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How Startups Can Leverage the Power of Social Media

J
Jennifer Sheahan

This document provides guidance on how startups can leverage social media effectively. It discusses setting measurable goals focused on lead generation and customer acquisition. It recommends auditing competitors' social media strategies and overhauling your own presence with consistent branding. The key is creating and amplifying engaging content across multiple platforms while measuring results and adapting the strategy accordingly. Regular posting of different content types and sharing relevant outside content is important for building an engaged community.

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How Startups Can Leverage the Power of Social Media
Social media success is directly linked to your ability to connect. Be courageous. Be consistent.
The Changing Face of Social Media 1 1 out of every 3 Americans receives news via Facebook 40% of people socialize more on social media sites than face-to-face The average Twitter user spends 170 mins/month on the platform The average social shopper spends an average of $140 when coming from Pinterest and $60 when coming from Facebook
2 Brand awareness. It happens organically as you post content and engage with users. Content distribution. When your content is engaging, others can advertise your brand for you. Lead generation. Make your social media pro鍖les lead generators that drive tra鍖c to your website. Customer acquisition. Your social media is a customer acquisition tool. De鍖ning Your Goals
Developing an Effective Strategy 3 How do you want to be seen in the market? Align your social media approach with your company culture. Choose key words & phrases and repeat them regularly. Consumers want consistency and can sni鍖 out businesses that aren't true to themselves
4 Facebook. More than 700 million active monthly users. Healthy, credible, and established. Twitter. 68% of Twitter users are more likely to make a purchase from the brands they follow. LinkedIn. A professional Facebook for global networking. YouTube. If brand awareness is your primary goal, YouTube can be your best friend. SnapChat. New, young demographic, quick, fun. Instagram. Image focused, fun, young audience Pinterest. Particularly conducive to startups with physical products. Choosing the Right Platforms
Marketing On a Tight Budget 5 Word-of-mouth marketing has always been a startup's best chance of success when working with a limited budget. Social media has made it possible for small startup businesses to reach millions of consumers with the click of a button. Utilize free tools & dead time to your advantage. Apps on your phone are essential.
Unlock the Power of Social Media Build a community. Build an online community of ambassadors that do the advertising for you. Listen instead of talking. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter can serve as ongoing focus groups for your startup. Try new things. Experiment and try new things. As long as what you're doing doesn't compromise your brand's integrity, give it a shot!
8 Steps to a Solid Social Strategy
8 Steps to Social Strategy 1. Set Measurable Goals & Objectives 2. Determine WHO & HOW 3. Review Current Marketing/Social/Lead Gen 4. Audit Competitors & Market Leaders 5. Makeover Your Social Platforms 6. Create/Enhance Content & Amplify It 7. Map Out Exact Strategy & Assign Roles 8. Implement & Measure Results
1 Fans Do Not Equal Sales. Do not confuse popularity with success. Compelling content is the key. Engagement is a By-Product not a Goal. Aim for leads, sales, conversions and engagement will happen naturally. Lead generation. Make your social media pro鍖les lead generators that drive tra鍖c to your website. Customer acquisition. Your social media is a customer acquisition tool. STEP ONE: Set Measurable Goals
2 Who are you talking to? #1 mistake startups make. Where are they hanging out? Find them online & be present there. What keeps them up at night? Develop Personas. Value Proposition. Understand their pain. Communicate directly. Solve problems. Test - Test - Test. Keep testing, trying, failing. Your audience is unique. Keep trying till you strike gold. STEP TWO: WHO & HOW
3 What has worked in the past? Review current/past e鍖orts. What worked and why? Why do people buy from you? Ask them - What do you love about us? Identify ONE area of major impact. What is 1 thing you can do now that will have the biggest impact? Do it. Look for signs of life. Check out Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram - search for yourself. Where are they talking about you now? STEP THREE: Review Current Efforts
4 Who are they? Who is solving this problem for your customers now? Where are they? What social - content - marketing e鍖orts are working for them and why? Identify key areas of di鍖erence. Write them down, use them in all your marketing. Follow them on social media. STEP FOUR: Audit Competitors
5 Streamline your presence with cohesive branding. New cover images and pro鍖le pictures on every platform. Identify your key phrases & value words. Use these words in all your content, posts, updates. Link all your sites to one another. Include clickable URL links on all social platforms to all other social platforms. Cross-promote carefully. Include clear social icons on your website. Are you on Facebook? Join us there too! STEP FIVE: Time For A Makeover
6 Planned vs Spontaneous Content The Social Circuit. Everything is linked.Blog post 鍖rst, then Facebook, then YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. 48+ social posts from 1 blog post. Get creative and make the most of your compelling content. Share relevant content from others. Curate content & share it with your own commentary. STEP SIX: The Power of Content
7 What will you post and where? Weekly video, podcast, blog post, etc? Who is responsible? Identify key areas of responsibility. How will you measure success? Understand your desired outcomes How will you stay up to date? Social Media changes daily. Key personnel must be learning continuously. STEP SEVEN: Map Out Your Strategy
8 Software can help. Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Canva are my top 3 Outsource what you cant handle. Content, graphic design, video production, etc. Start Small. Invest time. No one understands your business like you do. Bring someone in-house and/or train up current sta鍖. Review results & change as needed. STEP EIGHT: Implementation
Sprout Social Canva Slack for Teams Google Alerts Google Analytics bit.ly (link shortener) Disqus (for blog comments) Post Planner (viral content) Active Campaign (email list management) LeadPages (Landing page creator) HELPFUL RESOURCES
Dont leave success to chance. Plan & implement strategically. SociallyGrown.com Jen Sheahan jen@sociallygrown.com

