Use social media to engage users and increase sales: Creating a social media content calendar

Transcription

1 Use social media to engage users and increase sales: Creating a social media content calendar 929 W. Oak St Kissimmee, FL P E. pip@pipmarketinggroup.com

2 By Lauren Holliday Director of Marketing, PIP Printing & Marketing in Kissimmee TABLE OF CONTENTS Lauren Holliday is the director of marketing at PIP Printing and Marketing in Kissimmee. Holliday is a journalist with a marketing mindset. Orlando Weekly featured her latest article on its Aug. 29-Sept 4, 2012 cover. Social media calendar defined...1 Why create a social media calendar.4 How to create a social media calendar What to do now..9

3 Chapter 1: Social media calendar defined Social media has not changed everything. Content still is and will always be king. You may implement a presence on every social media platform out there, but it will not bring any return on investment if you utilize it the wrong way or fail to utilize it at all. Ingrain this in your brain: "If I want to beat competitors and surpass goals and expectations then I will create engaging content. Like any strategic marketing plan, social media marketing campaigns need to be built on a solid foundation. If you fail to plan then your campaign is doomed to fail so let's tell you how to design a costeffective and time-efficient social media strategy that will engage users; and in turn, will increase revenue. How do you beat your competitors? You create engaging content. 1/9

4 Editorial Social media calendar: (noun) 1. A calendar used by companies to organize and control content across an array of media outlets. 2. An organizational tool, in calendar form, that helps implement a consistent and informative message across the Internet. Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday /9

5 Use social media to engage users and increase sales: Creating a social media content calendar Witty Visuals Educational Resources Easy Repeat Five types of content Be Witty Many companies forget that its clients are real people by treating them impersonally on social media. Your clients want a break from the overtly repetitive business stuff so treat them to a laugh Educate clients Yes, it is still important to include educational content; i.e. ebooks, how-to guides, infographics, Utilize free resources Gain new leads by utilizing free resources and influencers. Resources are anywhere you can post quality content about your company without asking permission When creating your social media calendar, make sure you include a list of your influencers and resources. on your behalf. Posts, tweets and of someone else. This would be Instagrams do not have to be serious or your personal blog or a blog or educational 100 percent of the time. Ensure you spice things up by adding a personality to your social media. Visual Communications Stop paying for advertisements when I want to use Company XYZ. I don t want to feel like the company is using me. -Your client paper you contribute to. IMPORTANT: Don't appear overtly promotional. Influencers are people who have a large social media following; and therefore, can influence a large group of people. Make it easy Some days you may not want to write something funny or educational so create a bank of excess content for those days you you can create a FREE visually When creating your social media are swamped, but still need appealing social media ad via your calendar, make sure you include a to post something worthy of blog. list of your influencers and being posted. resources. 3/9

6 Use social media to engage users and increase sales: Creating a social media content calendar CHAPTER 2: Why you should create a social media calendar

7 Use social media to engage users and increase sales: Creating a social media content calendar The F-Factor Trendwatching.com created this term in May 2011, and the F stands for friends, fans and followers who influence a consumer s buying decision. The graph tells explains it the F- factor. 5/9

8 Use social media to engage users and increase sales: Creating a social media content calendar Why does the F-Factor matter? According to KellerFay, a US word of mouth marketing research consultancy, there are nearly one trillion conversations about brands every year in the US alone. Fewer than one in three people trust marketing messages, according to Edelman Digital s annual survey of trust.3 That s a pretty dismal number. If these two statistics aren t reason enough to implement a content calendar then I don t know what is. Repeat after me: Content is king. Google s algorithm updates, Panda and Penguin, are making it harder to maintain or improve your search engine rankings without great content. If you are consistently creating quality content, this will also tell Google to view you as a valid publisher, which can help with your overall SEO efforts. Source: Why a content calendar will be critical in 2013, Josh Bernstein 6/9

9 CHAPTER 3: How to create a social media calendar

10 Use social media to engage users and increase sales: Creating a social media content calendar How to create a social media calendar: What you ll need: Page 6 of this ebook Whichever calendar you use incessantly For example, I chose to create my content calendar using Google Calendar because I use G-mail religiously. Based on the types of content shown on page 6, create a content repository for Monday Friday, or the entire week, but I recommend only Monday Friday. If you need extra help, check out Contently.com. It is a new website, still in Beta testing, that will take you through the process in short, easy steps. If you don t need the extra help, but still need and/or want to share the calendar with others then utilize sharing tools within programs such as Google Calendars and Microsoft Outlook. Create a unique name for each day of the week, such as Mentor Monday so users know which type of content to expect every week. If it s good content then they ll look forward to it! 8/9

11 PIP Printing & Marketing in Kissimmee announces its launch of its new service: social media management More than 75 percent of local consumers found local businesses through search engines in Ten years ago companies spent between $300 to $2,000 or more per month on yellow-page ads to drive customers to their businesses. Today, customers expect companies to interact with them on a multitude of social media platforms. For these reasons, PIP hired me. As a journalist with a marketing mindset, I will create quality content, which will deliver measurable results for our clients. Most importantly, PIP will focus on driving clients sales so they can focus on serving their customers. Learn more at W. Oak St Kissimmee, FL /9 P E. pip@pipmarketinggroup.com