SOCIAL MEDIA A GUIDE FOR ENTREPRENEURS - Community Business & Development Centre Inc
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SOCIAL MEDIA
A GUIDE FOR ENTREPRENEURS
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2 Table of Contents BDC.ca
TABLE OF CONTENTS
4
Introduction
A VITAL BUSINESS TOOL
6
Part One
GETTING STARTED
LISTEN AND LEARN....................................................................6
CREATE A SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY.................................7
——Case Study : Martell Home Builders ......................... 10
CREATE A SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
FOR EMPLOYEES ........................................................................12
EVALUATE YOUR WEBSITE.....................................................13
9 DO’S AND DON’TS FOR SOCIAL MEDIA......................15
16
Part Two
ESTABLISHING YOUR
SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE
FACEBOOK.................................................................................... 17
TWITTER.........................................................................................19
——Case Study: Chambar Restaurant .............................. 20
YOUTUBE.......................................................................................21
LINKEDIN...................................................................................... 22
——Case Study: Frima Studio ............................................. 23
BLOGS............................................................................................. 24
3 Table of Contents BDC.ca
GOOGLE PLUS............................................................................ 25
OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA SITES............................................... 26
28
Part Three
CREATING CONTENT
FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
CONTENT BEST PRACTICES FOR ALL
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS................................................. 29
——Case Studies: Hillberg & Berk
and Dahlson Industries .................................................. 34
BEST PRACTICES FOR SOCIAL
NETWORKING CONTENT.................................................... 36
BEST PRACTICES FOR BLOG CONTENT........................ 38
BEST PRACTICES FOR VIDEOS
AND PODCASTS........................................................................ 40
APPLICATIONS.............................................................................41
——Case Study: VMAC ......................................................... 42
43
Part Four
MONITORING AND MEASURING
YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA SUCCESS
MONITORING............................................................................. 43
MEASURING YOUR RESULTS................................................ 49
51
Conclusion
WELL WORTH THE EFFORT
4 Introduction BDC.ca
A VITAL BUSINESS TOOL
Long gone are the days when Many entrepreneurs are reluctant to get
involved because they lack information.
social media was just about They’re unsure about how to get started;
posting your vacation photos concerned about what to post; and
or letting friends know what you suspicious they won’t get a return on
their investment.
were having for lunch. Today,
social media has become a vital Business owners who didn’t grow up
immersed in the use of the Internet are
business tool that entrepreneurs often especially cautious. But even many
can no longer ignore. entrepreneurs who use social media
regularly in their personal lives don’t
Social media is everywhere. know how to use it to move their
company forward.
We use it to make buying
decisions, to stay in touch When properly harnessed, social media
can help propel a business to a new
with friends and family, and to level of success. That was the case for
develop new relationships— Rachel Mielke, owner of Regina-based
both personal and professional. jewellery company Hillberg & Berk. Her
extensive use of Facebook and Twitter to
Yet only 35% of Canadian small market her company helped to increase
and medium-sized businesses sales by 2,000% between 2008 and 2012.
have a social media presence,
according to a BDC survey
in April 2012.
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Introduction
5 A vital business tool BDC.ca
Mielke is one of several Canadian entrepreneurs whose
stories are featured in this eBook. They have learned to
use social media to ratchet up sales, navigate changing
market trends, scout for employees and nurture a devoted
clientele. You can too—with the help of this step-by-step
guide to making the most of social media in your business.
Along the way, you will see how your business may
already be on social media—without you knowing it.
Then, with the help of checklists, you will learn how
to create a social media strategy, build your presence,
produce engaging content and respond to negative
comments on a consumer review site.
For entrepreneurs already on social media, we share
Rachel Mielke is one of several
best practices that help you gauge whether you’re
Canadian entrepreneurs whose stories maximizing your efforts—plus valuable tools and case
are featured in this eBook.
studies to help you improve your returns.
You will also see why traditional marketing techniques
don’t work in social media—and why a social media
presence is vital if you want your business to be easily
found online.
“Social media is a new way of using the power of word of
mouth,” says André Goyette, a BDC Consulting Partner in
Montreal who specializes in social media marketing. “And
we all know what word of mouth can do for a business.”
Our aim is to help your business find its place in the
social media revolution.
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Part One BDC.ca
GETTING STARTED
You’ve decided your business LISTEN AND LEARN
should make the move into
First, take a little time to educate
social media. But how do yourself about social media. Monitoring
you get started? It can be a conversations on social media—especially
daunting question for many ones about your business or industry—is
entrepreneurs, especially a critical first step in finding out where
you should be focusing your efforts. This
those who aren’t web savvy. will give you lots of ideas about how to
proceed once your social media presence
Even businesses already on is established.
social media often wonder
Here’s how to go about listening
if they’re maximizing their to social media.
returns—or getting any returns —— First, visit key social media sites such as
at all from their efforts. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to find
out how they work.
The good news is that with the —— Click the “Help” links for more
right planning and a bit of effort information, and look for material that
explains how you can use the sites for
and patience, you can learn to business. Here are some examples of
use social media to attract, en- helpful web pages produced by the
gage and retain customers inex- companies that run the sites:
facebook.com/business
pensively. Once you have estab-
business.twitter.com/
lished your presence and learned learn.linkedin.com/
the fundamentals, you will find youtube.com/t/about_essentials
that using social media is both —— A good way to familiarize yourself with
manageable and rewarding. social media is to get some on-the-job
experience. Create personal pages
Here are the steps you need on the main social media sites if you
haven’t already done so. This will get
to take before creating your you into the game and help show you
first social media pages.
