Social Media

THE
SOCIAL
MEDIA
HANDBOOK
FROM AMATEUR TO PRO
AUTHOR: HARDIK JOSHI

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CHAPTER 1
THE
BASICS

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THE SOCIAL MEDIA HANDBOOK

Every brand aspires to be on social media but most don’t know where to start from. So let’s start with looking at some social media basics.
Why are you expected to be around?
Firstly, be sure of the reason for your existence on social media. A number of brands want to set up their presence just because everyone else is on social media platforms. It could either be the brand custodians, bosses, peers from other teams, competing brands, etc., that can trigger the need for a brand’s existence on social media. However, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts are not ‘websites’ that ‘exist’ exist solely for your brand.
‘Humanize’ your brand
No I am not promoting the Galaxy S3 here :) , existence on social media platforms for any brand requires ‘humanizing’ the brand. The brand is going to start talking to people on these platforms, hence one needs to define the brand characteristics. How is old or young your brand gonna behave? Will it have a lighter or a heavier tone? What kind of conversations will the brand get involved in? Define the complete personality of an individual that the content writer can relate to, while writing content for the page.
Plan your approach
So setting up a Facebook page, a Twitter account or a blog is the easier part, what needs special focus is your consistent long term content strategy. If the brand has decided to venture on social media platforms, they will have to talk about something. Find the right balance between being relevant to the audience and being relevant to the brand products or services. Brands cannot be talking only about their products or services neither they should be ignoring them completely.

Choose the right platforms
It is not necessary to be present on all social media platforms. Choosing the right platforms even amongst the popular ones like Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, etc does help. The approach could also be defined as being more aggressive on certain platforms that the other. It all depends on what your brand’s target group is. If the brand wants to focus on an evolved audience, Twitter is the place to be. Facebook definitely is where the masses are, and gives more opportunities to explore engagement opportunities via tabs, flexible

CHAPTER 1 : THE BASICS

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THE SOCIAL MEDIA HANDBOOK

media spends options, etc. Generally, most brands start with Facebook and Twitter.
Setting up a platform
A number of new platforms have come up in the last two years. Here is a list of major platforms that are currently used by brands.
Facebook – To start with, getting the creatives right is most important. Design properties of Facebook, the Cover photo (851px by 315 px), the thumbnail (160px by 160px), the app icons (111px by 75px) and tab designs, if any. Use the milestones (843px by 403px) effectively to showcase previous achievements and major events of the brand. Ideally, set up a welcome tab too if you are just starting the page.
Twitter – The Twitter background is the most prominent of the design property available.
Ideal dimensions of the design should be 382px on both sides to avoid the design getting overlapped by the timeline. Set up a profile pic, ideally, the brand logo. The designs need to have a seamless look throughout all the platforms and should match the brand’s identity.
Blog setup – Blogs can be most effective form of informative communication, if they are effectively used by the brands. Blogs can be a medium of expressing things about the industry and the brand which cannot not be done on the company websites.
YouTube – YouTube is an important supplement to the brand’s Facebook page, especially if the brand has exclusive video content. TV commercials get a place to centrally reside online on the YouTube channel. Other media partnerships like program sponsor ships by the brand also are good fodder for a healthy YouTube channel.

CHAPTER 1 : THE BASICS

CHAPTER 2
LEVERAGING
CREATIVE
PROPERTIES

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Effective creatives and content are the most important drivers on social platforms. Both can help you create a distinct presence for your brand amongst the clutter.
Cover photo
The cover photo on Facebook in my opinion is the most effective display banner amongst all the various creative properties on these platforms. The most important thing about the cover photo is that it has to ‘highly sharable’ (although a page cannot encourage people to upload the cover photo to their personal timelines). One should be careful about not promoting an engagement or offers/promotions through the cover photo as it is against the Facebook guidelines. The expected dimension of a cover photo is 851px by 315px.
Here are some references which can inspire your brand pages cover photo.

