Marketing Commentary from interlinkONE
Marketing. Web-to-Print. Warehouse Management.
How Publishers Can Benefit from Social Networking
Posted by 
on Wednesday, December 7, 2011 
at 6:38 AM 
in There is no doubt that social media has changed the way that people consume information. Many publishers have certainly felt the effects of that. People are searching, finding, and reading content on more channels than ever before.
However, there is a way for publishers to use social media to actually grow their business. How so? I’m happy to provide ideas and inspiration in the presentation below:
I hope that you find the content within the presentation helpful.
Some of the main topics covered included:
- Why You Should Care About Social Media
- How Publishers Can Use Social Media
- Best Practices, Strategies and Tips
Tags 4 Reasons to Get the Video Camera Rolling at Work
comScore released its U.S. Online Video Rankings report earlier this year. If you are still hesitating on whether your company’s marketing efforts could benefit by recording, posting, and sharing video, then I think you may want to take a look at a few of these statistics:
- 83.3 percent of the U.S. Internet audience viewed online video in May
- 5.6 billion viewing sessions occurred in May
- 176 million web users in the US watched online video content in May
- An average of 15.9 hours of online video were watched per person
Nowadays, technology has certainly been removed as a “challenge” when it comes adding online video to a company’s marketing mix.
The only obstacles may be identifying what content the videos should cover and how to build up the courage to get behind the camera!
Of course, the content question can be easily answered. Oftentimes, the same content ideas that are being used in blog posts, eBooks, White Papers, and webinars can be absolutely repurposed in an online video format.
And in regards to building up the courage, I’m tempted to say “just do it! It’s important to your business.” But if you do need a bit of help getting started, this might help.
Use Social Media for Online Press Releases
Not long ago, when a company was looking for affordable, broad publicity, they would turn to a newspaper and a press release. Those days have certainly changed, as social media has now become one of the greatest weapons in a PR practitioner’s arsenal. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and other social networking channels all can be used as an inexpensive way to spread company news to a wide audience, and as a way to disseminate your uniform mission statement to all of your targeted publics.
How Social Networks Can Help Your PR Efforts
A social media press release can do the job that two printed publications are needed to do. Social media can reach an external public by promoting new offers, announcing new products or store openings, and also garnering followers and Likes. It can also act as a corporate newsletter. Announce new hires, retirements or promotions with an email blast, or a Facebook message to all employees.
And social media allows for more aesthetic value that traditional press releases sorely lack. A normal press release is often stuffed into the bottom of a newspaper page, replete with hyperbole and plain font that make it look like printed spam. An article on social media can be interactive, filled with examples and pertinent information that a reader will actually want to read. And you can optimize your headline and keywords for search engines to pick up. Your scope is far wider than any local newspaper could ever encompass. You can also take advantage of sites like Digg that compile news from all over the Internet.
PR professionals can also utilize social media as a conversational tool. They can tune into conversations that consumers are having as a result of their press releases, and they can participate and offer information on behalf of the company they represent. There are multiple tools out there for monitoring Tweets, use them to track feedback about your company and thank those who are praising your efforts and work to pacify those who are upset.
Moving Forward
The old idea of a press release may be fading away. But the general principle of a press release will always be a staple of classic public relations. Your company, like any other, will always need affordable ways to reach an audience without using an elaborate advertising campaign that can cost boatloads of cash.
Being social media savvy and knowing when to send out a message, to your internal and external audiences, can be a highly effective and efficient tool for you to use.
Calling All Service Providers – Make Social Media Work for You!
If you’re in the business of printing, mailing, or fufilling marketing materials for other businesses, you absolutely need to be utilizing the power of social media to promote your company and build your business. The Internet doesn’t replace print media, no matter what anyone says. It doesn’t operate independently of print, it doesn’t function in a different business world than print. In fact, Internet businesses have a huge need for printed materials- brochures, flyers, invoice materials, packaging materials and dozens of other hard copy paper materials with text and images printed on them. Where do Internet entrepreneurs look for business partners? On the Internet, of course- and they are using social media to find them.
So… it’s time to do an inventory of your social media presence. Can people find you on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube? If not, here is a brief overview each of those channels.
Facebook is the big daddy of the social media sites. This platform allows you to create a profile or even a fan page. The difference between the two may actually seem quite negligible to the average use, but they make a difference to you as a business owner. The Facebook Fan page allows you to have a professional business page where you can announce information, promote special deals or provide other information about your business. You can target your posts so they are broadcast to all of your fans or just to those in specific demographics, such as location or language. Pages don’t utilize the inbox like personal profiles do, so you cannot send or receive individual messages. Only the administrator or owner of a business can create a Page, but you can assign other administrators to help you maintain and manage the page. You invite people to become fans of your page and build your following when those fans invite their own fans and friends.
Twitter is another big player in the social medial game. Twitter plays a little differently than Facebook by limiting each post to a maximum of 140 characters. While it may seem like the restriction could impede communication, the truth is many people love the challenge of saying what they need to say in a short, concise message and find it a time saver! Twitter is a great way to share links, posts to blogs and short messages with your customer base. One of the key features to remember with Twitter- and all social media platforms- is that you need to make sure you are actually being social and not just promoting your products. If all you do is hard sell, you will lose your followers or at best, simply be ignored.
YouTube
You Tube is another popular social media outlet. On You Tube, you post video for people to watch and share- they even share it on other social media networks like Facebook and Twitter! By utilizing video, you can show your products and demonstrate unique ideas, let your customers see the person behind the name, and let people see your facility, equipment, staff or anything else that makes you stand out from your competition.
P.S. If you are looking for more information on how service providers can use social media to grow their business, I devoted quite a few pages on the topic in my book Business Transformation: A New Path to Profit for the Printing Industry.
Building Your Social Reputation
I wanted to take a quick moment to share this graphic with you:
There are hundreds of millions of people on social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, and more
However, there certainly are quite a few holdouts too. I’ve recently had the chance to spend some time with people that know they need to be on social media, but just don’t know where to start.
During those discussions, I’ve used this picture to explain how some people can get started.
Here’s the bottom line: If you are going to get involved in social media, you must be willing to commit! Be determined to create content that helps to expose YOU to the world. Be determined to share helpful content, to participate in conversations, and to engage prospects and customers through multiple channels.
If you can follow-through on those efforts, your social reputation will certainly grow and prove to be beneficial.
