Stepping forward into Social Media

Stepping forward into social media

It’s a brave new world...but not as foreign as you think

Tiffany Broadbent BekerSocial Media Coordinator (& Web Programmer)

Office of Creative ServicesCollege of William & Mary

Goals before Tools

• Who are you trying to connect with?

• What information do you want to communicate?

• Why are you using social media versus another tool?

• How can your fans find your page and its content?

• When will you post and how often?

Who is your audience?

• 2/3 of all internet users use social networking sites

• 83% of ages 18-29

Why do you want to use social media?

Publicize events & promotions

Generate public awareness

Promote products or services Interact with

customers

Develop brand affinity

What do users want from a business on social media?

Interesting Updates Show Brand Loyalty

Source: adage.comSource: brandwatch.com

Customer Service Rewards

People want to share cool stuff with their

friends, family & peers

47% of users engage in customer service via

social media

58% Like a business’ Facebook Page because

they are a customer

57% want to receive discounts and promotions

Source: adage.com

Not all online messaging tools are the same

≠ ≠ ≠You must tailor the message for each

Choose your tool

Craft your messageBased on what your goals are & what customers want to see

Show some personality

Promote Awareness of Products & Services

Feature Events & Promotions

Customer Service

Share relevant information from other sources

Answer questions

What do you say? (and How?)

• Provide some benefit in exchange for users’ attention

• Stay on topic, relate each post back to your organization or W&M in some way

• Use a conversational, more accessible tone, social media is not a formal platform

How will people find you?Via the W&M website Like or Follow

Similar/relevant accounts

Share/RetweetUpdates from others

Mention @williamandmary

Hashtag #wmcharterday

Managing Your Social Media Time

5 minutestwice a day to monitor page and

answer questions

30 minutes once a week

to plan posts

Can schedule posts with Facebook, HootSuite or TweetDeck

(but be prepared for conversations daily)

It’s not all about the numbers

indifferent followers

Create interesting & engaging posts that people want to share,

and they will generate publicity for you

100 > 10,000dedicated &

engaged users

Thank You

tlbroa@wm.edu@tb623 on Twitter

or

creative@wm.edu@wm_creative