Thumbnail
The thumbnail which traditionally held an important creative spot in the form of the display picture now has a much smaller role to play, though still highly relevant. You can set up a
180 by 180 px picture as the thumbnail. The important part is that it goes out with your posts, hence most brands put up their logo as the thumbnail.

CHAPTER 2 : LEVERAGING CREATIVE PROPERTIES

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Tabs
While starting up on Facebook, it is important to pre-plan what Tabs will show up on Facebook. On the new Timeline, the users are able to see four Tabs on a brand page. One of these four Tabs is photos and cannot be moved. The other important Tab is the fan count
Tab, which is moveable, yet is an important one to showcase on the Top four visible Tabs.
The other two Tabs can be used for Facebook applications, engagements (using non applications), customer care, brochure display, etc. A number of preset Tabs like The Top
Tab applications also serve the page’s engagements purpose. Tab image also occupies an important creative space on the Timeline.

Pre like and Post like Tabs
One major disappointment for brands post the launch of the Facebook timeline has been the page cannot keep a Tab as the landing Tab, which could have had a pre like Tab and hence get more likes for the page . All Facebook ads should be directed to a Pre like page, on a Tab to optimize the likes from the ads. Pre like and post like ads should be mandatory for all applications. Red Bull’s pre like page put up some time ago is my personal favourite.

CHAPTER 2 : LEVERAGING CREATIVE PROPERTIES

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Posts
Facebook Egderank algorithm, resized picture size on the News feed, better looking album updates and the Instagram takeover are indications that images will make a lot of impact on Facebook. A brand page should provision for at least one ‘template-ized’ image based post or an album update a day.

Creative properties on other platforms
Twitter display pic and Twitter background are two creative properties on Twitter. YouTube background is the only major creative opportunity on YouTube, unless the brand goes for premium YouTube channel, which comes in three different packages. The most interesting creative property amongst ‘other’ social platforms is the Google plus photo strip. Unlike the Facebook cover photo, you can use flash on Google plus photo strip for brand pages.

CHAPTER 2 : LEVERAGING CREATIVE PROPERTIES

CHAPTER 3
PLANNING
CAMPAIGNS

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Planning interesting campaigns on social media platforms is the need of the hour for brands. Brands spent $3.8 billion on ads in 2011 and a strong call to action can make these ads worth the money spent. Also, interesting campaigns generate more reach from the ‘Friends of fans’ pool and can drastically reduce the per fan cost on the overall media spent. The most important aspect of planning campaigns is visualizing the entire user experience. It is like wearing both the director and the scriptwriter’s hats at once. Here are some points that lead to a superhit “movie”. I will focus on Facebook campaigns, as they, according to me, are the most exhaustive campaigns to work on and are most called for in the market.
Teasers
The initial phase of the workflow needs to be planned in detail. It needs to be thought through if the campaign needs to have a teaser, as it may feel a bit forced at times. The
‘largeness’ of your campaign can help you determine if a teaser will do justice before the launch. Pre Rolls
Plan for an effective pre like and a post like tab, it will make the brands media spends more sensible. Also, make sure you get the Google analytics code set up for these tabs; it helps one check the drop outs post a click on a stamp ad.
Storyboard
Work on a storyboard, which is also termed as the application wireframe. Every screen needs to be planned strategically to ensure that the activity does not lead to user fatigue and he does not seem to get lost mid way through the application. The average time spent on the application should neither be too short nor too long.
Instructions
The most difficult part of any game/application is to understand how to play it! There need to be detailed instructions about how the application needs to be played. Look for a provision for a demo mode if there is gameplay involved. The How to Play tab needs to be available to go back to at all times.
Plan hacks
There are a number of smart nerds out there who can hack into your application to scream through to the top of the leader-board, especially for gratification led contests. One needs to get a coder (preferable in-house) to play the role of the auditor for the applications.
Blonde Tests
Now this is really interesting and has worked really well with me in the past – plan for a
‘blonde test’ for your applications. Basically get the applications tested by, ahem, smart girls or guys, who know nothing about the activity. Their reactions towards the application will give you enormous insights on how the application will fare once it is live.