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Part One
7 Getting started BDC.ca
how social media could be useful for CREATE A SOCIAL
your business.
——Next, start listening. Use the search
MEDIA STRATEGY
tools on social media sites to look for
A social media strategy is essential if your
mentions of your business, products,
investment is going to pay off. A common
brands, competitors and industry.
(Read more in the “Monitoring and mistake that many businesses make is rushing
measuring your social media success” to create a Facebook page or Twitter feed
section of this eBook.) You might be without proper planning. The result can
surprised to see that people are already be wasted resources and poor results.
talking about your business even if you
Here is a checklist of the key elements in
don’t yet have a social media presence.
your social media strategy.
——Don’t forget to check out what
customers are saying about you on ——Goals—With the help of key
consumer review sites. These can be employees, determine the main goals
the most important sites influencing of your social media presence. Are
how people see many consumer- they to attract more customers? Boost
oriented businesses. recognition of your brand? Improve
customer service? Based on your
——Get a feel for how businesses use goals, decide how you’ll measure your
Facebook, Twitter and other sites, social media success (e.g. number
especially successful companies of visits, number of followers and
in your industry that have many comments, how much your content
social followers engaging in a lot of is being shared, number of new sales
interaction. What kind of content do leads, etc.) and set targets.
companies share with their fans and
followers? What strategies do they ——Audience—Determine your
use to engage people? What jargon target audience and its receptivity
and abbreviations are used on the to various social media platforms.
sites? It’s not complicated—but it Focus your initial social efforts on
might take some time for you to platforms your audience likely uses
become comfortable. most, experimenting as you go.
——Go deeper. Read blogs relevant ——Content strategy and key
to your business, and engage in messages—Think about what kind
conversations on social sites. Join of content will appeal to your target
discussion groups on LinkedIn. Scan audience. Shoot for a balance of
further afield for lesser known sites entertaining and educational material.
that might be useful to your business. Above all, avoid being overly self-
promotional—a huge social media
no-no.
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Frame your content around key And be sure to communicate
messages aligned with your marketing your social strategy to employees,
strategy and overall business plan. working to secure the buy-in of
“Develop a storyline for your staff, from top managers on down.
business. What makes your company >> Publishing schedule—The
interesting?” says Michelle Blanc, lifeblood of social media is regular
an Internet marketing expert updates. Without them, you won’t
in Montreal. build the kind of engagement
How do you develop your key with your followers that you’re
messages? Use your market looking for. Work out a publishing
knowledge and research, organize schedule specifying how often
a focus group, or seek professional each of the platforms will be
advice. But don’t rely only on intuition, updated and by whom.
which could be misleading. >> There’s no firm rule on the
best publishing frequency. Your
——Engagement—Your content should audience may respond differently
encourage your fans and followers than another company’s. The
to engage with your company and ideal frequency can range from
ultimately become or remain your several times a day for a fast-
customers. To do so, it should present moving site such as Twitter
the human side of your business and to several times a week for
provide followers with benefits such as Facebook. Revisit your publishing
information, advice or entertainment. schedule if you’re not getting
Periodically, you can go further and enough feedback from followers
make direct calls to action—asking or your online community
people to purchase a new product, isn’t growing.
take advantage of a special offer or
sign up for your newsletter. >> Experiment with the timing of
your posts during the day to see
——Social media action plan—Now when you’re getting the most
you’re ready to create your action plan. interaction with your followers.
Here are the important elements.
>> Take stock of your existing digital
>> Who will do what?—Tasks to assets. Interesting content that
assign in your company include readers find useful is critical
monitoring social media traffic, in building your social media
creating content, and posting to following. But you don’t have
your sites and other social media to create all your content from
sites. Allocate adequate resources scratch. You may have a lot in
to employee training, and consider your files to get you started.
hiring a social media manager.
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Make an inventory of your existing
assets, such as guides, articles,
presentations, videos and photos.
Consider what you could rework
for social media. Keep in mind,
however, that existing content will
only take you so far. Successful
companies usually create fresh
material geared specifically to
each social media platform. For
more content ideas, check with
suppliers and business partners to
see what they could contribute.
Finally, be sure to think about
innovative ways to get your
audience to contribute content.
——Follow up—Monitor your efforts to
ensure you’re hitting your targets.
Also, revisit and update your social
media strategy regularly.
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CASE STUDY
PIERRE MARTELL
MARTELL HOME BUILDERS
Pierre Martell knew virtually nothing about social media
when he got started. But he did know he needed help
with his young home-building company in Moncton,
New Brunswick. He was having trouble attracting clients
in a tough market. And he had no money for advertising.
Martell decided to harness the low-cost power of social
media. He created a YouTube channel and posted short
interviews with contractors offering renovation tips. It was
“Social media has allowed a soft sell aimed at boosting his profile as an expert and
people to get to know us building trust with potential clients. The only advertising
and trust us before we for his business was a company banner in the background.
physically meet them.” Martell quickly added a robust presence on Twitter and
Pierre Martell, President,
Facebook. His social media efforts have contributed to
Martell Home Builders rapid growth at Martell Home Builders. Sales are up fivefold
since his first YouTube videos went up four years ago.
