You've Conquered Facebook, What’s Next?

A Social Media Guide for Chambers of Commerce in Western NC

Traveler Internet TrendsThe Internet was used by approximately 90 million American adults to plan travel during the past year with 76 percent of online travelers planning leisure trips online. (TripAdvisor)

● Search engines● Destination Websites● Social Media

○ People are more likely to trust a friend’s advice than that of an advertiser

● Researching review sites like TripAdvisor and Yelp.○ People are more likely to trust a stranger’s advice than

that of an advertiser○ The top three decision making factors for U.S. travelers

are: price (76%), location (68%) and online reviews (44%). (USTravel.org)

Travelers have become very socially connected, across all age groups.

% of internet users who use social media by Age (Pew Internet)

· 18-29 83%· 30-49 77%· 50-64 52% fastest growing segment· 65+ 32%

Social Media Trends

Key Social Media SitesU.S. (Based on Traffic) Locally (Swain Co.)

Based on Followers, Engagement, and Virality

Facebook Facebook

YouTube Pinterest

Twitter YouTube

LinkedIn LinkedIn (Company Page)

Pinterest Twitter

Instagram Google+

MySpace Instagram

Google+ (MySpace not utilized)

After Facebook, What's Next?

● Optimize your Facebook Page for Graph Search

● Consider a Facebook Ad Campaign● Pinterest● YouTube● LinkedIn Company Page● Twitter● Google+● Instagram

What is Facebook Graph Search?

It's a new search engine within Facebook that is about to be launched. Search results for users will be based on their Facebook interactions and that of their friends, including:● Recommendations● Likes● Comments● Shares● Ratings● Check-ins

Get Your Page Ready

● Include basic information, such as your address, hours, phone number, and details in the About section.

● Encourage connections from customers: likes, check-ins, ratings, and recommendations.

● Ensure you're attracting the right people and having them interact with your content.

● The About section is indexed in Google, so you will want to make sure it is very descriptive and keyword-rich. Make sure to link to your website is in this field, so people can easily find your website since this field is so prominent.

Increase Interaction

● Photos get as much as twenty times more engagement than any other post type.

● Utilize smart phones (iPhone or Android) with the Pages Manager application for quick and easy photo postings.

Facebook Advertising

Grow your fan base and bring new travelers to your Facebook Page. It is a very efficient use of marketing dollars because these fans will continue to see your posts coming through their news feed, whereas a typical pay per click campaign only takes them to your website one time.· Targeted· Budget Friendly· Trackable – excellent analytics

Swain Co. Stats - Facebook Ads

Reporting Period

Fan Growth

New Organic Fans

New Fans From Ads

Days in Campaign

Daily Ad Budget

Total Spent Cost Per Fan

January 31 - February 26

516 117

399

27

$ 5.00 $ 135.00 $ 0.34

February 27 - March 26

1,117

145

972

28

$ 10.00 $ 280.00 $ 0.29

For February and March, we targeted 2 demographics: scenic drives, and family travelIn April, we increased our budget by another $5/day and added a new demographic for outdoor activity, primarily whitewater-related.

If you’re running a FB ad campaign, dress up your timeline for new visitors who are making a decision as to whether or not to like your page• Cover photo – make it pop!• Highlight photos to make them stretch across the timeline• Pin a beautiful image post to the top.

Pinterest

I rank Pinterest as the second most important social network for tourism-related businesses. Behind Facebook, and ahead of Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Google+, and Instagram.Why?Pinterest continues to experience exponential growth since its launch in 2011. The platform had the highest increase in audience and time spent of any social network across all devices such as PC, mobile web and apps.

Pinterest Statistics

● 48.7 million users globally.● Draws more referral traffic than Google+, LinkedIn, and

Youtube combined● 44% of Pinterest traffic is US based, higher than more

established social networks.● Primary uses in order:o Recipes/Foodo Crafts and Home Decoro Women’s Apparelo Travel Planning

Pinterest Statistics

● 80% of Pinterest users are women.● Content is searchable: Users can search for content by

keywords, hashtags, or categories.● Over 80% of pins are repins; That just shows how

important it is to pin creative, original content for content marketing.