CHAPTER 3 : PLANNING CAMPAIGNS

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THE SOCIAL MEDIA HANDBOOK

SMS/Email Integrations
Plan for ideal plugs where SMS and Email integrations will help. For example, I plan for email reminders for idle users who do not turn up for a long time where the user can play a number of times. It works!
FB share-ability features
Plan for each and every opportunity that can help us get to the friends or followers of your users. Integrations need to be planned right at the time when you are planning the workflow. It also applies for opportunities where, say, celebs are involved in the campaigns.
Reaching out to their fans in an optimum manner needs to be strategically planned right during the initial phase.
T & C and Privacy Policy
In India, a number of campaigns on Facebook are incurring no wrath from Facebook despite violating basic terms like announcing winners on wall, not conducting contests on the wall, etc. This does not mean that you can take chances with your brand. The communication needs to mention that link to the post, like to the app itself, is in full agreement with the ‘Terms and Conditions’ and the ‘Privacy Policy’, with both the terms hyperlinked to the respective pages/pop ups, like done here. Also, Facebook’s non-involvement in the promotions needs to be mentioned explicitly.

CHAPTER 3 : PLANNING CAMPAIGNS

CHAPTER 4
OPTIMIZING
CONTENT

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With the frequency of the content shared on social media being much higher than say a radio or a TV show, or a magazine, it is all the more challenging for brands that pursue to
‘socialize’ with effective content.
The Challenge
A major differentiator for a brand amongst the clutter can be effective content. Majorly, because all brands do not have the appetite of spending consistently and heavily on engagements, media spends or gratifications on Facebook.
On other popular platforms like Twitter and Linkedin, the stakes are even high since you have a smaller audience base and the budget requirements of these platforms are much more demanding than Facebook.
Here are some of my experiences that have works for brands.
Can you create additional value for the users?
This is probably the most difficult question to get an answer for, from your client! Yes, the brand custodians should be first ones to give a shot at this hurdle.
However, there are situations where the client or say the product team cannot decide what’s best for such a medium and the social media team or the agency, hence has to take a call on what the most appropriate fit amongst the offerings.
Eventually, the objective should be to create additional value for your fans and followers.
P.S. – This is not a mandatory criteria, there a number of brands that exist effectively on social platforms without taking care of this point. How? I have explained that further. Read on. Pick up a genre
To take the above point forward, the value generated from the content created could cater from one or more of a variety of genres.
It could be based on sharing information, current events, humour, poems, educational, experiential, niche information sharing, etc
What’s your style?
At times, the brand exists on social space amongst intense competition, and does not have a value proposition for its audience on social media. The internal social media team or the agency has to figure out a unique way of putting it across to people.
And there are number of brands that are already doing a good job at it. If one could set a flavour of the page, it creates a strong recall value for your posts and the brand.
Creative opportunities with content
It’s obvious that Facebook is focusing on pushing images and videos more than plain text posts. Hence, on Facebook, working out a plan for creative opportunities for releasing content on the page is a must.

CHAPTER 4 : OPTIMIZING CONTENT

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THE SOCIAL MEDIA HANDBOOK

Do not look at a force-fit of visual content with your brand as it can backfire miserably.
Also, stay away from copyright troubles; it isn’t as easy to pick an image from Google to use on for your posts as get away with it.
Tie ups
Media tie ups provide great fodder for the brand’s social presence. The terms of volume and frequency of content that will be made available should be closed right during the closure of sponsorship deals.
If there could be exclusive content planned for the users, it works the best. A number of production houses now launch trailers online, and it has worked wonders for some average banners, the same logic applies to brands who can sketch out such a plan for their followers while planning for tie ups.
Create a series
Numerous series of internet memes are doing rounds on social media these days, mostly initiated by individuals. There is a great opportunity for brands to tap into the space.
A consistent series of templatized images with smart communication will help create a strong recall value and a good online following for the brand.

