Scenario
‘You own a small bookshop. You would like to attract more interest from the local community. Design and develop a social networking community that would allow you to do this.’
Biv’s Bookstore is a small, locally owned store that has been in the community for over 25 years. The store has previously had no social media (SM) presence of its own and is hoping to use its SM launch to advertise its 25 year grand re-opening.
Aim
To use SM to attract more interest from and develop better connectivity with the local community to develop more interest in the store and improve sales.
Stakeholders
To determine the stakeholders (Barbara, 2017), the PESTLE tool was chosen (Stakeholder analysis and management, n.d.) (Appendices 1.1). Three major stakeholders were identified; staff, patrons and the wider community (Appendices 1.2). While staff and patrons are the immediate stakeholders in terms of business and profit, the wider community, including neighbouring shops, council, community groups and local residents are vital stakeholders to be considered in this strategy proposal in that they provide an opportunity for further interest in the store. These parties could potentially become Blockers or Opponents if not addressed appropriately, or even Followers or Advocates depending on the success of the SM strategy (Stakeholder analysis and management, n.d.).
Stakeholder Needs
Each stakeholder requires different considerations for this strategy to succeed but the major factors will be communication and transparency (Chen, 2019).
Management and retail staff
It is important that store staff feel a sense of excitement or ownership over a new initiative to ensure engagement and increase chances of success (Half, n.d.). By developing a project management team, staff are given the chance to invest in the projects success as well as demonstrate and receive credit for skills previously unidentified eg photography, social media expertise etc.
For those staff not directly involved with the project, regular communication meetings will be held to share progress and expectations of store staff in promoting SM platforms (see below timeline).
Regular clientele
Current customers will need to be made aware of the developing community and its benefits. As the large majority of current clients are elderly, staff will need to support the use of SM platforms and even devices in-store and online. While this will initially be part of all staff roles, it would be useful to have a tech-support role assigned to someone in the project team. Awareness of the new community can be promoted by word-of-mouth and by hand-outs or business cards displaying SM platform icons, usernames, hashtags and HQ code for easy access (Cole, 2016).
Target clientele (parents of young children & teen audiences)
The targeted new clientele needs to be made aware of the new community across all SM platforms. Again, use of word-of-mouth and hand-out/card strategies will work for the immediate community. Online, it will be useful to follow similar accounts (Civitello, 2018), including libraries and community groups to place Biv’s Books in viewable range of potential customers. Awareness can also be raised by following authors, illustrators and publishers whose books are stocked in Biv’s Books. Finally, by featuring books on each platform targeted for the chosen audience, using hashtags to attract attention and offering staff and client reviews of different books should increase engagement of targeted audiences.
Community groups
Developing the awareness of community groups can be established by liking or following their pages online and by also speaking with organisers face-to-face and leaving business cards or hand-outs. By co-organising or supporting community events physically and online via SM platforms, community engagement should increase as many SM viewers prefer to interact with socially minded companies (Smith, 2012; Joo, Choi & Bayek, 2018). Attending community meetings and offering the use of a community space can also increase community group awareness and connections with the store.
Platforms
Instagram, Facebook & Twitter
These platforms were chosen as they are some of the most commonly used SM platforms (Williams, 2018), easily accessible and easy to use (Adner & Kapoor, 2016). While Youtube is one of the highest used SM platforms in America today (Pew Research Centre, 2019), it was not a practical choice for the business. Instead, Facebook proved to be a consistently high contender, Instagrams’ popularity has grown over the past few years (Alfonzo, 2019) and while Twitter is more widely used by academic and professional demographics (Pew Research Centre, 2018, Statista, 2019).
To ensure increased connectivity, all three platforms have been linked together on each page so readers can access, follow and enjoy each page more easily. The same photographic logo was used across the platforms as can clearly be seen in Appendices 3.1-3.3, as was the development of similar hashtags and usernames to ensure easy recognition of the brand despite varying tones (Civitello, 2018).
Targeted Audiences
According to Pew Research Centre (2018), Instagram is used most commonly by 51% of people aged between 18-29 and 39% of people in high school and below to gather news and information, making it second only to Snapchat as a trusted SM platform. It is for this reason that this program is targeting teenagers and young adults to increase their interaction with the store and SM. The content will be targeted at this younger audience through posting popular teen and young adult texts with eye-catching, attractive cover designs to capitalise on the high-visual appeal of this platform.
Facebook attracts more users between the ages of 30-49 (Pew Research Centre, 2018), a demographic that is likely to already have children (Australian Institute of Families, n.d.) and so this platform has been targeted towards parents with young children. By featuring attractive children’s books with bright colours and staff reviews, offering targeted specials in this genre and connecting with community groups who specifically support various types of family units, I hope to increase the awareness and engagement of this demographic.
