Notes from Selling Social Media with Ryan Dohrn
Notes submitted by Erin Ryder, Kentucky Equine Research
- Sales people think they understand social media because they have a Facebook account.
- You have to be careful what you say – make sure it’s accurate and right – because your advertisers are learning from you.
- Biggest thing to remember - you need to go where your advertising prospects are at. It doesn’t matter if you like Facebook or Twitter. If you want to win, you’ve got to play the game.
- Get out of your bubble. Find where your advertisers and readers live. Become a voyeur.
- Use Facebook fan pages, not personal profiles. Facebook.com/pages
- Make a list of your biggest advertisers. Become a fan of all of them. Set up Google alerts for all your major advertiser names. Keep up-to-date with their news.
- Consider splitting the stream – one fan page for your readers, set something else up for your advertisers (share editorial calendar, etc.).
- Selling status updates. Social media isn’t a push technology. If you aren’t getting feedback, what you’re talking about isn’t resonating with them.
- 78% of working adults (worldwide!) have access to the internet. You have to understand what people on your social media sites are looking for.
- Train your FB audience that you’ll have sponsored messages that will proliferate throughout the conversation. Elle magazine FB example. Be conversational.
- If all you do is push out information, you’re not going to engage your fan base.
- Set ratio for sponsored posts – 1 in 10, whatever’s appropriate for your audience. Price on level of engagement fans have. Various models - % response, etc.
- The web is the great equalizer – you in your garage are as powerful as the major publications. It’s about what you DO with it.
- Facebook ads. Where’s your price point? Include it as part of your bundled package.
- Resist the urge to delete; negative comments add legitimacy to your site.
- Use your existing resources – Example, ask your designer to put together a custom image for a welcome tab. Imagery; don’t assume it’s okay to use freelancers’ photos on Facebook. Be specific in your contracts.
- Create discussions on your Facebook page that stem from editorial on the site, then point your readers to them. Make it big and bold. A little heat is okay.
- Consider selling custom tabs – 4 day front rotation, etc.
- Has the potential to become a colossal sink of time. LinkedIn is a good place for salespeople, not so much for reader engagement. Good place to find more information and prospects.
- Go into it with a purpose to avoid wasting time.
- LinkedIn is one of the greatest resources for finding prospects. Use their profile to make a connection, establish a repoire.
- Linked In has great response rates, but less is more. Don’t use it to send a media kit. Just move the ball down the field. Don’t abuse the system – Linked In will block.
- Get an introduction via LinkedIn – referral through existing connections. Use with discretion to find good prospects. Have a complete profile to unlock all abilities.
- Linked In Groups can be your in to multiple new connections with specific interests. Engage in groups where your advertisers and readers are.
- Make sure the sales team knows you’re using LinkedIn for a purpose.
- Build a company profile and allow all your people to be in it; you’ll have to reach to their connections.
- Same revenue possibility as Facebook. Starting to wane; lesser level of engagement.
- Set a frequency and keep it. Watch for fatigue.
- Be very careful in writing advertisements on Twitter. Present it as helpful, useful information.
- Differentiate your personal profile from the publication’s space. Keep it topical. No intermixing.
- If you do a link on Twitter, link to the exact article. Okay to shorten; you’ll lose the citation credit but gain the traffic for SEO.
Conclusion
People are more positive when they’re asked to participate in a project. Get your advertisers involved in designing the project. If you won’t commit to social media, find someone to do it or shut it off.