More Related Content

How Startups Can Leverage the Power of Social Media

  • 1. How Startups Can Leverage the Power of Social Media
  • 2. Social media success is directly linked to your ability to connect. Be courageous. Be consistent.
  • 3. The Changing Face of Social Media 1 1 out of every 3 Americans receives news via Facebook 40% of people socialize more on social media sites than face-to-face The average Twitter user spends 170 mins/month on the platform The average social shopper spends an average of $140 when coming from Pinterest and $60 when coming from Facebook
  • 4. 2 Brand awareness. It happens organically as you post content and engage with users. Content distribution. When your content is engaging, others can advertise your brand for you. Lead generation. Make your social media pro鍖les lead generators that drive tra鍖c to your website. Customer acquisition. Your social media is a customer acquisition tool. De鍖ning Your Goals
  • 5. Developing an Effective Strategy 3 How do you want to be seen in the market? Align your social media approach with your company culture. Choose key words & phrases and repeat them regularly. Consumers want consistency and can sni鍖 out businesses that aren't true to themselves
  • 6. 4 Facebook. More than 700 million active monthly users. Healthy, credible, and established. Twitter. 68% of Twitter users are more likely to make a purchase from the brands they follow. LinkedIn. A professional Facebook for global networking. YouTube. If brand awareness is your primary goal, YouTube can be your best friend. SnapChat. New, young demographic, quick, fun. Instagram. Image focused, fun, young audience Pinterest. Particularly conducive to startups with physical products. Choosing the Right Platforms
  • 7. Marketing On a Tight Budget 5 Word-of-mouth marketing has always been a startup's best chance of success when working with a limited budget. Social media has made it possible for small startup businesses to reach millions of consumers with the click of a button. Utilize free tools & dead time to your advantage. Apps on your phone are essential.
  • 8. Unlock the Power of Social Media Build a community. Build an online community of ambassadors that do the advertising for you. Listen instead of talking. Social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter can serve as ongoing focus groups for your startup. Try new things. Experiment and try new things. As long as what you're doing doesn't compromise your brand's integrity, give it a shot!
  • 9. 8 Steps to a Solid Social Strategy
  • 10. 8 Steps to Social Strategy 1. Set Measurable Goals & Objectives 2. Determine WHO & HOW 3. Review Current Marketing/Social/Lead Gen 4. Audit Competitors & Market Leaders 5. Makeover Your Social Platforms 6. Create/Enhance Content & Amplify It 7. Map Out Exact Strategy & Assign Roles 8. Implement & Measure Results
  • 11. 1 Fans Do Not Equal Sales. Do not confuse popularity with success. Compelling content is the key. Engagement is a By-Product not a Goal. Aim for leads, sales, conversions and engagement will happen naturally. Lead generation. Make your social media pro鍖les lead generators that drive tra鍖c to your website. Customer acquisition. Your social media is a customer acquisition tool. STEP ONE: Set Measurable Goals
  • 12. 2 Who are you talking to? #1 mistake startups make. Where are they hanging out? Find them online & be present there. What keeps them up at night? Develop Personas. Value Proposition. Understand their pain. Communicate directly. Solve problems. Test - Test - Test. Keep testing, trying, failing. Your audience is unique. Keep trying till you strike gold. STEP TWO: WHO & HOW
  • 13. 3 What has worked in the past? Review current/past e鍖orts. What worked and why? Why do people buy from you? Ask them - What do you love about us? Identify ONE area of major impact. What is 1 thing you can do now that will have the biggest impact? Do it. Look for signs of life. Check out Google, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram - search for yourself. Where are they talking about you now? STEP THREE: Review Current Efforts
  • 14. 4 Who are they? Who is solving this problem for your customers now? Where are they? What social - content - marketing e鍖orts are working for them and why? Identify key areas of di鍖erence. Write them down, use them in all your marketing. Follow them on social media. STEP FOUR: Audit Competitors
  • 15. 5 Streamline your presence with cohesive branding. New cover images and pro鍖le pictures on every platform. Identify your key phrases & value words. Use these words in all your content, posts, updates. Link all your sites to one another. Include clickable URL links on all social platforms to all other social platforms. Cross-promote carefully. Include clear social icons on your website. Are you on Facebook? Join us there too! STEP FIVE: Time For A Makeover
  • 16. 6 Planned vs Spontaneous Content The Social Circuit. Everything is linked.Blog post 鍖rst, then Facebook, then YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. 48+ social posts from 1 blog post. Get creative and make the most of your compelling content. Share relevant content from others. Curate content & share it with your own commentary. STEP SIX: The Power of Content
  • 17. 7 What will you post and where? Weekly video, podcast, blog post, etc? Who is responsible? Identify key areas of responsibility. How will you measure success? Understand your desired outcomes How will you stay up to date? Social Media changes daily. Key personnel must be learning continuously. STEP SEVEN: Map Out Your Strategy
  • 18. 8 Software can help. Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Canva are my top 3 Outsource what you cant handle. Content, graphic design, video production, etc. Start Small. Invest time. No one understands your business like you do. Bring someone in-house and/or train up current sta鍖. Review results & change as needed. STEP EIGHT: Implementation
  • 19. Sprout Social Canva Slack for Teams Google Alerts Google Analytics bit.ly (link shortener) Disqus (for blog comments) Post Planner (viral content) Active Campaign (email list management) LeadPages (Landing page creator) HELPFUL RESOURCES
  • 20. Dont leave success to chance. Plan & implement strategically. SociallyGrown.com Jen Sheahan jen@sociallygrown.com