Twitter attracts a similar demographic to Facebook, with 42% of 30-49 year old users accessing it for news and information, but a further 35% of college students and 41% of people with advanced college degrees rely on it as a trusted information source (Pew Research Centre, 2018). As such, and assuming that this demographic is made up of academics and professionals, the targeted audience is professional adults with an interest in reading for pleasure.
Why not email?
While Smith (2012) suggests that Millennials prefer advertising via email, the above three platforms were chosen over email communication because they are three of largest SM platforms in the world at this point in time, meaning they are three of the most accessed applications on smart devices, allowing for immediate and easy usage. Additionally, each possesses the capability for viewers to contact the page managers directly with comments, questions or complaints without the need for email accounts or additional windows (Ogechi, n.d.).
Risks and Strategies
Butow, et. Al. (2018) point out that although the above platforms are becoming more and more popular, there is a risk of oversaturation and content being lost amongst the masses. It is therefore, necessary to develop a comprehensive SM plan to ensure the success and individuality of the pages, as demonstrated below.
Cullins, Jarvey and Gardner (2018) discuss the dangers of image licensing online and that incorrectly credited or used images can result in enormous fines or account closure. As an immediate necessity, I would investigate Creative Commons and the related legislation in order to protect the store and the SM platforms (Appendices 4).
Timeline
| First (1 month) | Soon (2-3 months) |
| · Project summary:
§ Identify aim § Identify stakeholders- stakeholder analysis § Determine project leader/s and support staff § Investigate publishing permissions and processes · Research book shops on various platforms and compare what works and what doesn’t · Develop holding statements to use across all platforms eg Closed due to… · Review platform analytics at end of month · Develop written timeline for SM development · Determine tone, theme and content for EACH platform · Determine linking element for branding across platforms; logo/colouring/layout/hashtag? · Create a content calendar-new release dates, sale dates or promotions/events · Experiment with content during this time to determine style/s receiving most activity |
· Review analytic data from each platform at the end of each month
· Review and add to written timeline for SM development · Begin to develop detailed content strategy with aim in mind- new-look store, relaunch and 25 year anniversary content · Add to content calendar · Connect with community groups on SM to discuss partnership events- invite to 25 year relaunch |
| Later (6-9 months) | Eventually (10-12 months and onwards) |
| · Continue to review analytic data at the end of each month and record any high-achieving posts
· Adapt content strategy depending on audience response · Review SM timeline and add/adapt depending on achievements/setbacks · Invite the community to offer suggestions on new stock/interested topics/who they would like to see more of in the store · Invite community members and staff to contribute book reviews and stories about the 25 years prior (memories). |
· Approach local authors to offer reading space for promotions- livestream portions or collect questions from the public for author to answer
· Encourage staff to provide reviews on books within the store-livestream/photos/tweets |
Creating the sites
Butow, Herman and Walker (2018) provide a detailed explanation on how to establish Instagram as a driving force behind business. By applying these concepts to SM as a whole, I aim to establish a professional, accessible and attractive SM presence across multiple platforms.
In an effort to keep the platform content simple and consistent, I chose to post the same content across all platforms to begin with. This was done by manually posting on Twitter then setting up the same post on my phone for Instagram, which also linked to the BivsBooks Facebook account. By posting to Facebook and Instagram at the same time, I was able to reduce the time spent on developing and sharing content. I did not like the Share option for Twitter on the other platforms as it is only sharing a link and does not include images or videos.
The ‘Business’ style profile of Facebook was chosen to separate the page from the ‘Standard’ pages used as personal pages. Additionally, it allows for readers to view and contribute reviews, events and community connections in clearly defined sections of the page, rather than trying to crowd them all together.
For inspiration on content, I researched similar accounts across all three platforms and collected data on the types of posts each account used, their varying sizes and analysed the more successful methods of communication, e.g. posts with images versus posts with links (Appendices 2). I was able to determine which methods already in use would be suitable for experimentation on the chosen platforms (see commentary in red, Appendices 2). I also researched academic articles on social media marketing and found that posts with images and invitations to respond to posts increases the interaction rate of a page while posts with a higher number of hashtags were accessed more often (Lies & Fuss, 2019). As a result, I adjusted the content on the platforms to reflect their target audiences, e.g. Facebook is targeting parents of young children (Appendices 3.1b) while Instagram directly targets a teen audience (Appendices 3.3a).
Marketing
By tying the SM launch with the 25 year relaunch and redesign of the store, there rises opportunity for complete rebranding, which is something that can be utilised across all platforms, including SM. By ensuring a consistent flow of information across all platforms, the store provides viewers with a familiar, recognisable brand, no matter the context (Civitello, 2018) and personalised content at targeted audiences should increase the interact of those audiences with the corresponding platforms (Smith, 2012). Additionally, by linking the rebranding with the grand opening, the business is provided with an interest piece or event to gain further interest from the local community (Appendices 3.1a & 3.2a).