Martell’s social media strategy focuses on directing
traffic to his website. There, visitors can see a two-minute
video about his business and read the company blog.
This content and Martell’s social media efforts have been
key to reducing his average sales conversion time (the time
between first contact with a customer and a sale) from
seven or eight hours to two hours.
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“Social media has allowed people to get to know us and
trust us before we physically meet them,” says Martell,
who has more than 12,000 Twitter followers. “Now when
people call, they already know us.”
Martell’s social media strategy promotes his fresh and
innovative brand with fun, imaginative content that lets
employees’ personalities shine.
He suggests getting started by focusing on one or two
social media sites. “Figure out what you like to do and
are good at, and do that. If you have a good presence, do
YouTube videos. If you have no time or don’t like to write,
Twitter is a good option.”
Martell Home Builders’ Facebook page
Especially vital, he says, is to engage with visitors. “One of the
biggest mistakes is people start self-promoting. If you push
too much, people will stop listening to you,” Martell says.
“You always want to be helping, adding value and giving
information. Then you become a thought leader, and
other people will start to promote you.”
Resources:
themartellexperience.com
youtube.com/user/martellhomes
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CREATE A SOCIAL MEDIA ——If an employee mentions your business
in the profile on their personal social
POLICY FOR EMPLOYEES media page, they should include a
disclaimer in the profile saying their
Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and other opinions and comments do not
social media can help employees increase necessarily reflect the point of view
their visibility in the community, reach of your company or its management.
more customers and stay up to date. At ——Most experts say personal use of social
the same time, many employees are avid media tools on company time shouldn’t
users of social media in their personal lives. be prohibited, but employees should be
encouraged to limit it in the same way
So it’s no surprise that the distinction
they restrict their personal telephone
between professional and personal calls or Internet use. Company time is
use can be blurry. Here are some best for company business.
practices to ensure that employees use
——Posts should be consistent with
these sites appropriately and limit their
promoting and protecting the
personal use during working hours. company’s reputation and brand image.
Write a clear social media policy for ——Employees must avoid revealing
employees after gathering their input. proprietary or sensitive information.
Keep a positive tone, and avoid focusing ——If sharing links with work colleagues,
on disciplinary action for misconduct. employees should be sure the sites
The policy shouldn’t be too restrictive are reputable and reflect well on your
and should allow employees to be good company. The same advice applies to
company advocates. It should cover the employees joining online groups.
following elements. ——Revealing personal information online
makes your company more susceptible
——Employees should be careful
to spam, pranks and identity thieves.
to separate their personal and
professional social media presence. ——Ask employees to get permission from
They should be mindful of their other employees, clients or business
reputation, and assume that clients partners before publishing names on
and future employers can read sites. As well, they should respect
information on their personal copyrights and guard against plagiarism
accounts. Social media posts and by properly crediting the creators of
“likes” can remain online forever. the material they use.
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——When posting on topics relevant to image. As well, the call to action
your business, employees should button is most effective when a click
be transparent about their role in takes visitors to a “landing page,”
your company and stick to their a special web page where they can
area of expertise. make their purchase directly or find
——Encourage discussion of social media detailed contact information.
issues between employees and the ——Use graphics that have visual impact
person or people designated to but are not overly busy and distracting.
handle your social media. Ensure that ——Check with a professional to ensure
employees consult the appropriate that search engine optimization
person in your company before strategies have been used to attract
answering any media inquiries. potential customers to your site.
Google search results now take into
account how much websites are
EVALUATE YOUR shared or discussed in social media,
WEBSITE which means it’s also important to
make sure your site is evaluated for
As you embark on your social media its “social media optimization.”
strategy, it’s a good time to think about For example, your site should feature
the quality of your website. After all, that’s social media sharing buttons and
where you’re likely going to be directing compelling content to encourage
visitors to interact with your site.
social media traffic.
Your social media sites also help
——Be sure your site supports your overall promote links to your website,
business strategy. Visitors should be which also boost your Google
able to easily understand what you do search rankings.
and how to navigate your site. They
shouldn’t have to do a lot of scrolling
——Prominently display links to your
social media pages on your website,
up and down web pages or clicking
including, ideally, at the top of your
through pages.
home page.
——Prominently feature a call to action
and contact information to help
convert visitors into customers. Your
call to action should be a clear message
to prospective customers. (For
example: “Call us today.”) Draw more
attention to it with an accompanying
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To help, BDC offers a free
website assessment tool at
BDC.ca/testyourwebsite.
Resources:
hubspot.com/social-media-marketing-kit/
radian6.com/resources/library/social-media-
etiquette-%E2%80%93-minding-your-
manners-on-the-social-web/
marketo.com/b2b-marketing-resources/
best-practices/the-definitive-guide-to-
social-marketing.php
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9 DO’S AND DON’TS
FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
1 Know your goals and target audience.
Focus your social media activities 7 Don’t post material that’s inappropriate
or outside your area of expertise.
on them.