CHAPTER 4 : OPTIMIZING CONTENT

CHAPTER 5
PLANNING
SOCIAL MEDIA
OUTREACH

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With about 600 brands already on Facebook and about 100 plus brands on Twitter in
India, and with a number of brands getting ready to jump on the bandwagon, getting enough attention span for your brand on social media is going to get difficult by the day.
Also, the bid rates of buying out attention will also get higher with time, on the basis on increasing demand from the brands for buying spots for premium slots on social platforms.
Non Campaign Based Outreach
Get the brands social media presence integrated smartly into offline brand presence like posters, danglers, outdoor campaigns, TV commercials and outlets.
Online properties will give even better conversion; hence, there should be a staged plan to integrated social media hyperlinks into the company websites, online banners (the bigger ones), PR issue, newsletters, white papers and email signatures of employees.
It would also be cool if the brands social presence could get a spot on visiting cards, especially for B2B businesses.
Outreach for Campaigns
Creatives
Images travel a long way in the social space. The most primitive mode of promoting your campaign is your Facebook post or tweet. What works best is to attach a templatized creative with the same.
The creative must carry the communication on the contest, the campaign logo and the
URL of the campaign destination to ensure the message travels to the friends of the fans pool with the shares and retweets. Categorize creatives under –
Hygiene creatives – Facebook Cover photo, Display Picture, Application logo, Twitter background, Twitter DP, YouTube background, etc
Non hygiene creatives – Facebook posts, Tweet pictures, Emailers, Videos (if applicable), etc Content
Avoid making press release type posts for Facebook and Twitter, while promoting the campaign. Teasers planned in an interesting manner create good intrigue. Creatives should invoke a response from users and force them to engage with the brand. Effective hashtagsshould be pre planned on for Twitter, regardless where the campaign is hosted.
Look of conversations opportunities on Facebook groups and forums, Twitter, Google forums and other relevant sites where the contest can be spoken about. Again, press release type posts don’t work, you must look to sneak in the conversations naturally.
Bookmark your content on various social bookmarking sites, on a day good day, you might end with about 5% clickthroughs from these sites which might not be a big contribution, however, they certainly do add up.
Get in touch with regular participants of previous contests and active people in your community. I have observed that the brands get good participation from these users.

CHAPTER 5 : PLANNING SOCIAL MEDIA OUTREACH

CHAPTER 6
PLANNING
PAID
OUTREACH

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Planning paid outreach is an imperative part of social media campaigns. You neither would want to overdo and affect the ROI of the campaign adversely. Nor would you want a great idea lying around in one corner of the internet space and not reach out to the people. Here are some of my tips that help you plan paid outreach for social media campaigns effectively. Calculate backwards
The first thing that needs to be done is to calculate the minimum overall expectation based on the base budgeted money spent on the campaign. This should ideally be in the range of a CPI (Cost per thousand impressions) of 180 – 200 and a CPA (Cost per action) around 100 -150.
Gauge the organic returns
The current strength of the fan base, email database, twitter followers and other such mediums of reach out to the people organically, will help us gauge an organic fan base number for the campaign. This is explained in detail in the previous part of this blog series. Now, the overall expectation (basis money invested) – organic projection will leave us with how much of organic push will be required for the campaigns. Ideally, we require 25-30% push inorganically for a campaign to get it to a point from where it can take off.
The other way round
Another way to do the math is to calculate, how big you want to make participation, regardless of what the ROI could be, at the end of the activity.
Some campaigns are high decibel campaigns are can be pumped with more paid media to get massive numbers at the end of the campaign. More often than not, the activity ends up giving similar CPI and CPA with a higher volumes of absolute numbers, unless it crashes big.
Selection of Facebook Ads
Currently, there are about 12 Facebook spots for the web users that we can pick from; I guess by the time you read this write up, Facebook would have made some additions to that list. I’d like to mention some priority options that impact our campaigns.
Like based ads – This is my personal favourite. It serves a dual purpose of getting a like and getting the fan engaged with you for the activity. It is the most prominent ads that you see on the right hand side of the bar.
Application ads – When the amount of time spent on an ad is high, or if the activity is slightly complicated, application ads the best pick, they will help us get decent traction for the activity. It will be costing more than the like based ads, yet give you better overall participation conversation and settle your CPA at a decent number at the end of the campaign.
Promoted posts – If the core messaging of the activity can be effectively brought across in your posts, picking promoted posts is the right choice. They will also cost lesser that the earlier options mentioned.

