Social Media Best Practices

blue ribbon diner & Village Grill

LIVE OAK
communications

Social Media Best Practices

These days, social media is an integral part of any business
communications. Not only is it a great way to engage your target
audience on a personal level, but it is also free and simple!
Since Blue Ribbon Diner and The Village Grill are interested in connecting with
a younger demographic, social media will be a key asset in building authentic
relationships. As a result, it is important to know the types of content that will be the
most engaging to this target audience. This report serves as a social media guide,
highlighting the improved analytics from this semester, along with recommendations
for future social media usage such as content, timing, negative and positive posts
and advice for the Facebook Admin page.

ANALYTICS
The Village Grill
As of January 1, 2015, The Village Grill had a total of 2,935 likes on the Facebook
page. As of April 12, 2015, The Village Grill now has 2,966 likes. The number of
check-ins is now 5,217. The recently created Instagram account has 36 followers.
Before our campaign began, the average number of likes on photos and posts was
approximately 3. This number has increased to an average of four likes per photo.
The approximate number of engagements (likes, shares, comments) has now
reached an average of 5.2. On March 14th we had the highest organic reach of 285
people. The average number of engagements on Instagram is 9.
After assessing all of the posts we have created throughout the semester, the team
has
concluded that statuses about food with captions explaining the dishes are the
most popular. Our most successful post was the one about Pie Day, with our
highest engagement of 285 people and nine total likes. Posts about the crab cake
on 3/15/2015 and the Southwest Salmon on 3/19/2015 were also very popular.
We also found that menu specials for the month have the highest number of click
through rates.
Our followers are consistently active throughout the week. However, Thursdays
(with 2,890 users), Fridays (with 2,904 users) and Saturdays (with 2,878 users) have
the most users. Sundays have the lowest number of active users (2,828). These
users are mostly online between 6-9 pm, with 1,379 active users at 6pm and 1,625
active users at 9pm. Noon is also another good time to post, with 1,348 active
users.
Village Grills target audience is local middle class citizens living in Burlington, North
Carolina.
The menu accommodates a range of ages, from the elderly to young children.
78% of followers on Facebook are women, with 22% male. Most users reside
in Burlington, with other users from Graham, Greensboro, Mebane and Elon,
respectively.

Blue Ribbon Diner

As of January 1, 2015, the number of likes on the Blue Ribbon Diner Burlington
page was 2,146. The number of check-ins was 3,838. As of April 12, two months
into the campaign, the number of likes is 2,198 likes and the number of check-ins is
3,930. Since creating the BRD Instagram account, the number of followers is up to
68.
The average number of likes per photo before Live Oak began its Facebook social
media campaign was about 2. The approximate number of engagements now
(likes, shares, comments) is 11.8, a healthy 20.4% increase. The average number of
engagements per photo on Instagram is 10.5.
Our team has assessed that the posts that receive the most engagement are
photos of people, rather than food. Our two most successful posts to date are
the initial announcement poster for the Milkshake Madness along with a caption,
posted on 03/16/2015 at 4:06 pm and the Employee Spotlight, posted on
03/21/2015 at 4:24 pm that featured an image of an employee along with a caption.
Our users are most active on Facebook between 6pm (with 995 active users)
and 11pm (with 758 active users), peaking at 9pm (with 1,139 active users). 72%
of our likers are women and 28% are male. The vast majority of likers hale from
Burlington, NC, followed by Graham, Mebane, Greensboro, and Elon. Virtually all
likers are registered as English speaking.

RECOMMENDATIONS
Engaging Content

Content that best engages your audience:

Posts that humbly exemplify your customer service
Posts that share exciting, new menu items
Posts that highlight your unique menu and customer favorites
Remind your customers why they love going to the Blue Ribbon Diner or Village Grill
Posts that tell your customers that you are listening to their needskeep your target
audiences needs and wants in mind

Call to action: Drive participation

To engage and motivate your audience, content must conserve their time and energy
as well as create a personal connection. Here are a few examples:
I invite you to
Click Here
Get it now!
Act quickly
Limited availability
Tell us what you think
Join our Facebook Event!
Make your audience laugh and think. Build a relationship of two-way communication.
Dont be afraid to follow them back or share relevant content that was posted by a
follower.

Featuring employees
Employees reflect your companys character and service. While choosing an employee
spotlight, ensure that your audience positively perceives the employee. Do people request
him or her? Do you ever get negative feedback about the employees service?
Share content about your employee that highlights their personality and their work at
BRD.
Include how long theyve worked at BRD and a fun fact!
Show how much you appreciate them.

The 80/20 rule

People use social media to be social. 80 percent of your content should not focus on
your brand, but instead be shareable content.
Share Burlington community news
Suggest food recipes for your audience
Dedicate the last 20 percent of your content on your brand

Timing

Days and Times

When trying to increase audience engagement on social media it is essential to post at the
right time. Every social media platform sees engagement happening at different times, so
take a look below to find out the right time to post!
Facebook: Best time to post is 1-4pm with a peak time on Wednesdays at 3pm. The
worst times to post are weekends before 8am or after 8pm.
Twitter: Best time to post is Monday through Thursday 1-3pm with peak time between
9am-3pm on those days. The worst time to post is any day after 8pm and Fridays after
3pm.
Instagram: Instagram engagement remains consistent throughout the week, but is the
most active on Mondays. The best time to post is off work hours.