2 Grow your audience by offering 8 Don’t stop learning and listening to
what’s being said about you, your
helpful, value-added information. company, your industry and social
media. Social media is changing fast,
3 Remember that social media is about
building relationships. You can’t buy loyal so it’s important to keep an eye on
developments.
social media fans, any more than you
can buy friends in real life. Be likeable
and don’t take yourself too seriously. 9 Be patient. Like any relationship,
social media success takes time
to build. “Social media isn’t free,”
4 Content should be creative, authentic
and truthful. Do something different says Richard Toker, a marketing
communications consultant in
to stand out.
Toronto. “It’s relatively easy and
5 Be polite, respectful and generous.
Use the same tone as you would if you
can be free to create, but creating
a presence is the tip of the iceberg.
were talking with a client in person. Building a following is not free
6 Don’t use a hard sell. Avoid being
pushy. Instead, allow people to come
because it takes a lot of time. The
only way social media is going to
work is to hammer away at tasks
to you. The idea is that an engaged
follower is more likely to become on a daily basis. You have to be
a customer. disciplined and apply yourself.”
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ESTABLISHING YOUR SOCIAL
MEDIA PRESENCE
Now you’re ready to create Here are some other best practices that
apply to all social media sites.
your social media presence.
—— Customize and personalize your
This section gives an overview social media pages. Be sure to include
of the major social media sites, visuals, such as your logo and brand
colours. Also, consider using images
including their benefits for busi- of people at work in your business
nesses, and leads you through and customers (while being sure
the steps to follow in setting up to respect privacy and get consent,
if needed). “Social media is about
your pages. having regular conversations with your
customers and community of interest,”
It is generally a good idea for says Robert Begg, Vice-President
of Marketing at Radian6, a firm that
your business to have an provides social media monitoring and
account on every major social engagement solutions. “It has the
ability to truly ‘humanize’ your brand.”
media site in order to reserve
—— Setting up your page is simple enough
your place and protect your to do yourself, but a professionally
brand. However, it’s also advis- customized page reflects better
able to initially focus the bulk on a business in many cases. BDC
Consulting can help with expert advice
of your efforts on one or two on establishing your presence on
of the sites as you learn. Facebook and other social media sites.
—— Review your settings after you create
Choose sites that suit your a social media account. You can usually
find the “Settings” tab at the top of
personality, your company’s your social media page. Settings control
goals and culture, and your such things as how you share and
receive information, and who can post
industry. Focus especially on and make comments on your page.
sites preferred by your clients.
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Familiarize yourself with the settings, Your Facebook business page helps you
and be sure they are set appropriately foster a community of loyal clients and
for your needs. others who can spread your message.
——Familiarize yourself with social media Visitors who want to follow your company’s
platforms by reading each site’s how-to activities click the “Like” button on your
material, usually available by clicking Facebook page, which means they agree to
the “Help” link on the home page. subscribe to your updates.
——Be sure to keep up to date on new Your posts may then appear in their
features and changes in terms of use.
personal Facebook “news feed”—the first
thing they see when they log in. What’s
FACEBOOK more, every time they interact with your
Facebook page (for example, by writing a
When people think about social media, comment), this activity may get posted in
Facebook is the first site that usually comes the news feeds of their friends.
to mind. If Facebook were a country, its The power of Facebook is word of
1 billion active users would make it the mouth. The average user is connected
third-largest nation in the world. to 190 “friends” and shares, on average,
It’s a medium that businesses can’t afford 30 pieces of content (web links, videos,
to ignore. Even if you’re not on Facebook articles, etc.) each month. This means the
yourself, someone on the site could be right message can spread explosively to a
talking about your company. At the very massive audience.
least, your industry and products like “When you get new fans, they’re saying,
yours are probably being discussed. ‘Yes, I welcome your information.’ They
Facebook was created in 2004 for college can become a captive audience,” says
students to socialize online, but it’s Jocelyn Archambault, President of Laval,
since expanded into a powerful tool for Quebec-based ID-3 Technologies, which
businesses to connect with customers. A offers social media consulting services to
Facebook page is more dynamic than a BDC clients.
website and easier to create and maintain. “It’s even better than word of mouth,
It has tools that allow you to interact because your messages can spread
easily with clients and showcase your through their networks.”
business and its culture.
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Here are some tips for creating ——A Facebook page also allows an
a Facebook business page. unlimited number of fans (unlike a
——First, go to Facebook.com, and profile, which limits you to 5,000
create a Facebook personal account, friends). And a Facebook page lets you
if you don’t already have one. Click designate multiple administrators.
“Sign Up,” and enter the requested
information as instructed. ——Give your page a human face with lots
of visuals, while being careful to comply
——A Facebook account is what most with privacy restrictions on publishing
people on Facebook use to interact photos and Facebook’s terms of use.
with friends and family. Users often (For example, Facebook doesn’t allow
refer to this as a “Facebook page,” price information or contact details
but in official Facebook terminology, to be used in your cover image.)
it’s actually a “profile.” A Facebook Prominently display your logo and other
page, which is what you need for your branding elements. Visitors should have
business, is something different. It no doubt they’re at the right place—
requires another step to create. Facebook is littered with knock-off
sites and multiple pages with similar
——Once you have a Facebook profile, names. Click “Edit Page” to add profile
click “Create a Page.” (This link is information on your business and
most easily found at the bottom of change your settings as appropriate.
your profile.) Or go here: facebook.
