A Beginner’s Guide to Social Media

What is Social Media?
Social media is the group name for websites that offer interaction between users.
They include blogs, message boards and sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube.

Why should I bother?
Social Media is a way for people to talk to each other in a way that has never been possible before.

Here are some facts:

• Over 100million videos are viewed every day on YouTube


• Facebook has over 250 million active users


• 3,000,000 messages are sent each day via Twitter


• Over 1,000,000,000 links to blog posts, web links, news stories, photos and notes are shared on Facebook each week.

Even if you think you’ve never used social networking, you probably have by reading a blog or watching a video from a Google search...

How Can Social Media Help My Business?
Social media gives you the opportunity to build your brand. It gives you interaction with your existing clients and potential customers. Most importantly, it gives you a way of talking with them, rather than at them.

It’s like networking, but on-line.

You’ll discover new ways to promote your business and the opportunity to increase your ranking on Google and other search engines. It can help you with PR, customer service, loyalty-building, collaboration, networking, thought-leadership and customer acquisition.

The Rules1. Listen
Just listen and observe. Research who is out there and who you want to reach. Join sites you are interested in but sit on your hands and resist the urge to start straight away. Good news travels fast... bad news (or comments) travel even faster!

2. Plan
Decide how you are going to use Social Media and work out the time and resources you will plough into it. If you need help, ask for it...

3. Engage
Think conversation not sales pitch. Even on the internet, people buy from people. Let your prospective clients get to know you and your thoughts and don’t start shouting your sales pitch as it just won’t work.

4. Measure & Review
Like all marketing, you need to know it is giving you a return on investment. Analyse website traffic, enquiries etc to see what works and don’t assume that social media will be the answer to everything!

Summary
Social media is here to stay, but without a plan of how we are trying to use it within our marketing mix, it is easy to waste our time and money. However, by putting together a clear plan of who we are trying to target, with which medium and defined messages can help you to interact with clients and potential customers to strengthen your brand and grow your business.

Many businesses I know have begun their social media experience by 'dipping a toe in the water'. And with training in how to plan their use of the different sites appropriate to their business (and in some cases, help writing blogs and posts) have grown its use so that it is now an integral part of their marketing.

If you would like any further advice, do give me a call for a no-obligation chat about using social media in your business - I look forward to hearing from you!

Hannah

Hannah Sookias
Sookias Media  Tel: 01283 808460 www.sookiasmedia.com
Digital PR - Blog Writing - Social Media Training - Articles - Features - Public Relations

Have UK businesses got the 'back to school' feeling?

There's something about autumn in the UK that gets everyone feeling that it is time to get back to business.

Perhaps it is the schools starting their new terms or the fact that business men and women have allowed themselves time off, to recharge their batteries and decide how and where to focus their energies.

So after all the recession difficulties over the last few months, I am pleased that this September is no different – backed up by today’s news that the British economy is showing positive signs of improvement.

So what can businesses do to help them become stronger over the coming months? I believe there are 7 important steps to help you business grow:

1. Dust off your business plan - know what you are trying to achieve and decide how you are going to get there.
2. Don’t try and do it all yourself. Use a sounding board and seek out experienced guidance to make the best use of your time.
3. Develop strategies to identify untapped opportunities. ‘Thinking out of the box’ is a well-worn but ever useful phrase to remember.
4. Spend time with clients to understand what they really want and to listen to their needs. If your business is unable to help them, see if you can recommend someone who can.
5. Check how your company is promoting itself. Are you promotions successful i.e. giving out the right messages and are they being heard by the right people?
6. The media loves good news stories. What have you been doing that they could report on? Can you issue the stories yourself or do you need external help?
7. Look at your promotional strategy – is it working for you? Do you need to investigate whether more use of social media, or digital marketing is required?
   

If you’d like to know more, do give me a call on 01283 808460 or come along to one of my autumn workshops. The next two are:

17 September Make the Most of Branding & Blogging £125.00
22 September Grow Your Business £ 50.00

Bookings can be made on-line at http://www.businesstipsandadvice.co.uk/ or by emailing me, Hannah@copywritingandpr.com.

Hannah Sookias, Founder - The Write Solution http://www.copywritingandpr.com/

What’s the secret to a successful blog?

What’s the secret to a successful blog?
  
Is it:

• One that’s full of interesting information?
• Somewhere that is regularly updated?
• A place where there are tips and advice?
• Sites that give an insight into the company, their values and ideas?
• All of the above? 

The biggest blogging stumbling blocks for many companies are being able to:
(a) decide what to write
(b) finding the time to actually write it and
(c) keeping the momentum going (something even the best of us struggle with sometimes!)


So what's the solution? Well, blogging should be part of a promotional strategy; it should have a reason and can be planned in advance. Yes, changes can be made to adapt to news items or business circumstances, but on the whole there should be a plan of action and an idea of what to write and why.

The secret for many companies to achieve this is to have a ghost blogger i.e. employ someone else to help them plan and write their blogs for them!

