Digital Brand Management: Social Media Strategy

Living in a digital era it is hard not to notice the continuous developments in online communication and progression of social media platforms. As an aspiring journalist it is therefore not only crucial to be up to date with the latest digital platforms but to also use them in a way which is creative and engaging, to maximise readership and develop a strong online presences. To do this effectively I must consider the image I wish to portray online, my target audiences and analyse my current online efforts.

I currently use eleven social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Wordpress, which I use for various activities and the frequency I use them is dependent on this. For example; Twitter and Facebook I use on a daily basis for social interaction, to share gossip, news, events and photographs. I update my Wordpress blog weekly, publishing new articles regarding events, fashion trends or product reviews and my LinkedIn account acts as a professional platform in which I check monthly for new connections and direct messages.

Social Media Platform	URL	Usage Frequency
Facebook	www.facebook.com/clairelol	Daily
Twitter	www.twitter.com/clairewilk	Daily
Google+	https://plus.google.com/104801660237938058043	Rarely
Instagram	www.instagram.com/clairewilk1991	Rarely
LinkedIn	www.uk.linkedin.com/in/clairewilkinson	Monthly
Foursquare	www.foursquare.com/clairewilk	Rarely
YouTube	www.youtube.com/northwestfashion	Weekly
Tumblr	www.clairewilkinson.tumblr.com	Rarely
Wordpress	www.clairescatwalk.com	Weekly
Flickr	www.flickr.com/photos/clairewilkinson	Rarely
Pinterest	www.pintrest.com/clairescatwalk	Rarely

Figure 1. Social Media Platforms and Frequency of Use

Mission Statement

Prior to studying MA Magazine Journalism I completed my undergraduate degree in Fashion Brand Management which I graduated from in July 2012. While studying towards my degree, I completed an independent Freelance Hair and Make-up Artistry course and have since worked part-time as a trained make-up artist. In November 2012, I also set up North West Fashion LTD an online platform designed to promote local fashion related companies, job vacancies and upcoming events. I would therefore like my online presence to include all of these factors; to promote the North West Fashion Network services, showcase my work from my fashion and make-up artistry courses, as well as publishing and promoting my journalism articles, events and product reviews.

The image I would like to portray online is of a professional and successful business person, who is innovative, creative and well-connected within the local fashion industry. I would also like to show my audience that I have a strong understanding of the fashion and beauty industry, networking and styling skills as well as digital and social media marketing (SMM) experience. I hope that this will help me to create future business connections, develop and expand North West Fashion LTD or to create opportunities for myself as a freelance beauty or fashion writer.

Target Audience

As I start my career in journalism it is important that I attract two different audiences, those who will engage with me, who are interested in the content I produce (see Figure 10) and also potential employers or business connections. My online content will therefore have to act as a portfolio and example of my capability within the industry - whether that be in business, journalism or as a MUA.

From looking at my existing digital footprint and carrying out Google searches,[1] my current online presence is difficult to find and my brand identity and mission statement are not clear. I therefore need to create consistency and convergence[2] throughout the platforms I use, develop on my SEO and SMM as well as reconsider the content I produce and the platforms I am using to ensure that they are effective in reaching out to my target audience. In addition to Google searches I also added all of my current social media data into Klout, which automatically selected “topics” from my content, these include; Fashion, Marketing, Photography, Design, Networking and Manchester.[3] Although these are accurate I will need to become more conscious of the content I posts, to ensure “topics” such as Business, Journalism and MUA (make-up artistry) appear more frequently.

Facebook

I created my Facebook account on 16^th January 2008 and have been a regular user since mid-2009.
I currently have 1,409 Facebook “friends”, 1,477 tagged images and link my profile with my Twitter, Instagram, Foursquare accounts. For me, my Facebook profile is not a professional platform and represents my social life. I therefore need to ensure my privacy settings are set to private so my content can only been seen by those who I choose to share it with.

Figure 2. Facebook Profile – www.facebook.com/clairelol

Despite this, I do use Facebook to promote content, which helps to create traffic to my other digital platforms. I also use Facebook as a tool to run professional pages for business purposes.

From carrying out research into Facebook statistics I was able to find a full break down of my activity including; the amount of statuses, links and images I’ve posted, key words, average length and when they were posted as well as top commenters, top post sharers and where I had accessed Facebook – from a mobile or desktop device.[4]

Figure 3. Facebook Statistics showing Upload Content Type and Weekly Distribution of Content

This Facebook analytics tool also allowed me to break down my connections by their online habits, categorising them into 5 types; top “social insider”, “social outsider”, top “social connectors”, top “social neighbours” and top “social gateways” (see Appendix 1). This information could be useful particularly when promote myself or my work as I now know my most influential connections on Facebook.