CHAPTER 6 : PLANNING PAID OUTREACH

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Twitter ads and YouTube Masthead/Pre rolls
My first recommendation for spending media is that about 75% of the media budget should be allocated to the same platform, on which the activity is going to be conducted.
It reduces drop outs and gets the best value from the money spent.
Hence, if the activity rests on YouTube or Twitter, the spends need to be focused on these platforms. Twitter ads spots, however, will cost you a bomb, but the campaigns on Twitter give immense visibility to the brand.
YouTube’s two most popular spots, the mast-head and the pre rolls are effective ways of getting traction for your campaigns, even if they rest on a microsite or on a Facebook Tab.
Paid reach from external sources
The trend of promoting campaigns on banners, TVC’s, outdoor spots, etc is catching on, but I feel we are about 5 years away from this being a norm. These spots still should be considered for high decibel and integrated campaigns.
An exciting period of social media campaigns awaits us, the coming couple of years will determine a lot about how things shape up and how much such activities will penetrate into the marketing budgets and more over the custodians’ mindset. Only time will tell!

CHAPTER 6 : PLANNING PAID OUTREACH

CHAPTER 7
MEASURING
ROI FOR
SOCIAL MEDIA

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Social media campaigns are at the fag end of the fascination phase and brand custodians are looking for quantifying value from such campaigns. Even for the brands who are simply excited about taking a social media campaign live, it would only help to present the power of amplification on social media with some number crunching.
Here are some tips for Measuring ROI for Social Media Campaigns with statistics.
Impressions
Impressions measured as CPI/CPM (Cost per thousand impressions) could be termed as the most important parameter for any campaign.
Impressions can be tracked through Facebook insights, setting up Google analytics for measuring hits on the campaign tabs, video views on YouTube and various tools tracking impressions for campaign hashtags or Twitter handles on Twitter.
Reach
CPR (Cost per thousand people reached) shows the actual reach of a campaign with the amount of people the impressions have been accounted by. Ideally, the ratio of impressions to reach in social media campaigns is 2:1 or 3:1. The mediums of tracking reach for a particular campaign is similar to ones mentioned above for tracking impressions.
Action
This is probably an interesting metric which is yet to be benchmarked by the industry.
Cost per Action can be derived with total cost divided by total participants. The amount of money invested versus the actual amount of people participating in the activity speaks about how involving a campaign was.
Influence
Another concept which is yet to evolve, but I presume it will be the most important aspect a couple of years from now. Influence Ratio is measuring how many people amplified you message to its audience on social networks.
This denominator being the total reach of the campaign, the numerator combines the number of Facebook shares, application shares, video shares (if any), campaign mentions and retweets. Consistent tracking of Influence Ratio also helps to plan for media budgets for future campaigns and determine expectations of organic contribution for a future campaign
Clicks
Clicks to a certain landing page, or the company website can also help present good value of the campaigns. The measurement can be similar to the click through calculations done for banner ads.
Other parameters
Other parameters may vary basis the mechanics on the campaign. Some campaigns may involve downloading pdf files, cover photos, bookmarking certain links, people visiting a certain location, etc Pre planning with a focus to drive such parameters can end up with some good numbers to show at the end of the campaign.

CHAPTER 7 : MEASURING ROI FOR SOCIAL MEDIA

THE SOCIAL MEDIA HANDBOOK
FROM AMATEUR TO PRO

AUTHOR: HARDIK JOSHI

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