Words of advice: Choosing someone to write your blog for you does contain a large element of trust, so it is wise to spend time with them, putting a strategy and plan together. Decide how often the blog will be written, the topics to be covered and any ground rules (e.g. making sure you see and approve the copy before it is posted).

Hannah Sookias, Founder - Sookias Media www.sookiasmedia.com

PS Sookias Media helps many clients with their blog writing and offers packages to graphic and web designers so they can offer additional services to their customers. Do contact me if you'd like more details!

Does your website pass the 10 year old test?

Do you have a website? Have you read it recently? More importantly, have you asked a ten year old to read it?

You are probably wondering by this point why children aged 10 are important - especially if you sell products and services that are targeted at adults and businesses rather than girls and boys.

Well, I'll let you into a copywriting secret - the best marketing literature is written in language that has a reading age of ten.

That way, your text is easy-to-read, it can be scanned quickly and your messages come across quickly and clearly.

This is all vitally important when you only have between 3-7 seconds to make an impression and persuade a visitor to look further into your site, or turn over the page of a catalogue or brochure.

Yes, you can have more technical pages and documents included, but the main pages need to be easy to read and tell visitors quickly and easily what it is you do and why they should buy from your company.

Hannah Sookias
Founder - The Write Solution
http://www.copywritingandpr.com/

PS If you don't have a friendly ten year old, do give me a call and we'll pass it by ours!

Your brand is more than a logo!

I've recently had the following article published in WiRED, the magazine for WiRE (Women in Rural Enterprise). I've been asked 'what is a brand?' several times recently, so thought it would be useful to copy the article here.


YOUR BRAND IS MORE THAN A LOGO!
What is a brand?
Let’s start with a little experiment. What happens when you read the following words?

• Diet Coke
• iPod
• Cadbury
• Asda

Did you feel the refreshing bubbles on your tongue? Or imagine yourself listening to music wherever you go? Were you longing for a bar of chocolate? Could you see the ‘rollback’ symbol meaning cheaper prices?

Don’t worry if you thought differently to me. Branding is how your company, product or service is perceived. It evokes emotions and knowledge of what it is you have to offer and what your customers can expect from you.

It is the first step in the relationship with a potential client. It’s what starts the ‘I’ll talk to them’ or ‘I’m not going there’ decision process. If you have late deliveries, inaccurate orders and a rude receptionist, your brand will be known for those traits.

Strong brands work hard so everyone perceives them in a particular way with the aim of being THE place to get that product or service.

Deciding how you want to be seen
Branding expert, Martin Griffiths from DE22 shares this advice with my clients:

“Take time away from your business to review what you offer at the moment in terms of products and services.

“Understand your customer needs – what do your customers actually need and why do they buy? They have both emotional and rational values – in this instance, emotional is more important as this is what makes potential customers buy into your brand.

“Then, think about how you would like to be seen by customers and competitors. Is it very different to now?

“Only start work on building your brand when you have decided what you want to be known for and where you are coming from.

“This core proposition then drives the logos, slogans and advertising messages. It determines the look, feel and words used for your website, marketing materials, PR stories and advertising.”

Building your brand
Today, we go to the specialists we know and trust – such as music from iTunes and DIY products from BandQ. We consider Bosch and Miele items for white goods because they have the reputation for being reliable.

In the same way, you can build your brand. Crucially, everything needs to be giving the same message.

For example, if you are promoting an environmentally-friendly product or service, ensure that you are communicating in ways that support this: digitally where possible, using recycled paper and materials where not. Promote eco-friendly stories about your carbon neutral transport or the novel ways you recycle, reduce and reuse.

When you want to be seen as a low-cost option, make sure customers feel they are getting a good deal - budget airlines have learnt to their cost that consumers feel cheated when their ‘bargain’ suddenly becomes expensive with baggage charges and taxes.

To be perceived at the high-end, price accordingly and ensure that you exceed your customers’ expectations. Help them feel they are getting something exclusive and use your marketing to reassure them that they have made the right choice.

Make sure everyone is on board
Ensure you and your employees are clear on your objectives and know how you want your brand to be perceived. Think through the impact of all your marketing activities and ensure that anything used enhances rather than weakens your brand’s image.

Finally, use a ‘think twice, speak once’ approach to avoid costly mistakes. As Gerald Ratner famously discovered, even an off-hand remark can have an effect - his ‘pieces of tat’ comment ruined his jewellery company’s brand and ultimately lead to its downfall.

Hannah Sookias
Sookias Media
Tel: 01283 808460
www.sookiasmedia

What's the difference between advertising and PR?

Many people are confused about the difference between PR and advertising, so here is a little story to help you understand the difference:

Fred wanted to go out with a particular girl, so he walked into the
bar where she went with her friends. However, no-one noticed him due to a lack of publicity and he left without speaking to anyone.

The next time he walked into the bar he paid the barman to shout out, "Hey, look everyone, Fred's here!" The advert caused the girl of his dreams to turn and see how attractive he was, but she carried on talking to her friends.

