s exactly what most visitors do on
the site. YouTube’s not just the second most popular website; it’s
also the second most popular search engine – topped only by
Google. This means that the platform presents a huge potential for
reach for your business.

Another big reason why YouTube is such an attractive option for

marketing purposes is that it’s all about video – and video
marketing is all the rage right now. Video has consistently proven
itself as one of the best-performing forms of content in terms of
engagement, and just because you’re creating them for YouTube
doesn’t mean that you can’t repurpose your videos. These videos
would be great for your other social profiles, your email marketing
campaigns, your website and landing pages, and any other
platforms or channels you might be using.

The fact that YouTube is such a hugely popular platform also

means that there is a lot of competition. So, if you want to be
successful on YouTube, you need to make sure that you have the
time and the resources to publish quality content on a consistent
basis. In other words, you’ll need a good YouTube marketing plan.

As for the issue of video production, it’s not as difficult as it may

seem to create marketing videos. You don’t need a huge budget and
you don’t even need to make substantial investments in equipment
– but we’ll discuss video production and all that it entails further
on in this guide.  So, the short of it: is YouTube the right solution
for your business? Yes, in most cases (the numbers don't lie). If you
sell products, it’s a great way to showcase and promote them and all
of their uses. If you’re a B2B company, it’s a great platform
for expanding your reach and for generating more leads.
 SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
Getting Started With Youtube
TYPES OF MARKETING VIDEOS
Here are a few videos you can
consider for your business:
Listicles: Listicles are a very
popular content format, both as
blog posts and as media (videos,
images, infographics, etc.). You can
create listicles that highlight your
products or services – like “The 10
most innovative ways you can use
(your product)” – or they can be
educational, informational, or
entertaining. Just remember, the
lists should always be relevant to
your audiences’ interests and your
business niche.
How-to videos: How-to videos tend
to perform very well because they
provide a lot of value to the viewer.
For example, if you were selling
social media software, you could
create how-to videos showing your
viewers how to get started with
Twitter marketing or how to grow
your Facebook following. You can
look to top performing blog posts
for material for these videos, or you
can develop a plan for a recurring
series. JetBlue has a series of “Flight
Etiquette” videos that emphasize
how not to travel:
PAGE 31
Behind-the-scenes videos: YouTube
is a social network – the keyword
here being “social.” One of the ways
to humanize your brand and show
that you’re more than just a product
or service is to share some behind-
the-scenes videos. For
example, Sprout Social has an entire
collection of videos with members of
their team:
Product videos: Video is a great way
to showcase your own products or
services. These product videos could
walk viewers how to use certain
features, highlighting new product
updates, or announce new offerings
for your business.
Case studies: Another way you can
promote your business and your
products or services is to create
video case studies of your clients.
These case studies don’t need to deal
exclusively with your product: they
can focus on client origin stories,
recent achievements, or plans for the
future.
Interviews: Interviewing well-
known experts and influencers from
your niche is another good way to
attract new viewers. These experts
will have their own following, so if
they’re promoting the video as well,
they can help drive traffic to your
YouTube channel.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 32

HOW TO CREATE A YOUTUBE CHANNEL

Unlike other social networking platforms, YouTube exclusively

hosts video content. If you’re creating a YouTube channel to
merely upload one video and have no intention of maintaining the
platform, you might want to reconsider.You’ll need to set aside
plenty of time to plan, film, edit, market, and analyze your content
on a consistent basis. You’ll also need to define your brand’s goals
and plan for how video can specifically help you achieve these. If
you can devote an appropriate amount of time and energy into the
platform, you’ll be able to create engaging, shareable content for
your growing audience.

Create a Google Account:

Before you start filming video content, you’ll need to set up your
YouTube channel. This can get a bit complicated. As you probably
know, YouTube is owned by Google. As a result, when you sign up
for a Gmail account, you automatically gain access to a YouTube
account, a Google+ account, and much more.

Depending on your business, you may not want to tie your email to
your business’s YouTube channel — especially if you need to share
access to the account with team members or an agency partner. We
suggest that you create a common email account that can be used
by multiple people.To get started, visit Google and click “Sign in”
in the upper right-hand corner.