com/pages/create.php. Follow the ——When you create your page, the URL
instructions for creating a company page. (Internet address) will include a long
random number. Give your page a
——Some companies make the common custom URL—for example, facebook.
mistake of using a Facebook personal com/coffeeshop—in order to make
profile for their business. This violates it look more professional, easier to
Facebook’s terms of use and could promote and easier to find in web
cause your account to be terminated. searches. Get a custom URL for free
A Facebook page also has features at facebook.com/username.
better suited for businesses. For
example, on a Facebook personal
profile, you have to individually Resources:
approve each person who sends you facebook.com/business
a “friend” request. A Facebook page
lets visitors click the “Like” button, hubspot.com/marketing-ebook/
how-to-use-facebook-to-grow-your-business/
which automatically adds them to your
company’s network. mashable.com/guidebook/facebook/
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TWITTER To gain even more feedback and market
insights, you can also search all tweets for
It’s hard to imagine that a social media mentions of your company or industry.
site allowing messages just 140 characters You can respond to customer questions
long could achieve such wild popularity— or concerns, foster a community of loyal
let alone become an important tool clients, and participate in conversations to
for businesses. raise your brand profile.
But in just six years, Twitter has amassed Here are tips to get started on Twitter.
over 140 million active users who ——Go to Twitter.com, and follow the
generate over 340 million daily messages instructions to sign up for an account.
(called “tweets”). The site gets 1.6 billion Click “Help” at the bottom of the page
search queries each day, making it the to read about Twitter basics.
web’s third most popular search engine ——Sign up with a user name. But first,
after Google and YouTube. carefully consider what user name will
best reflect your company and brand.
Twitter lets businesses easily share This will be part of your Twitter page’s
information and deepen relationships internet address.
with clients. On your Twitter page, other
——Customize and personalize your
users can sign up as “followers” of your page to make it look more professional
tweets, which means they receive your by clicking “Edit Your Profile” at the
messages on their Twitter page. The site top of the page. You can include
also allows them to interact with you a profile photo and change the
instantly—sending comments, questions, background image to a photo of
compliments or complaints. employees, your company logo or
an attention-getting image.
Montreal Internet marketing expert
Michelle Blanc, herself an active tweeter
with more than 30,000 followers, says Resources:
Twitter is the digital era’s version of the
business.twitter.com/
water-cooler—a thriving meeting place
where you can engage with customers, hubspot.com/
journalists, bloggers and industry twitter-for-business-marketing-kit/
personalities. “Do you want to enter a johnjantsch.com/TwitterforBusiness.pdf
dialogue with people who will influence
mashable.com/guidebook/twitter/
consumers about your brand?” she asks.
“Of course you do.”
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CASE STUDY
KARRI AND NICO SCHUERMANS
CHAMBAR RESTAURANT
Twitter is an important part of the success of Vancouver
gastronomic entrepreneurs Nico and Karri Schuermans.
The couple owns the award-winning Chambar Restaurant
and embarked on an ambitious expansion in 2007.
They’ve since nearly doubled sales by adding a thriving
breakfast and lunch restaurant, a cooking school, a deli
“We’re trying to stay top and their own Belgian-style beer brand.
of mind with people, and Twitter has played a key role in helping the couple foster
Twitter gives us a better a community of enthusiastic customers and stay on top of
understanding of what changing tastes. “If we weren’t using Twitter, we would
people are interested in.” know less about our customers and their interests,”
Karri and Nico Schuermans, co-owners,
Karri Schuermans says.
Chambar Restaurant
Chambar has more than 3,300 followers subscribed to
its Twitter messages, while its Dirty Apron Cooking
School has 5,600 followers. Its tweets talk about special
events and offers. They also personalize the company by
describing what its key people do in their spare time,
like chef Nico Schuermans’ 8,000-kilometre journey
on the TransAmerica Trail in 2011.
Chambar’s renowned sommelier Robert Stelmachuk
has a separate Twitter account with 2,300 followers,
where he shares wine information and talks about pairings
with various dishes.
“There’s a resurgence of people wanting information
on food,” Karri Schuermans says. “It’s rewarding to talk
about it and see how people react. We’re trying to stay
Chambar Restaurant’s Twitter page top of mind with people, and Twitter gives us a better
understanding of what people are interested in. If you’re
not using it, you’re missing out.”
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YOUTUBE Here are tips for getting set up on
YouTube.
With more than 800 million visitors per ——Go to YouTube.com, and create a
month, YouTube is the most popular site YouTube account using the “Create
on the web after Google and Facebook. Account” link at the top of the page.
The average visitor watches half an hour Select a user name that reflects your
of YouTube videos each day. YouTube company and brand.
is also the world’s most popular search ——Access your YouTube channel by
engine after Google, with 4 billion clicking your user name at the top
monthly search queries. of your YouTube account page, then
clicking “My Channel.” Uploading
“It’s kind of staggering. That means videos through your channel makes
consumers are saying if there isn’t a video them easier to find on the web. People
on this, they’re probably not interested,” who subscribe to your channel will be
says Richard Toker, a marketing notified on their YouTube homepage
communications consultant in Toronto. about new videos.