Twitter

On Twitter I currently have 1,040 followers, follow 671 people and have posted 2,554 tweets since I created my account in November 2010. In order to measure my Twitter-habits I have created a chart to show the type of content I produce and my interactions over 4 weeks. This graph show that as my Tweets and use of “hashtags” increase so did the amount of mentions, favorites and re-tweets I received and as the amount of Tweets decreased (in the final week) so did my rate of new followers. The amount of images and links which I included in the content of my Tweets also increased the amount of followers I gained.

Based on this and second hand research it is therefore important to continue posting high quality Tweets, including links, images and appropriate “hashtags”[5] in order for users to find my content engaging and to encourage them to share this information with their followers.

Figure 4. Twitter Statistics from 27/09/2013 – 18/10/2013

Figure 5. My Most Used Words on Twitter – www.twitter.com/clairescatwalk

LinkedIn

As previously mentioned, I used LinkedIn as a professional platform to promote myself. However, even with over 500 connections, regular profile views and an up to date profile, I am still not a very pro-active user so need to apply a strategy to improve this. In order to create consistency and traffic between my social media platforms I will need to link my LinkedIn account to my other social media platforms. I can also increase my presence on LinkedIn by interacting with users through common interest and discussion news groups. This will also allow me to keep up to date with the latest news and ideas within my sector^{^[6]} as well as reach my professional target audience. For this reason, it may also be worth investing time in building up my Google+ account. [7]

The success of these chances can be measured through the level of engagement I produce, for example becoming a “top contributor”, any new connections I make and also profile views.

Figure 6. LinkedIn Profile – www.uk.linkedin.com/in/clairewilkinson

Tumblr

I created a Tumblr account to use as a portfolio platform for my undergraduate degree although, I was never a frequent user and found it hard to use for written content as it was more image and multimedia based platform. I will need to reinvestigate these problems and reconsider if Tumblr is effective in displaying my contact and engaging with my target audiences.

Wordpress

Earlier this year I created a new blog with a custom URL with the idea to use “Claire’s Catwalk” as my brand identity across all of my social media platforms to improve my SEO and SMM. I also wanted to create a digital platform separate to the conventional social media platforms, where there wasn’t constant competition from other users for reader’s attention and engagement. Wordpress offer a larger space for content (compared with Facebook and Twitter) as well as the option to include more engaging content for readers, such as text, images, graphics and videos.

Within my strategy I plan to create more frequent and more engaging posts – including imagery and video content with add-ons and teasers, which will then be promoted though my other social media platforms, bringing users to my blog page (see Figure 9). By using the stats tool I will be able to see the effectiveness of my strategy[8] as I can see the amount of views my blog[9] and individual posts have had, how users got there, there regionality and globally and length of time spent on the site.

Figure 8. Wordpress Blog Post Statistics from September - October 2013

Figure 9. Wordpress Statistics - October 2013 Blog Referrals

In addition to linking posts to my other social media platforms, it is also important to use key words and search terms in headlines, introductions and page titles as well as hyperlinks within the main body of text to improve SEO so that articles can be found more easily.[10]

Figure 10. My Most Used Words on Wordpress – www.clairescatwalk.com

Flickr, Instagram and Pinterest

Like Tumblr, my Flickr account has now become ineffective and redundant part of my SMM strategy as new platforms like Pinterest and Instagram have arrived. I believe that my efforts would be better spent focusing on these new platforms, which are particularly important considering my beauty and fashion target audiences, as both platforms have a high percentage of users with interests in these areas.[11]

I will be able to measure my strategies success by adding more content, promoting this though my other social media platforms and recording if my followers increase. By building up my visual social media platforms it also means that I am able to create more creative and interesting content which can be shared through Facebook and Twitter, as well as appearing on my blog.

Platform	URL	Images	Followers
Flickr	www.flickr.com/photos/clairewilkinson	28	7 views
Instagram	www.instagram.com/clairewilk1991	22	228
Pintrest	www.pinterest.com/clairescatwalk	52	21 / 56 “re-pins”

