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7 Ways To Determine If Your Morning Show Is Maximising The Power Of Social Media
July 26, 2013
Have an opinion? Add your comment below. Is your team creating great content and then sharing it appropriately? It may seem like all the noise in popular culture is coming from social media alone, but remember, without good content there is nothing to share. Yes, it still matters what the message and character of conversations are, but if it lacks the depth of great content, you’re playing the game... without the ball.
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Untitled Document One of the internets leading authorities on Social Media, Social Media Examiner, recently released their annual Social Media Report for 2013.
3,000 marketers were interviewed about where they’re focusing their social media efforts, how much time they’re spending online, what kind of results they’re getting and where they’re planning on focusing their efforts this year.
Here are some of the key results (download the full report here):
- 86% of marketers say that social media is important to their business. (Up 3% from 2012.)
- 97% of marketers use social media to market their business. (Up 3% from 2012.)
- 87% of those interviewed want to know how to measure the return on their social media investment.
- Over 50% of users who have been using social media for 3 years have seen an increase in sales.
- 62% of marketers saw an increase in website traffic after using social media for two or more years.
- Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogging and YouTube were the top five social media platforms used by marketers.
- 66% of marketers are increasing their blogging activities in 2013.
- Only 28% of marketers agreed that their blog was mobile friendly. Test your website on an iPhone, Android, Windows phone, etc. There’s no excuse for not having a mobile friendly blog in 2013.
Social Media is a key tool for a morning show to engage with it’s audience. This engagement, when carried out effectively, can have a profoundly positive impact on your stations ratings and revenue.
How is your morning show team performing? What measurements are you using to track their progress and effective use of social media?
Here are seven Social Media KPI’s that should be monitored...
1 – Social Media Is An Organism - Is Your Team Evolving With It?
What matters in social media today, may no longer be effective tomorrow. Is your team keeping up with current trends? These are just a few of the latest surprising Social Media facts:
- The fastest growing demographic on Twitter is the 55–64 year age bracket. This demographic has grown 79% since 2012.
Source: jeffbullas.com
- YouTube reaches more U.S. adults aged 18–34 than any cable network
Source: jeffbullas.com
- 25% of smartphone owners ages 18–44 say they can’t recall the last time their smartphone wasn’t next to them
Source: marketingprofs.com
- Social Media has overtaken porn as the #1 activity on the web
Source: Social Media Video 2013
2 - Good Grammar Is Key
Good grammar or at least a clear and creative use of language is a key factor in communicating. Good communications are necessary for good connections.
How can your team expect to develop a strong connection and engage with their audience if what they’re sharing is barely readable? The answer is... they can’t.
Here are some handy tools and habits you and your team should get into:
- Use Google Chrome or Firefox as your browser; they will spell check for you. Other browsers have spell check too, but these two are the best.
- Leave a word processing program with spelling and grammar checking open on your computer. Write in the word processor; correct your errors, then copy and paste into your online platform.
- Have two staff members proofread and edit articles and updates before publication. A second set of eyes can really help improve on several levels.
- Get involved with any of these - Grammar Girl, Daily Writing Tips, Grammarly (paid service) etc.
3 – Content Is Still King
Is your team creating great content and then sharing it appropriately?
It may seem like all the noise in popular culture is coming from social media alone, but remember, without good content there is nothing to share.
Yes, it still matters what the message and character of conversations are, but if it lacks the depth of great content, you’re playing the game... without the ball.
4 – Does Your Team Whisper Or Shout At Their Followers?
Twitter users tend to either "whisper" secrets to their followers or use the platform as a bullhorn to "shout" public information.
According to Patrick Sweeney, both approaches have their advantages: Shouting is a way to win followers, as long as you're shouting about something interesting, while whispering can be a good way to build and sustain engagement.
Which group does your team fit into? Will this approach acheive the goals outlined in your overall social media strategy?
Source: glidesocial.com/2013/07/23/two-types-of-tweeters-which-are-you/
5 – Has Your Team Found A Voice? Are Your Talent Telling Their Story?
“In life, finding a voice is speaking and living the truth. Each of you is an original. Each of you has a distinctive voice. When you find it, your story will be told. You will be heard.” — John Grisham
The way to be really heard (i.e. understood, liked, and appreciated) is to be yourself. Everyone has interesting and unique qualities.
How are your social networks setup to have a clear, consistent and unique voice. Where do your breakfast team fall within this plan?
6 – Don’t Be A Me-Monster
Finding a voice is highly critical to your social medai success, but be careful not to become a me-monster.
Noone enjoy’s conversations with the me-monster at dinner parties so why would things be any different on social media?
Social media is not meant to be a free tool to simply push out your marketing slogans, awards and successes either. It is a conversation.
How is your team doing on this point?
7 – Are The Team Passive Or Highly Focused?
Chris Abraham, writing in SocialMediaBiz says “when you put lots of energy, time, and passion — but no plan — into your social media marketing and PR campaigns, you’re a forager. And you surely won’t starve foraging. You’ll always be fed. Social media foraging does get protein in the pot, though that protein is generally more in the form of grubs than it is prime grade lean steak”
‘To scale, you’ll need to drive interest toward
a business’s bottom line’Social media marketing demands a strategy that ultimately results in an outcome that means something to a business’s bottom line... whether that’s more subscriptions to your website or newsletter, more traffic to your corporate or station site, or ratings increases and sales... being a social media marketer is not simply a popularity contest, it’s a contest for market share, for revenue, for brand recognition, or for leads.
While the best foragers do, indeed, have a plan, it’s generally not a plan that includes much beyond itself. What is your teams plan and where does it fall within your overall social media strategy.
Source: socialmedia.biz/2013/07/15/social-media-marketing-requires-more-than-foraging/
Conclusion
The above list is not exhaustive and as pointed out in item one, it is evolving every minute of every day.
I’d like to know what methods of measuring social media success you have used effectively/experienced in the past?
Let me know and perhaps we can release a follow up list over the coming months. E-mail your story to phildowse@phildowsemedia.com.
I’ll leave you with one final set of tips. In their new eBook entitled ‘The Seven Success Factors of Social Business Strategy’, Charlene Li and Brian Solis, have compiled a list of social media tips based on research as well as real-world experience of their clients. Here’s a summary of the Seven Success Factors...
- Define the overall business goals. You can’t align your social strategy with your business objectives if you don’t even know what your objectives are.
- Establish the long-term vision. If you’re not striving toward the end goal, you’re likely to veer off the path. If you want your team to fully invest in your social strategy — and you need the support of your entire team– you’ll need to communicate your vision with clarity and passion.
- Ensure executive support. In the early days you may be able to fly under the radar, but at some point, if you want to truly have an impact on the business, you’ll need the backing and support of key executives.
- Define the strategy roadmap. You already know your business objectives and have a clear vision. But how are you going to get there? Plan out your route, what roads you’ll travel, and what roads you’ll avoid.
- Establish governance and guidelines. Who is responsible for executing the social strategy? What’s your process of listening and responding to your customers?
- Secure staff, resources, and funding. In the early stages of social growth, you might outsource your social media campaign to an agency, and that’s fine. But you should also be looking down the road and planning to develop internal resources to take your company to the next level as your strategy grows.
- Invest in technology platforms that evolve. Resist the temptation to jump on the latest technology bandwagon before you have a long-term strategic plan in place. Hold off on making significant technology investments until you’re equipped with a sound vision and strategic plan.
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