● Most users on Pinterest never pin, but only repost content – YOUR content - In fact 80% of content on Pinterest are Repins. These repins should include a link back to your website.

What is Pinterest?● A pin is a photo with description and link to

your website. If you add the Pin It button to your website, people can use it to pin your website photos to Pinterest. Then lots more people can repin those things or click back to your website.

● Pinterest helps people discover things in a simple, visual way. Pinners might find something they love while browsing your boards, scrolling through a category you’re listed in or searching for you directly.

Get Started With Pinterest

● Consistency is key: Make it your goal to share an image on a regular basis.

● Create a few boards to get started. The very best boards are inspiring, with beautiful images that draw people in. They're also about a specific topic, like waterfalls or the Blue Ridge Parkway.

● Add the Pin It Button to your Website● Promote it on your Facebook Page and other social

media

YouTube● YouTube now has more than a billion unique

users every single month.● Nearly one out of every two people on the

Internet visits YouTube.● Monthly viewership is the equivalent of

roughly ten Super Bowl audiences.● YouTube is a Google product; YouTube

channels (business accounts), video titles and descriptions rank very high in Google search.

● YouTube videos are easily shared and embedded.

YouTube

● YouTube recently changed their About section, allowing a large cover photo, and links to website and other social media.

● YouTube videos are easy to create with mobile devices, GoPro cameras, flip video cameras, etc.

● Professional appearance is not important; relevant and short content is.

● YouTube just introduced a new feature to allow you to create a slide show video within youtube from your photos.

LinkedIn Company Page

● Over 200 million users, 74 million in the U.S.● LinkedIn has a more educated and affluent

audience than some of the other popular social media sites

● Primarily a business to business networking site, LinkedIn also ranks very well in Google search.

LinkedIn Company Page

LinkedIn Company Pages allow you to highlight your Chamber with:● Status updates● Detailed pages on up to 25 products or services (think

dining, cabin rentals, Blue Ridge Parkway, etc.). Each detailed page can include a link to your website, plenty of room for keyword-rich descriptions, a video, and links to special offers pages.

● Large cover photo images

Why Use Twitter?

● Your competition is using it.● Boost your marketing efforts.● Reach a very large audience.● Add to your awareness factor.● Over 200 million active users.● Link Facebook posts to automatically post to Twitter.

You have 140 characters to get your message across to your followers, and include a link to your website.

Twitter user is primarily male, aged 18-29.

Why Use Google+?

● 343 million users● Because Google+ is so heavily interwoven in

everything Google does, people know that they need to be present and active on the network. We do know that Google indexes individual posts.

● Improve SEO and help drive traffic to your site

Instagram

● What is it? It’s a fast, beautiful and fun way to share photos. Period.

● Snap a picture with a mobile device, choose a filter to transform its look , then post to Instagram. Share to Facebook and Twitter. It’s free.

● With over 100 million users, this mobile-only app is available for the iphone and Android.

Other● Keep an eye on TripAdvisor and research your

destination. Often you will find traveler questions within a travel forum for your area. Step in and answer travellers questions; even if they've had other responses.

● Search for, claim, optimize, and verify your listing on the following mapping sites. This will improve visibility for your visitor center on both desktop and mobile devices:○ Google Maps○ Bing Maps○ Yahoo Maps○ MapQuest

Key Takeaways

● Photos, photos, photos. Think weather, seasons, events, and scenic.

● Here and now – keep it relevant to what is happening today, or will happen in the very near future.

● Assign ambassadors wherever possible to document current happenings with mobile devices.

● Relevancy – keep it real and know what your audience likes by studying your Facebook insights..

● No sales pitches Keep it light, fun, and informative.● No time for social media? Have a plan. Keep it simple to

stay connected and grow awareness. Or take it to the next level to fully engage your audience and make it go viral.