Annual Social Media Review

The new year has started, have you taken a look at your social media presence? 

If not, now is the time to take an intentional look at what you’re doing, determine what’s working and what’s not, and be strategic about moving forward.

In the old days, people thought you had to be everywhere all the time.  Those days have changed.  Find out where your members are sourcing their information and make sure you’re in the sandbox.

For a great resource on conducting a social media audit for your organization go HERE and HERE.

 

Now that you’ve conducted that audit, use those data points to chart a course going forward!

As stated above, be intentional on what you want to do and spend your resources accordingly.  That means staff time and money.

Think you Can’t Make Money With Social Media? Think Again.

Jason Ebey, IOM, YGM Total Resource Campaign, gave a great presentation on the title of this blog post!

His opening statement - "You came looking for money!"

We are membership-based organizations.
 
What is your target audience?  Members or nonmembers.  It’s about connecting either of those groups that can provide value to your members.

How businesses got out their message in the past, they went to different platforms but we’re going to focus on Facebook today.  He suggested our demographic is on Facebook and number two YouTube.  Shotgun vs focused approach is the theme.

It’s all about the reach.  How do you reach your members?

Start by cleaning your Facebook page.  Don’t lose your identify by putting too much junk on your page.  It’s about getting your members or prospective members to engage on your page.

Now it’s time to put value on your page.  Talk about your program of work:

Ribbon Cuttings – picture (free), live, interview (charge for both of those options).  Monetize what you can.  Transaction or it’s part of a top tier of your membership.

Flashback Friday – a year later highlight that ribbon cutting with pics from the event.  Nice touch when they are getting ready to renew.  Also, you could find a sponsor for your Flashback Friday.

Member Spotlights – what a great way to highlight a member by telling their story.  Members will pay you to tell their story on Facebook.  Think about delivering real content on the business and how they are interacting with the community.  Don’t over play this on your page.  Maybe sell one a month or one a week.

Holiday Campaigns – shop local with a coupon.  He talked about a company that can embed your logo within a QR code.  Remember QR codes, Covid brought that dead industry back!  Everyone is using QR codes again to highlight a sponsor and their company.

He went on to talk about Facebook pages vs groups for your organization.  The groups are  market segmentation of your total membership (think of it as folks who rally around an issue like workforce, healthcare, etc.).  And think of it that way!  It’s all about engagement and he stated that Facebook groups have a higher level of engagement than pages.

He ended with suggesting you keep a balance on your Facebook page.  Don’t go all sponsorship, but do focus on how you can monetize Facebook.  Do make sure you have quality content on your platform, page/s or group/s.  He quoted the President and CEO of the Robins Chamber that said, "this has also increased their engagement, recruitment and retention."

Make sure you pick the right platform for your organization and more importantly that you can support with your organizations resources.

For more information on Jason Ebey go HERE.

Connecting with People on Facebook

I attended a fascinating webinar presented by Jannelle Watson with Facebook.

The following are my notes from her session.

She separated her discussion into four different areas; the basics, the tools, content strategy and resources.

The Basics

• You need to be on a Facebook page not a profile
• 218 M active every month
• 166 M return every day
• 156 M use Facebook on mobile every day
• 90% of discovery happens on mobile.  Optimize for mobile.
• Use simple vertical images and graphics, and remember, less is more! 
• Ensure page security.  Set strong passwords, two-factor authentication.

 The Tools

• Comment moderation.  Comment policy, profanity filter and page moderation.
• Facebook Live - most engagement.  10x the comments while Live.
• Live Premieres - schedule and debut on-demand videos as Live moments.
• Facebook Groups - you can tie it to your page.  A great resource to continue conversations with select attendees.
• Events - tool used to promote your events.
• Messenger - send important messages to your subscribers or use to set auto responses.
• Messenger Rooms
• Stories - show your personality.  You’re at the top tray when your people sign into Facebook.  You can use it to interact with your members.  Remember, your story goes away after 24 hours.
• Facebook and IG ads - paid advertisements vs organic reach. 

Content Strategy

What Works?  Make sure it’s authentic, interactive, timely and consistent and varied.

• Authentic - make it feel personal and a connection to the community;
• Interactive - answer questions from your members, go Live, like and reply to comments and tag other pages;
• Timely - discuss hot topics, breaking new (i.e. press releases or program deadlines) and write quality long-form content.  This can be cut and segmented and promoted on Twitter; and
• Consistent and varied - develop a content calendar (for a previous blog post on that subject go HERE), post regularly, aim for daily posts and use a variety of post types, photos, videos, stories, links and Facebook live.

Resources

• Google Facebook Resources
• Fundraising tool for 501 c3’s only
• Facebook speakers are free
• Facebook Live Producer
• Facebook.com/gpa - has everything she talked about
• Facebook Help

Great tips to take advantage of this social media platform.

Auditing Your Social Media Strategy

What social media outlets are you using to connect with your members?

Do you have an official review process in place to make sure you’re spending your resources wisely, based on where your members are spending their time online?

Don’t guess, do your homework and get the analytics to make the right choices.