——Click “Channel Settings” to customize
Little wonder that many entrepreneurs
your site, and enter information about
are finding innovative ways to use the your company and a link to your
site. A YouTube channel is an easy and website. Under “Info and Settings,”
inexpensive way to reach potential clients choose a title for your channel, a
with videos that help a business stand out description and “tags” (keywords
as an industry leader or niche player. relevant to your business) to make it
rank higher in searches.
The site is also a good way to engage your
customers and get their feedback through ——Also under this tab, you can keep
others from viewing your channel until
comments. And you can search YouTube
it’s ready for public consumption by
for videos relevant to your business.
leaving the “Make my channel visible
YouTube can showcase the CEO and on YouTube” box unchecked.
other employees who make your business ——Upload videos by clicking the
successful. “People like to see people. If “Upload” link at the top of the page.
you’re buying a product or going on a trip,
it’s nice to read about it. But it’s better
to see a video,” says André Goyette, a Resources:
BDC Consulting Partner in Montreal who youtube.com/t/about_essentials
focuses on social media.
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LINKEDIN Here are some tips for getting going.
——Go to LinkedIn.com, and follow the
With more than 175 million members instructions to create a LinkedIn page.
(including 5 million Canadians), LinkedIn Create a page for your company, and
is one of the largest social media sites and ask key employees to create their own
the biggest professional network. personal pages, which they can use to
be your advocates.
LinkedIn has unique features that make ——Be sure to customize your profile page
it a vital social media site for businesses, by adding company information and a
professionals and employees. Like company logo or photo.
Facebook, LinkedIn’s heart is the ability
——Also, create a custom URL (Internet
to connect with others and post address) for your LinkedIn page that
professional and personal updates that reflects your company and brand,
are seen on the home page of everyone making your page easier to find and
in your network. The difference is that market. (Until you do so, the URL will
LinkedIn is more geared to professional include a series of random numbers.)
networking, while Facebook is more Do so by clicking your username at
oriented to general social interaction. the top of the page, then clicking
“Settings” and “Edit Your Public
LinkedIn has tools allowing you to easily Profile.” Then click “Customize Your
and quickly build a large network of Public Profile URL,” and follow the
business contacts to whom you can send instructions.
messages and post updates about your
company. The site is also a fast-growing
method of recruiting, thanks to its Resources:
powerful job search tools. learn.linkedin.com/
LinkedIn also allows your company and hubspot.com/
employees to join and create discussion linkedin-for-business-marketing-hub/
groups relevant to your business. This lets
you raise your profile and establish your
company as an industry leader.
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CASE STUDY
STEVE COUTURE
FRIMA STUDIO
As one of Quebec’s fastest-growing companies,
videogame maker Frima Studio is always on the lookout
for top-quality talent to fill job openings. In just six years,
Frima has shot to 350 employees from 20. And social
media has played a crucial role in filling that huge appetite
for new employees.
“We want to show
it’s fun to work at Frima. LinkedIn is one of Frima’s main recruiting tools, says
company CEO Steve Couture. “Human resources are
Our goal is to attract
super important for us,” he says. “We want to work
people to work here and
with the best in the world. To get the best, we have to
promote our brand generate a lot of interest.”
in our industry.”
Frima uses LinkedIn to post updates about job openings to
Steve Couture, CEO,
Frima Studio its nearly 1,180 followers, who may in turn pass them on
to their connections, potentially reaching tens of thousands
of people. Frima also scans the updates it receives from
its connections to check for people who have left a job
and are newly on the job market. This is especially helpful
when Frima is looking for specialized personnel. The site
also tracks who has viewed Frima’s profile information.
If it’s someone who looks like a possible employee, Frima
might get in touch to feel the person out.
The company is also very active on its Twitter and
Facebook pages, where it features photos and posts about
fun company events and parties to showcase its easygoing
workplace. “We want to show it’s fun to work at Frima,”
Couture says. “Our goal is to attract people to work here
Frima’s LinkedIn page and promote our brand in our industry.”
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BLOGS Many businesses use blogs to show the
human side of their company by featuring
Blogs (short for web logs) are the oldest the president or key employees sharing
form of social media. They first rose to their views and offering useful content.
prominence in the early 2000s when It’s a good way to foster a sense of
bloggers broke several high-profile news community around your business by
stories before the mainstream media. showcasing your expertise and interacting
Many businesses have since adopted them with customers in the comment section.
as a versatile online tool. Create your business blog using these tips.
With more than 150 million blogs in ——Visit the major blogging platforms
existence, they are gaining ground to see which is best suited to your
on traditional websites in popularity. company’s needs. Some offer free
Companies with blogs get 55% more blogs, but you can get more features
web traffic and 126% higher sales lead through a paid blogging platform.
growth than those without one, according ——Follow the instructions to create
to research by Internet marketing your blog. Customize your blog by
company HubSpot. adding images and information on
your business, and by changing the
A blog is much easier to create and template (appearance) and settings,
maintain than a traditional website. as appropriate. You can also use the
Blogging platforms offer easy instructions settings to create an internal blog
for creating a blog and a variety of that can only be seen by those with
templates you can use to design permission, such as your employees.
its appearance. ——You should aim to post at least once
a week. But what’s really important is
Blogs include tools for visitors to to be consistent and keep the focus on
comment on your posts and subscribe to your area of expertise as a business.
them. The platforms also include tools
allowing you to monitor your traffic and
track sales conversions.