He decided to go away and work on his reputation. He met lots of new people and worked at being perfect boyfriend material.

A while later Fred went into the bar again. Lots of people noticed and started nudging each other. They began talking about how fantastic he was. Their comments included, "He's a lovely young man, always kind and helpful"; "Fred's got a great sense of humour - he always makes me laugh"; "It's nice to see a man who's got a personality as well as good looks"...

The girl he'd been wanting to talk came over to him and said, "I've heard
really good things about you. How about we go on a date so I can find
out for myself?"

And the rest is history - a match made in PR heaven!

When deciding between Advertising and PR, there are some major differences to take into account:

Advertising

• It is paid-for information about your company.


• It is controlled - i.e. you have complete control over what is shown and said.


• Adverts run as often as you are willing to pay for them to be shown.


• Advertising creates visibility.


• Potential customers know you are paying to promote your business.

Public Relations (PR)

• PR is free placement of information about your business.


• It is journalist-led i.e. they can say whatever they like, however you present the information to them.


• There’s no guarantee that your story will be used by the journalist.


• The editorial created from PR gives a 3rd party endorsement of your business.


• Potential customers view the articles as independent reviews.


• People buy from people who have been recommended.

So, advertising guarantees the placement of your company. Clients know you are paying for it to be there, but it gives an awareness of who you are and what you do.

PR on the other hand generates independent endorsements of your business. These can be product reviews, features or just small mentions of your products and services. Whilst there is no guarantee that your story will be used, potential customers use recommendations within their buying decision process and will rate highly what is said by a third party.

Hannah Sookias

Founder - The Write Solution

Got a question? Please do add a post or email me at info@copywritingandpr.com

Twittering Top Tips

I've been using Twitter for a while now (http://twitter.com/writesolution) and have been collating my list of top tips.

An internet search will pull up a raft of what to do (and what not to do). I've just listed 15 which I believe are important when using Twitter as part of an on-line media strategy. I've grouped them into sections - Your Profile, Your Strategy and Your Posts.

Feel free to add more - I look forward to hearing from you!

Hannah Sookias
The Write Solution
Tel: 01283 808460
Twitter: http://twitter.com/HannahSookias

PS Want to learn more about using Social Media such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to promote your business? "Making the Most of Branding and Blogging" is a practical workshop (in the UK) to help you set them up and start your on-line strategy. Find out more and book on-line at http://www.businesstipsandadvice.co.uk/.

Your Profile

1. Personalise your Twitter page so it continues to promote your company's branding. Branding is more than a logo; it is your organisation's image on-line and off-line, so make sure every communication method follows it through.
2. Add a photo or logo so people know who they are following. Ones of you partying with your mates or taken with a camera phone don't look professional though!
3. Include a concise, description of your business or what your job role is... it's crucial people know what you do so they can decide whether to follow you.
4. Include your website - it will help improve your SEO ranking by adding an incoming link and help people to find out more when they like reading your tweets and want to know more.
5. Link your Twitter account so it automatically tweets your Facebook status.

Your Strategy

1. Decide how you are going to use Twitter... For example, it can be used for:

• Brand awareness - get your name out there by being seen by others. The easiest way to target potential clients is to follow those you are most interested in (about 30-50) of them. Many will automatically follow you in return, meaning your posts will be seen by them to reinforce your brand.
• Marketing - showcase your portfolio by posting tweets that mention what you are working on, promotions, new product developments or services introduced.
• Competitor analysis - follow your competitors and see what they are doing (and remember they will probably be watching you too!)
• Real-time research - ask questions such as 'does anyone know...' or 'what do you...'
• Direct sales - promote offers and links to products and service e-commerce sites
  

2. Add Twitter to your marketing mix. Remember to add posts about the things you promote in other ways!

3. Write a list of things you want to add posts about. As mentioned below, it is better to tweet regularly and often than 10 in one go, so keep a note of ideas you can refer to.

4, Make a plan of how often you will add a post, I appreciate this isn't always practical to follow, but if you aim to tweet once a day, do it and people will start to look out for your posts.

5. If you keep forgetting to add a Twitter post, add a regular appointment in calendar or on-line diary to help you remember to tweet!

Your Posts

1. If you are using Twitter as a business tool, keep at least 80% of your posts about business issues. Yes, it's OK to mention some personal stuff so people get to know you, and your likes/dislikes, but it's not a good idea to mention lurid details of parties, drunkenness and the like if you want to be known as a serious professional! Likewise, keep your language clean (i.e don't swear).
2. Post regularly and often so your following get to know and expect to see items from you. It just isn't effective to post 100 things one day and then not touch Twitter for 6 months...
3. Try not to abbreviate. You will lose followers if you use them too often and people outside your company/industry don't know what they mean.
4. Add links to things you mention and ALWAYS check links (to make sure they work and to check they are not spam) before forwarding posts
5. When re-posting, give credit to the person who tweeted it first.