I recently came across a great article that talks about this subject matter and basically states if you’re not using Pinterest, your members might be missing out on a great opportunity to grow their business.

As mentioned in the article, most folks are spending their resources on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

For an article on the Top 7 Pinterest Categories go HERE. 

For an additional blog post by Hubspot on the Ultimate Marketing Guide to Pinterest go HERE.

I think it’s important to keep our eye on the trends, study what works best, and implement that strategy, based on a yearly review.

As I’ve said before, I’m a fan of less is more!  At the end of the day, go where your members are spending their time online.

For a great resource on conducting a social media audit for your organization by Hootsuite go HERE.

Simple Strategies to Connect to Your Loyal Members

At a special "Ted Talk" like session, Scott Douglas, Director, Membership and Business Development, National Strength and Conditioning Association, talked about strategies to connect with your loyal members.

He started with a question.  How do you think of your members?  Are they a commodity or are you building a community?

I hope you’re in the building community at your chamber.  While your members are joining to get something specific (i.e., networking contacts, new business, etc.) it’s important that they feel part of a bigger thing, that thing being community and not just being a transactional member or as stated above, a commodity.

Another point he made was are you listening vs connecting with your members.  He went on to talk about how successful top companies have leadership touching their customers.  Is the CEO of your chamber reaching out and making contact with your members on a regular basis?

I think we all listen, in some form, with our members and most of us use the common ways we listen to gain feedback from our members – annual survey, membership growth/decline trends, informal feedback at meetings using focus groups.

A better question he posed was are you listening to the people who never call you?  In addition, anytime you do a survey, you should survey your members and non-members alike.

There was a brief discussion on the term net promoter score – and a lot has been written about that subject over the years.  I see this more in the association world with groups who have tens of thousands of members and not so much at the local chamber. If interested in more information on the net promoter score go HERE.

He ended the talk with a brief discussion on the normal ways we connect with our members - newsletter, social media, and meetings and the less common ways - schedule feedback calls, handwritten appreciation notes, onsite visits.

With social media as it is today, are you taking pictures of the volunteers working at your events and then posting on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram, which ever platform your members are on with a note of appreciation? They may just repost on social media for you.

Just a thought!

Engaging and Promoting in a Digital Ecosystem

I recently attended a conference session (title of this blog) by Shama Hyder and Eric Kuhn.

Social Media - new definition - people are now the media!

The reach of any event can go viral - the old event that had 10,000 now is reaching millions - think the United airlines story - everyone around the world knows what happened.

In today's age you have the opportunity to get your message out and many will say the Millennials are the ones to get that message out.

By 2020 they will make up the majority of the workforce.

3 Trends in Social Media

1. Identity-Based Ecosystem - showcase their own identity;
2. Content Curation and Community - collaboration, community; and
3. Video Device Agnostic (web + people = TV).

Eric Kuhn - from Hollywood to Silicon Valley.  Where we came from?

3.7 billion global Internet users who are on facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat, email, Kickstarter, Tumblr, Podcast, Tinder.

Fight for future - Uber owns no cars, Alibaba has no stock, airbnb owns no properties, wiki-links sells no encyclopedias.

SoMoLo - social, mobile, local - Uber and Lyft - content is important.

Best Practices

• Have a purpose, a point of view on social media;
• Go viral - inform, inspire and insight to action (why you should share); and
• Talk with the audience not at the audience or down to the audience.

How social media now effects every organization?

• Content is currency;
• Live your brand;
• Design matters (what it looks like); and
• Have purpose and value with your product, programs.

Until next time!

Technology vs Shoe Leather

I think we can all agree that the technology revolution throughout the past five years has really changed the way we do business.

Especially now with social media and all that it affords us in communicating to the masses.

All these new technologies allow us to communicate in a timely, and for the most part, efficient way.

The big question, for me, is are we better off with the relationships we have with our members now or before we had social media?

Hence, the title of this blog post.

I would suggest the days of walking around and meeting our members on their turf made or left a bigger impression on them as members of our chamber then any communication we could make through social media.

While technology is great, let's not be afraid to wear out a little shoe leather and re-engage our members on their turf, not ours.

At the same time you might get some candid feedback that they're not willing to share through electronic communications, but happy to share in a face-to-face meeting.

There's no substitute for face-to-face meetings.

Just a thought!

Who Should You Follow on Twitter?

As a chamber executive, I use Twitter to keep abreast of the latest technology, management and nonprofit issues affecting the chamber/nonprofit industry from people I choose to hear from - influencers.

I only follow about 30+ people.

But to me, those are the leaders in their fields that I want to hear from.

If they send something out and I want to dig a little deeper on the subject matter, I'll click the link that normally accompanies a tweet!

The following are just a sample of who I follow on Twitter:

• Joe Pulizzi
• John Haydon
• Michele Linn
• Nick Bilton
• Jay Baer
• Ann Handley

What's nice about Twitter, in this aspect, is if I like the headline I can go to the full article. Otherwise, I get the headline and move on.

Reading the headlines and finding out if anything is trending is important even if you don't read the entire article.