Businesses can also host a blog on their
own website, but this requires some
technical knowledge or the help of a
website developer. A regularly updated
blog hosted on your website can improve
your site’s search engine rankings.
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GOOGLE PLUS Here are tips for getting started.
——Go to Plus.Google.com. Follow
Google Plus is one of the fastest-growing the instructions to create a Google
social networking sites, with 400 million account, if you don’t already have one.
users signed up (100 million of them Then go here to create a Google Plus
active) since it was launched in June 2011. page for your business: plus.google.
com/pages/create.
Google Plus has been lauded for its ——Click “Profile” at the top, then click
simple, clean look and features that offer “Edit Profile” to customize your page
great versatility for business purposes. and add photos.
The site has innovative tools allowing
group meetings and video-conferencing.
It also allows you to easily organize
contacts into various groups (which the
site calls “circles”), such as friends, family,
acquaintances and work colleagues. You
can choose what information to share
with each circle, which makes it simple to
manage work and social interactions all
on one platform. For example, you might
share some industry news with work
colleagues, while sharing vacation photos
with friends.
The site also gives you easy access to all of
Google’s other services in a single place,
such as Gmail, Google Drive, Google Talk
and Google Calendar. Another strength:
a search engine that allows you to scan
posts for mentions of your company and
other relevant topics.
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OTHER SOCIAL Here is an overview of the main types
of sites.
MEDIA SITES
Location—Location-based social
The social media universe includes a networking (sometimes called geosocial
fast-growing collection of lesser-known networking) allows users to interact
sites that offer a vast range of features based on their location. These sites
that are useful for businesses. are especially handy on smart phones.
Users can track friends’ locations, plan
Because there are so many sites, it’s
gatherings and share recommendations
impossible to give details here on how
for venues, such as restaurants and
to get started with all of them. Here are
events. Businesses can benefit by offering
some general tips.
rewards to users who check in at
——Visit the site, and click on the their outlets.
“Help” or “Learn More” button,
which is usually at the top of the A prominent example is foursquare,
home page. Some sites also have a which allows users to share their
business support page specifically whereabouts by checking in at various
for companies. locations. They can earn discounts,
——Create a personal account at rate venues and use the site to meet
the site and start exploring. The up with friends.
best education often comes from Social bookmarking—Social
hands-on experience.
bookmarking sites such as StumbleUpon,
——Google the site’s name and “for Delicious and Digg let users recommend
business.” The search results should web pages or store their web bookmarks
include information on how the (their library of saved web pages)
site can help businesses, including online so they can access them from
checklists and articles.
any computer. Users can also share
bookmarks with each other. Getting
listed on such a site increases web
traffic. Businesses can take advantage of
these sites by adding a button to their
website making it easier for visitors to
recommend or bookmark their site.
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27 Establishing your social media presence BDC.ca
Content sharing—Content-sharing
sites such as Instagram, Pinterest, Flickr
and SlideShare allow businesses to
share photos, presentations, videos,
guidebooks, documents and other
files. While YouTube is by far the most
popular such site, many others offer
specialized platforms that may be useful
for marketing your business.
Group buying—Increasing numbers
of small businesses are tapping into the
power of group-buying sites, an online
phenomenon that is attracting millions
of bargain-hungry shoppers. Sites such
as Groupon, TeamSave and LeRenard
provide deep discounts on products and
services with deal-of-the-day coupons
offered on the site and via email.
Consumer reviews—See the
“Monitoring and measuring your social
media success” section (page 45) for
more details on these sites.
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CREATING CONTENT
FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
You’re now ready to start Robert Begg, Vice-President of Marketing
at Radian6, likens it to making friends in
posting on your business’s new real life. “You can’t buy friends,” he says.
social media pages. This can “If you want friends, you have to give, give,
be the hardest part for many give. Make deposits in their emotional
bank account. If you help people, they’ll
entrepreneurs. What do you say? help you.”
Where do you say it? And how?
Building a following in social media works
the same way, Begg says. Imagine how
Social media is a different you would build friendships if you were
animal than a website or tradi- to move to a new town. “You’re not
tional advertising. In those media, going to have 100 friends right away.
It’s a slow build.
your message is mostly based on
talking to people. Social media “The traditional marketing approach is
to buy attention. In a new town, that
is all about engaging with people would be like paying people $1,000 to
to build relationships. The idea is come to your party and then spending the
that, once engaged, people can party telling everyone how great you are.
Not many of them will end up as
be swayed toward your goals. your friends.”
Social media can be powerful,
Keep this analogy in mind when you’re
but not without the right content. deciding what to put on your business’s
social media pages.
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29 Creating content for social media BDC.ca
CONTENT BEST and family, compared with only
36% who trust sponsored ads on
PRACTICES FOR ALL social networking sites, according to
SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS an international Nielsen survey in
April 2012.
Here are some best practices for creating ——Try not to simply display the same
social media content and building a social content on every site. Find a different
media following that apply across all social voice for each platform.
media platforms. Further on, you will find ——Post regularly according to the
more detailed suggestions for specific publishing schedule you set out in
social media sites. your social media action plan (see
page 8). Social media pages quickly
Listen and learn lose fan attention if they’re not
updated regularly.