Studies have found that sharing or posting about community events (Joo, Choi & Bayek, 2018), posting positive emotional messages on social media (Lies & Fuss, 2019) and purchases that support or help others (Smith, 2012) elicit the most engagement from users. As part of the content calendar, I intend to schedule regular uplifting images or messages and announcements about community involved events (Appendices 3.1b). This also provides an opportunity for further connections to develop between the store and targeted local community groups.
Civitello (2018) suggests examining and specifically determining who you ‘follow’ on SM as this can influence your audiences likelihood of following similar or the same groups, and vice-cersa for audiences of other accounts. Appendices 3.1c and 3.3b demonstrate the types of accounts Bivs_Books has followed in an effort to create links with the online community. Appendices 3.1b demonstrates two posts that make contact with the community in different ways; the first offers a discount in-store in return for SM likes, follows and attention, the second brings to the attention of the audience an issue in the community and an avenue for donation, from which the page does not profit at all, except for in gaining traffic.
Issues
Creating a Professional Facebook page was quite simple, as I could do it directly from my personal profile. Unfortunately, Instagram proved to be more difficult. I was required to create a new Instagram account, after much searching, then convert it to a Professional Account and attach it to my Instagram App as a secondary account. Additionally, Instagram offers to connect the new Professional Account to Facebook but each time I tried this, when I went to Facebook, the attached page appeared as an error. After much perseverance, I was able to link the two.
Like Instagram, I was required to create a new account on Twitter and then link it to my original account. The difficulty here is that I also had to create a new email account as mine was already linked with an account and cannot hold more than one account. One way around that is to enter your mobile number, so long as it is not already linked to your personal account. Also, I investigated becoming ‘verified’ on Twitter as it seems that most genuine businesses have the little blue badge, however, a notice on Twitters Help pages says they are no longer accepting any new applications, I suspect due to an overwhelming number of current applications.
In trying to create a branding across all platforms, I had difficulty in lining up the Usernames across platforms as ‘BivsBooks’ was taken on Twitter and ‘Bivs_Books’ was disallowed on Facebook due to the underscore. As such, I settled on ‘Bivs_Books’ for Twitter and Instagram while the Facebook page is recognised as ‘BivsBooks’.
Evaluation Strategies
As seen in the Timeline, there are multiple opportunities for evaluation of SM platforms and content strategies via analytic analysis to support and enrich the business (Half, n.d.). Utilising the analytical tools on each platform, regular assessment by owner, project leader/s and project team will determine the success rate of each platform in a) increasing community group engagement and involvement and b) how well it has engaged with its targeted audience, e.g. the number of followers attracted in certain demographics. Eventually, SM platforms will also be assessed as a whole in how they are impacting sales and foot traffic.
References
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Alfonzo, P. (2019) Chapter 4. Instagram in the library. Library Technology Reports, 55(2), 33-44. Retrieved from: https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/2186951579?accountid=10344
Barbara, A. (2017) Getting started. In The no-nonsense guide to project management. 49-70. Fecat. dio: 10.29085/9781783302055.003
Butow, E., Herman, J. & Walker, C. (2018) Instagram for business for dummies. Retrieved from: https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/instagram-for-business/9781119439813/03_9781119439813-intro.xhtml
Chen, J. (2019) 7 social media trends to watch in 2019 [blog post]. Retrieved from https://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-media-trends/
Civitello, A. (2018) Seven steps to smarter social. Public Libraries, 57(3), 11-12. Retrieved from: http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lih&AN=130352885&site=ehost-live
Cole, L. (2016) Bibliotech as the re-imagined public library: Where will it find you? Paper presented at: IFLAWLIC2016-Columbus,OH, Connections. Collaboration. Community. in Session 213- Metropolitan Libraries.
Cullins, A., Jarvey, N. & Gardner, C. (2018) Who owns that Instagram pic? Hollywood Reporter, 424(6), 42-42 Retrieved from: http://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=127898883&site=ehost-live
Half, R. (n.d.) Employee engagement strategies. Retrieved from: https://www.roberthalf.com.au/management-advice/team/employee-engagement
Joo, S., Choi, N. & Baek, T. H. (2018) Library marketing via social media: the relationships between Facebook content and user engagement in public libraries. Online Information Review. Retrieved from: https://www-emerald-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/insight/content/doi/10.1108/OIR-10-2017-0288/full/html
Lies, J. & Fuss, S. (2019) Factors influencing the success of social media posts: A quantative analysis of over 60 million Facebook posts. Journal of digital and social media marketing, 7(2), 137-147. Retrieved from: https://www-ingentaconnect-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/content/hsp/jdsmm/2019/00000007/00000002/art00006
Ogechi, A. (n.d.) Contemporary issues in social media marketing. Social Media Marketing. Retrieved from: https://www-taylorfrancis-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/books/e/9781315563312/chapters/10.4324/9781315563312-21
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Stakeholder analysis and management. (n.d.). Stakeholder analysis toolkit. Retrieved from: https://www2.mmu.ac.uk/media/mmuacuk/content/documents/bit/Stakeholder-analysis-toolkit-v3.pdf
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