Figure 11. Flickr, Instagram and Pinterest Usage and Engagement Statistics

“SNOT” Analysis

Strengths	Need
I already have a good understanding of a wide range of social media platforms and I feel like the groundwork of setting up platforms has already been done. I have already linked some of my social media accounts so that content is automatically linked from one to another. I have some online presence and can be found when you search “Claire Wilkinson fashion” on Google. I also have a large amount of “followers” and interaction on Facebook and Twitter. I have content which is ready to be put onto my Instagram and Pinterest accounts (from my previous fashion and MUA courses). I have experience using digital and SMM for business purposes. After completing some in-depth research I now have a better understanding of what works and what does. This information can also allow me to make predictions for my strategy.	I need to make my platforms more consistent by content and design, as well as ensuring that my content is engaging to keep followers interested and so they share this with their followers. I will need to check which of my social media accounts are linked. I may not wish to have the same content on every platform. I need to ensure I am found by using other key words such as Business, Journalism, MUA. I need to use Facebook and Twitter in a more productive way, by promoting my blog and image content, to create traffic to my other platforms. To continue using relevant hastags as well as including video, images and links in my posts Ensure key words are in headlines and page titles to improve SEO and so that articles can be easily found. Also include hyperlinks within blog posts. Actively update all of the social media platforms I decide to use, this may be on a daily, weekly or monthly frequency. Revaluate the need for all of the social media platforms I currently have and consider how they can be best used in reaching my target audience.
Opportunities	Treats
By becoming more active within Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube I can create more interesting content which can be shared alongside my text content on Wordpress. Websites such as Hootsuite can also make the planning on SMM campaigns timelier and easier to manage. I will be able to measure the effectiveness of my strategy through stats, including Wordpress and Klout (www.klout.com) By joining community / discussion groups I will be able to directly engage with my chosen target audience.	Issues regarding privacy and security on social media – data being stolen, copied or private information being made public. The digital landscape and the speed in which users want to access information is always changing so it may be difficult to keep up with the new / different digital platforms and the best ways to us them. Other users / aspiring journalists who are trying to attract the same target audience. As the popularity of Snapchat increases I may feel the social pressure to download it to take “selfies”

Aims and Objectives Summary

1. To create a consistent brand identity through all of my social media platforms, including; the username “Claire’s Catwalk”, style of content, the design and search terms and key words.

2. To develop my SEO and SMM to create a better online presence

3. To become more active on some social media platforms as well as considering the affectivity of others in reaching my target audiences.

4. To gain more followers or views and create traffic to my main blog page.

Social Media Strategy / Checklist

Social Media	Strategy
General	Create a consistent brand identity through all of my social media platforms including the content theme and design
	Apply the “Claire’s Catwalk” username branding to all platforms (where possible)
	Link social media accounts together to share content across a wider platform and post “teasers” and add-ons, when applicable
	Create a Hootsuite account to manage social media platforms in a timely way
	Continually check Klout.com for advice on improving my social influence ranking
Facebook	Check settings and ensure profile is set to private and only visible to “friends”
	Continue to share information such as blog posts to encourage traffic to my other digital platforms
	Consider how I can use the Facebook connections I already have to network online and build a better online presence – refer to research (Appendix 1)
Twitter	Continue to use appropriate hashtags
	Also include images, links or videos in tweets to keep followers engaged
	Follow people who work within Beauty and Fashion Journalism to see how they use this platform – try to mirror this and create conversation
	Include links to my Pintrest, Instagram and Wordpress accounts on a regular basis, to promote new content and encourage uses to keep coming back
	Increase followers, favourites, mentioned and / or re-tweets
	Considering running a competition to gain more followers and to promote blog
	Keep the majority of Twitter posts related to Fashion, Journalism, Business, Networking, Make-up etc. to improve key words (see Figure 5)
LinkedIn	Ensure profile content e.g. skills, education, employment are up to date
	Join groups which are related to my target audiences – Fashion, Journalism etc.
	Try to engage with other users and create conversation in discussion group
	Post in groups and update regularly to become a more active member
Google+	Add personal details and content to my Google+ account
	Create “circles” of communities which relate to Fashion, Journalism etc. and use these to increase my connections and interaction to other users
	Connect Google+ to my other social media accounts, so it can automatically be updated from other platforms
Tumblr	Carry out an analysis into the main users for this platform and consider if it is effective in reaching my target audience
	If appropriate, consider new ways I can use this platform to develop my online presence and SMM campaign
Wordpress	Apply information found from research – including key search terms in title and sub-title of posts as well as hyperlinks within main body text
	Try to include multimedia, videos and images to keep readers engaged
	Monitor blog stats and continuously develop strategy based on results
	Promote blog posts through other social media platforms, Facebook, Twitter etc.
Flickr	Carry out an analysis into the main users for this platform and consider if it is effective in reaching my target audience
	If appropriate, consider new ways I can use this platform to develop my online presence and SMM campaign
Instagram / Pinterest	Ensure that a link to my blog is in the information / about sections of these platforms to increase traffic and SEO
	Add images to both platforms on a regular basis, using key words and hashtags
	Research popular and effective images, key words and hastags and apply this to keep users engaged
	Share new posts through other social media platforms and include images in my blog posts