It gives you a working knowledge of the issues of the day and the topic de jour at your next reception or networking event.

In my humble opinion, the less you follow, the better.  Who's got time to follow thousands of Twitter handles?  Not me.

Something to think about!

Social Media Statistics

I was reading an article that was titled 52 Cool Social Media Facts.  For a copy of the entire article go HERE.

At the very least, the numbers are astounding.  A couple of things I took away from the piece were:

• People are embracing the use of social media;

• There is always a new tool around the corner to entice your participation;

• We are way beyond the days of just Facebook and Twitter; and

• We are still grappling with measuring ROI as it relates to making money on our programs through these marketing channels.

One constant that continues to ring true throughout everything I’ve read is that you need to identify what social media tools your members are using and focus on those tools as a way to communicate with them.

You can’t be everything to all people. Sound familiar?  It applies to social media too!

Do your research and find out where your members are spending their time in the online space, and participate, lead the discussions in that space.

Good luck!

For a blog post on social media metrics by buffersocial go HERE.

Social Media Redux

If you haven’t had a chance to read my previous post on social media Is it Just White Noise you should give it a quick read.

As stated before, it’s making noise.  We all need to continue to pay attention to what your members want and the channels they're using to communicate.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s the fact that tomorrow will bring a new gadget, app, social media trinket with shining stars for you to engage in and potentially use as your new shiny tool to attract members.

I find myself chasing the elusive “next best thing” from time to time.  At the end of the day, you could probably keep up with all the different social media tools out there (i.e., Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+, YouTube, Pinterest, Ning/proprietary site, Wiki’s, blog, etc.), but you’d be exhausted and I’m not sure all your members are on all of these platforms.

My advice, pick the two or three that make the most sense for your chamber and focus on tying them together and communicate a succinct message while maintaining a consistent brand.

Communicate that brand using all communication vehicles you’re used to working with (i.e., website, newsletter, magazine) and add the two or three social media tools you’ve decided to focus your resources on to communicate with your members.

Social media is just one more avenue we can use to communicate effectively with our members.

Let’s not make it the only way we’re communicating with our members!

For additional resources on social media go HERE, HERE and HERE.

Word of Mouth Marketing

It’s not just a phrase. There’s a dedicated association to the field.

We’ve all done the membership survey that asks the question – how did you hear about us? Usually the number one answer is a friend or colleague.

That’s word of mouth marketing at its core.

We typically use the term member-get-a-member campaign in our vernacular. We do it because it’s very effective.

I strongly encourage your marketing staff to learn more about the techniques of word of mouth marketing if they haven’t already done so.

When you think about it, isn’t that what social media is all about? It’s just using the Internet instead of literally talking to someone face-to-face.

In today’s times we need to use all available resources and tactics in recruiting new members.

For more information on the Word of Mouth Marketing Association go HERE.

Social Media: Content Rules

The book Content Rules is a must read by any chamber who wants to start or raise their game when it comes to social media.

The book has many great suggestions but I wanted to focus on the frequency template that they describe.

The 1, 7, 30, 4, 2, 1 rule:

• 1 – daily tweets
• 7 – weekly blog post
• 30 – monthly blog post on a recent meeting
• 4 – quarterly research paper
• 2 – biannual webinar roundtable
• 1 – annual best practices, book, etc.

And don’t forget the title of the book, Content Rules. That's key!

Your social media should not be used as just another marketing tool. Use it to deliver content and encourage discussion on the important topics facing the business community, like growing their business, complying with regulations and electing pro-business candidates.

It’s been said before you can’t be all things to all people. The same is true with social media. You can’t be on all platforms and be successful!

Find out where your members are hanging out in the social media space and build a reputation in that space. It could be a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google +, or some other platform.

It seems to me that every time I turn around a new tool is introduced in social media and is hyped as the next best thing.

Go where your members are and potential members are, don’t wait for them to come to you.

Content Rules!

For the latest articles in content marketing go to the Content Marketing Institute’s blog HERE.

Social Media: Is It Just White Noise?

I ask this question every chance I can with chamber execs across the country.

And, I get the same three answers:

1. I don’t know;
2. The puzzled look on the face; and
3. Everybody is doing it, we need to be doing it.

Our members only have so much time in the day. They are trying to run a business.

Have you asked your membership if they want you to communicate with them via social media? Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs, Ning and Twitter? Just to name a few.

For information on tools to conduct a needs assessment surveys go HERE.

Setting up and managing these social media sites can be a full-time job. In today’s economy, small staffs and possibly no expertise on the technology, what’s a chamber to do?

Solution/s?

Conduct a needs assessment of your membership and ask them what they want. If you’ve got a small staff with no expertise, get a college intern to set it up and teach you how to do it.

Social media is very user friendly and can be fun. The key is turning it into a moneymaking entity for your chamber.

There’s no question social media is making noise, I just don’t know if it’s white noise or noise that we all need to be aware of and pay special attention to by listening.

Get the facts, engage and embrace this technology accordingly!

Latest info on social media go HERE and HERE for two great websites I visit on a regular basis.