——Again, listening is the first step. Look
at other companies’ social media ——Hard-sell marketing is a big no-no in
efforts, especially in your industry, to social media and will turn off visitors.
see what they have done. Focus on Save that for advertising or your
businesses that have succeeded in website. Remember: You’re trying to
attracting many followers. build relationships. Find ways to be
of service to your online community.
——Review posts and comments to Speak with your audience—not at
learn how businesses engage their them. For example, an auto dealership
community and what their fans are could blog and post videos about car
interested in. care tips. Or remember how Moncton
——Also, search social media sites to see home builder Pierre Martell built a
if people are already talking about your thriving business using social media?
company and products. (See the case study on page 10.)
Instead of just trying to promote his
Engage your audience business, he posted YouTube videos of
contractors sharing renovation advice
——The key to social media success is
with home owners.
offering interesting, relevant content
that your followers will find compelling ——Be fun and imaginative. Do
and want to share with their networks. something different. Don’t be afraid
This is the power of social media: to try something new.
word-of-mouth marketing and peer ——Good examples of content include
referrals. Ninety-two percent of how-to blog posts, links to useful
consumers say they trust word-of- articles, educational videos, Q&A
mouth recommendations from friends sessions with knowledgeable
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30 Creating content for social media BDC.ca
employees, announcements of live YouTube channel. You probably came
events and industry news. Also, draw across other interesting content in
on the existing digital assets you your research—advice on buying and
identified during the “getting started” storing ingredients, a funny cartoon, an
stage, and keep your eyes open for interesting article to link to. These are
excellent content developed by others. perfect for your other social sites.
It’s especially effective to use lots of ——To get a steady stream of relevant
strong visual content, such as charts, material for sharing, create a Google
photos, infographics and videos. With News Alert with topic keywords
today’s information overload, you at google.com/alerts. Then you will
should be careful not to overwhelm automatically receive articles, blog
posts, videos and other online material
your audience with too much text.
about those topics by email. You can
Your aim is to establish your page also get lots of content by subscribing
as the hub of a thriving community to RSS (Really Simple Syndication)
and a go-to resource, which will feeds available on many websites,
ultimately help fuel more sales. Your which will automatically deliver posts
posts should focus on your area of directly to various free RSS readers
expertise, but you can cast a wide such as Google Reader (see google.
net, offering links to content that is com/reader). In your Twitter account,
interesting, informative and apt to create a Twitter List of people you
build a deeper relationship with your follow who post good material, which
audience. One caveat: If you have you can then “retweet” (forward to
a short sales cycle, be careful not your followers) and post on other
to include links that send traffic to social media properties.
websites other than your own; rather, ——Guard against plagiarism. Be sure to
drive traffic to your website or use properly acknowledge other people’s
applications that allow you to convert material when using it. Don’t post
visitors into paying customers right on someone’s article or other material
your social media page. without ensuring it’s in the public
domain and acknowledging the source.
——Your company’s existing digital
assets can be useful, but it’s also vital ——Ask employees to come up with
to develop fresh content geared content ideas and to contribute to
specifically to each platform. That company social media pages themselves.
doesn’t mean starting from scratch for ——Encourage audience contributions and
every post on each site. Say you have participation. Ask fans to post their
a bakery business, and you’ve made comments, stories, photos and videos
a video offering baking tips for your
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31 Creating content for social media BDC.ca
on your page. Ask customers for genuinely interested in your business,
written or video testimonials, and post not just looking for a freebie. Be sure
them. Invite product feedback. to tie your contest in some way to
——Be authentic and truthful; build trust, your products, brands or business goals
and listen to what your audience says. (such as collecting customer feedback).
Ask questions, and be sincere Also be sure to check applicable federal
in seeking opinions. and provincial regulations regarding
contests, as well as the social media
——Respond promptly (generally within platform’s contest guidelines.
24 hours) to those who interact
with you. Be sure to thank those ——Regularly survey your audience.
who contribute, and respond to any Surveys are a good way to solicit
customer issues. All this interaction customer feedback and engage with
will also help boost your following your audience. Boost the number of
by making your feed livelier. As well, respondents with a draw for a prize
fans’ interactions with your pages may at the end (while, again, being sure to
automatically pop up on their friends’ respect the social media platform’s
feeds, encouraging them to follow you. contest rules). Surveys will also help
you build a following.
——Put a human face on your business.
Use photos and videos to show the ——Liven up your website or blog with
people behind the scenes at your plug-ins from social media sites.
company and events (while respecting Plug-ins are tools that allow your
privacy and obtaining consent if audience to make comments, or share
needed). Express personal views or recommend your content. Other
(though not on controversial subjects). plug-ins allow you to create a feed of
“It’s important for the business to your social media messages on your
have faces and personalities, and to website. For example, Facebook
be real and approachable,” Begg of offers information on its plug-ins here:
Radian6 says. “Those personalities are developers.facebook.com/docs/plugins/.
what made the business successful You may need technical help to install
offline. So why not show them online? these. Be sure to respect the use
I’d rather connect with a person conditions of the various social media
sharing real ideas they’re passionate platforms for reproducing their logos
about than a faceless company.” on your web properties.
——Build engagement by holding contests ——For companies that do business with
where you offer discounts or prizes. other businesses, rather than with
Contests will help you attract more consumers, the same best practices
followers but should be designed apply. But you’ll get especially good
to find and retain those who are responses from your followers with
industry-specific content: regulatory
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