Creating a YouTube Brand Account:

Now that you have a Google account, you’re almost ready to

publish some awesome video content.But, we’re not done quite yet
— you now need to set up a YouTube Brand Account. A Brand
Account allows users to manage editing permissions and create a
more holistic online presence.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 33

To get started, visit YouTube. In the upper right-hand corner, note

that you’re probably already logged into your new Google account.
(If you’re not, click “Sign in” and enter your new Google account
username and password.)

Once you’ve signed in, tap your account module and click “My
channel” in the drop-down menu.

You’ll see the option to create a channel right away. Do NOT enter

your name and click on “Create Channel”. Instead, click on “Use a
business or other name” at the bottom.

Now, you should be prompted to create a Brand Account. Enter

your Brand Account name and press “Create”. Note: You can always
update or change your channel name from your account settings,
so don’t worry if you aren’t 100% sure about your selected label.

Customizing Your YouTube Brand Account:

Now, let’s customize your Brand Account. Click on “Customize

Channel” to get started.

Start by adding a channel icon and channel art. These will be the

first parts of your YouTube account that users see when visiting, so
be sure to use images that are easily recognizable and consistent
with your overall branding.

To add a channel icon, click on the default blue profile picture in

the upper left-hand corner of your channel to upload an
image. Note: It may take several minutes for your channel icon to
appear after uploading.Next, upload your channel art. Click on the
blue “Add channel art” button in the center of your channel. Check
out YouTube’s channel art templates for specific design guidance.

After you upload your channel icon and art, add a channel
description, a company email, and links to your company
website and other social platforms under the "About" tab.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 34

With the basic profile complete, it’s time to add a few finishing
touches! Before we move on, it’s important to get one thing straight
— you can customize the way your YouTube channel looks to
subscribers and unsubscribed visitors. This means that
unsubscribed viewers would see different featured content than
dedicated, subscribed viewers. Pretty cool, right?

One of the main ways you can take advantage of this feature is
by creating a YouTube channel trailer. A channel trailer is the
video version of your description and is shown to all your
unsubscribed viewers.

Ready to get started? First, make sure channel customization is

turned on. To do this, click on the gear icon next to the red
"Subscribe" button in the upper right-hand corner of your
channel.Next, make sure the option to “Customize the layout of
your channel” is turned on and press “Save”.

Now that you’ve set up your channel for customization, upload

your trailer. Click the arrow upload button in the upper right-hand
corner and select your video file. Remember to add keywords to
your trailer name and description.

Once your video uploads, click on the “For new visitors” tab on
your channel homepage. Then click “Channel trailer”.

Finally, select your uploaded trailer, or enter a URL to a video

you’d like to feature, and press “Save”.

YOUTUBE BRAND GUIDELINES

Your YouTube channel is an extension of your brand, and it should

be treated as such. As you create and customize your channel,
follow these YouTube brand guidelines so you can properly
establish your channel’s identity and begin to attract subscribers.
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING PAGE 36

Channel name: Your channel name is associated with every

single video you publish. Make sure it’s correct and consistent
with your other social media sites and overall branding.

Channel icon: Google recommends uploading an 800 x 800 px

square or round image. Your channel icon is similar to a
Facebook profile picture. This image will be used across all of
your Google properties such as Gmail and Google+. Consider
using a company logo or, if you are a public figure, a
professional headshot.

Channel art: Upload a 2560 x 1440 px image that will scale well
across a desktop, tablet, mobile, and TV. You never know where
your audience will be viewing your videos.

Channel description: Your description should provide more

information on your company and explain what type of video
content you plan on sharing. Search engines look at your
description when determining how to rank your profile, so
incorporate relevant keywords in your overview. We’ll talk
more about how to optimize specific video descriptions below.

Channel trailer: Your trailer should be short and sweet (around

30 to 60 seconds). Focus on showing visitors what your channel
is about and what they can expect to see in your videos. Don't
forget to encourage them to subscribe. Your trailer won’t be
interrupted by ads, which will keep the user focused on why
they should watch more videos from your brand.

Channel URL: Your channel may be eligible for a custom URL

if you have over 100 subscribers, a channel icon, channel art,
and is more than 30 days old. Learn more about custom
YouTube URLs here.

Channel links: Link to all other social media accounts and

relevant websites from the “About” section of your channel.
Make it easy for subscribers to connect with you elsewhere.