SOCIAL
MEDIA:
FROM GOALS TO RESULTS
JENNIFER THOMÉ
ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF STUDENT MEDIA
MSU DENVER
SOCIAL MEDIA: EASIER SAID
THAN DONE
Social media is designed to be intuitive, fun and engaging,
but oftentimes people think that because it’s such a “fun”
medium that creating effective social media campaigns is an
easy job.
It’s not!
That’s why many companies hire full-time professionals and
pay their social media managers between $40-80,000 a year.
SOCIAL MEDIA:
SCIENCE + ART
While there is no exact science behind the perfect social media,
planning, executing, tracking and refining social media is a
scientific and time-consuming process. Not only that, but there
is a lot of psychology and neuroscience that goes into engaging
an audience.
Did you know?
• Items with arrows are clicked on more?
• Tweets with #’s are 50% more likely to be retweeted
• Colorful and emotionally intense images are more likely to
garner likes and be forwarded
• Authoritative users have a higher following than others
• Negative comments are statistically related to lesser followers
SOCIAL MEDIA:
EVERYONE IS ON IT
72% of all internet users are now active on social media
89% of 18-29 year-olds are regular social media users
Americans spend 16 minutes per every hour spent online on
social media.
23 percent of people log on 5 times per day
There are more than 1 BILLION users on social media. That’s
more than 3 times the entire population of the US.
YouTube reaches more U.S. adults aged 18-34 than any cable
network
WHICH LEAVES US WITH
ONE VERY IMPORTANT
QUESTION…
Why isn’t anyone following me?
BUT FIRST:
A LITTLE ABOUT ME
The product of two psychologists
+ 1.5 decades of media experience
+ CIA-trained intelligence researcher, specializing in social
media in the US and China
+ A systems and growth devotee who trained with Verne
Harnish, founder of EO
+ Mentor for young professionals launching global, online
brands
= Someone who thinks about social media A LOT
SO WHY AREN’T PEOPLE
COMING TO YOUR PAGE?
You’re not that interesting or useful
They haven’t found you
You send mixed messages or don’t post regular content
No one “likes” your stuff, so the web algorithms don’t work
in your favor
BUILDING YOUR
SOCIAL MEDIA
BRAND
STEP # 1
CREATE A CLEAR,
CONSISTENT BRAND
We live in a cluttered world in which our viewers are always
looking for new and interesting tidbits, but appreciate
nothing more than having a regular source of relevant and
useful information from a trusted source.
Being a brand is very much like being a friend: it helps
people develop trust in your, and look forward to the things
you have to offer. If you’re too inconsistent or never post,
people will quickly lose interest in you.
QUESTIONS TO ASK
YOURSELF
Who am I?
What do I do?
*Why am I doing this?
Who is my audience?
What service do I provide? OR What problem do I solve for
my audience?
What kinds of content do I provide? Does it solve their
problem?
What format does my audience like their content in?
(choose no more than 3-5 main categories: News, Blog Links,
Announcements, Promotions, Memes, Forwards, Advice, Photos)
STEP # 2
DETERMINE YOUR AUDIENCE
(AND TAKE REALLY GOOD
CARE OF THEM)
Don’t think of your audience as your customers, even if they
are. Think of them as your friends and partners.
Spend some time investigating what they like, who they
follow and where they are spending their time, and then
provide them with content in a format that they appreciate.
STEP # 3
DETERMINE YOUR CONTENT
(AND PUT IT OUT THERE
REGULARLY)
Audiences appreciate predictable yet interesting content.
• Stick to no more than 3 types of content, and be sure to
post on a regular basis. Posting too infrequently works
against you psychologically, and also in the social media
algorithms.
• Monitor the results and adapt as you go along. Pay
particular attention to what people like, and when they are
liking it.
• Remember, vibrant, positive and “call-to-action” posts are
the most popular, though the occasional scandal can also
pique people’s interest.
STEP # 4
PROMOTE YOUR BRAND
(BUT MAKE SURE YOU’RE NOT
TALKING TO YOURSELF)
People aren’t going to find you just because you’re
amazing—there are simply too many amazing things on the
internet already.
• Reach out to peers and other organizations and create a
mutually beneficial sharing relationship
• Find out where your audience is now, and target them there
(both digital and physical locations
• Consider targeted advertising, which is as little as $5 a day
on facebook, but can help get you over the initial hump of
getting in touch with people
STEP # 5 - MONITOR YOUR GOALS
AND EVOLVE YOUR BRAND
(ON A REGULAR SCHEDULE)
When you set clear goals and monitor them, you go from “this
isn’t working” to “we’re not meeting our goals. How can we do
better?”
• Set SMART Goals: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic,
Time-Related
• Keep an Excel spreadsheet with your goals and keep track of
them.
• Pay close attention to what people are responding to, and
when. In most cases, members of your target audience will
exhibit the same patterns.
• Remember to be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day, and they
didn’t have to compete with the rest of the internet.
QUESTIONS? COMMENTS?
PRESENTATION REQUESTS?
Jennifer Thomé
Assistant Director of Student Media
Metropolitan State University of Denver
jthome1@msudenver.edu