Tweet to woo

One of my new year’s resolutions was to have a good look at social media use, especially for our own business.  However, as a ‘fully-paid-up-card-carrying member of the dinosaur club’ irritated by the facile ramblings of angst ridden teenagers, or those who post their breakfast ingredients on Facebook I was hugely turned off by the thought.  Like many cultural organisations we don’t have a dedicated team of digital brains working beyond the speed of light. So, coffee in hand and grump factor high, I bit the bullet and I was blown away on the first baby steps of my journey into the ‘dark side’ where I thought teenagers just poked, hung out and fell out.  I started my journey with stats because that felt sensible and I asked myself ‘what?’ and ‘why?’.  You know that Audiences UK loves stats and data because, used and translated well, the knowledge gained informs really sound decisions and even Eureka moments.  I am now going to indulge...

You have to admit it, the stats are globally impressive, especially for a novice like me.  By 2014, 50% of corporate sales will be through social network presences and mobile apps.  90% of consumers trust peer to peer recommendations whereas trust in advertising is just 14%.  If Facebook were a country it would be the 3^rd largest in the world. If Wikipedia were a book it would be 2.25 million pages long and take over 123 years to read. You Tube is the second largest search engine in the world (source:Social Media Revolution 2011).  The average age for social media users is 37 years old and more than half of the pensioners in the UK are now on Facebook (source: Social Media Findings in the UK).  Facebook is tops where it comes to sharing press releases but Twitter is much more effective in generating traffic.  Add images, video or audio and you can generate 3.5 times more traffic (source: PRNewser). We have really social media savvy audiences out there, but as a ‘business’ does culture make best use of our creative skills set and corporate personalities to woo them?  I’ll let you into a secret – blogging is hard, very hard, some have a gift but most don’t.  But it’s no longer a question of whether we use social media but how well we craft the content to engage.

And it’s the engagement which really appeals.  Social media is instant and there’s a further guilty pleasure – it’s very voyeuristic.  You can get to know people really well (if they’re interesting) and while you’re at it also run a really quick competitor analysis – how many Flickr photos do they have, Facebook likes, Twitter followers, You Tube channel views?  How do you as a cheerleader for your organisation and your own organisation stack up?  Sadly, it’s not just a case of being out there for the sake of it, you have to create information which is meaningful to your audience, and before that it is essential to identify your social media objectives.  This could be a ‘Keep it Simple’ approach where you may have just 3 objectives, say to amplify your event, increase awareness and increase reach.  Then consider the social media platform and create your strategy appropriately.  There are so many tools out there to make you into a social media dj – have a look at Buffer, Hootsuite, Tweetdeck and Sprout Social – most of these tools give you analytics too so you can track click rates and increases in your cyber traffic.  But think on – you have just 144 characters to get your message across and here creativity (good grammar and spelling) rules - you have to be a Conversationalist not a Broadcaster.  This is where ‘blending’ your personal and business profiles are either flawed or a resounding success.  Hone your skills if you’re a reluctant tweeter like me and just have a go.  Perhaps use Social Media Week starting 13^th February as your foray into this strange new world?  Personally, I’m not renewing my membership to the dinosaur club this year, instead I’m watching trending, analysing traffic and trying to be engaging – for at least an hour a day.  #hardwork.

So, the truth is out there, but comes with a word of warning – what happens in Vegas stays on Flickr, Twitter, You Tube Facebook...

Gerry Wall, @audiencesgerry

General Manager, Audiences UK