Holidays
The Holidays are a great time to promote marketing campaigns and increase engagement.
You initially need to identify key holidays that lend themselves to campaigns. Whether you
choose to post recipes, provide winter safety tips, or post a New Years Resolution the
holiday season will always be on your side. Tip: Always make sure to use hashtags during
the holidays season and check out what is trending that day!

Automated Posting on Facebook

Facebook enables you to easily schedule when to publish posts. Write your post as you
normally would and in the lower-left corner of your post, click on the clock symbol. You
can add the year, month, day and time you want the post to be published. You are able to
schedule a post up to 6 months in advance!
What can be included in a scheduled post? Links, photos, status updates and
videos! Scheduling posts allows you to post more regularly and increase your posting
without spending all day on your Facebook page.

HootSuite
Hootsuite is the top social media management system that helps businesses track and
manage all social media platforms. Through HootSuite, you are able to monitor what
people are saying about Village Grill and Blue Ribbon Diner, providing you the opportunity
to respond instantly. Below, you will find five helpful tips when navigating through
HootSuite.
1. Managing social media: Hootsuite allows you to manage many different social
networks including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Foursquare
2. Get organized: Hootsuite will help you get organized! Once you set up an account,
HootSuite will guide you through the basic steps of connecting networks and
organizing streams.
3. Schedule Messages: You can manually or auto-schedule messages. AutoSchedule
schedules content for you based on optimal engagement time period and already
scheduled content.
4. Cross Platform: Hootsuite reaches Mac, Windows, and Linux mobile platforms

5. Get free reports from HootSuite: Hootsuite will send weekly analytics reports.
networks including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Foursquare Information provided
includes number of clicks per day, geographical information on the people clicking
through, top referrers and most popular links

Negative posts

How you handle negative feedback can help you create a loyal customer base.
How to respond
Never delete posts, no matter how negative they may be. This will only anger the
customer more, causing them to say more negative things about your company.
Always take the time to compose yourself before responding. Then respond to the
comment by offering an apology AND a solution. These customers have taken to time
to purchase something from your company and then taken to time to contact you
through social media so you have to show them that you appreciate their feedback,
and better yet you will make it right.

How quickly to respond

Customers on social media are expecting a rapid response so make sure to monitor
your social media closely to ensure you can catch a negative comment quickly and
respond in a timely fashion.
While you should respond quickly, you dont have to respond immediately. Take
your time to reflect on the negative message and compose a well thought out
response.

Examples of other companies responses

Good Examples: In July 2012, the O2 in the UK was having huge network problems
and their customers were losing service on their cellphones.
They responded quickly and lightheartedly, creating conversations with
They responded in human, personal way where customers didnt feel like a
robot customers was talking to them
Customer (@gay_platform): "@O2 We're still waiting for that apology. or maybe they texted me
and I can't see the message because my phone DIDN'T WORK"
O2 response: "@gay_platform Firstly, here are our deepest apologies. Network should be back
up and running for you. How's your service?"
Customer (@24vend_Ltd): "@O2 had to travel to Italy to get signal -- desperate times!!!"
O2 response: "You can come back now. We're back in business :)"
Customer (@MrJeb): "Oi! O2! Because of you I missed a call from my dear old mum. For that I
think I owe you a pint. Ta! :)"
O2 response: "Um... you're welcome, we think. But if your mum asks, we'll totally deny this
tweet"

 Bad Examples: Nestle posted a seemingly innocent request on its Facebook page
about Nestle fans not using an altered version of the companys logo as their profile
pictures. Followers reacted negatively, wishing the company hadnt tried to tell them
what to do
Nestle went on the offensive, saying their logo was intellectual property
* Nestle should have taken the time to calm down before responding publically
They should have realized that the altered company logo was meant as a
compliment
Nestle: Thanks for the lesson in manners. Consider yourself embraced. But its our page, we set
the rules, it was ever thus.
Customer Darren Smith: Freedom of speech and expression
Nestle: You have freedom of speech and expression. Here are some of the rules we set. As in
almost any other forum. Its to keep things clear.
Customer Paul Griffin: Your page, your rules, true, and you just lost a customer, won the battle
and lost the war! Happy?
Nestle: Oh please... its like were censoring everything to allow only positive comments.

Positive posts

Responding to positive feedback is the perfect opportunity to turn those casual fans
and admirers into super fans. There are five important rules for responding to positive
feedback:
1. Always respond. When your respond to positive comments, it encourages more
positive feedback. It is also a great way to maintain a relationship with your audience
because you are interacting and engaging with them.
2. Say Thank You. Make sure to always thank your audience for the positive feedback
they leave on your posts.
3. Always respond with your brand voice. When responding to an individual, make
sure to have a consistent voice that embodies your brand. Dont try to be something
you are not!
4. Respond within 24 hours. Social media expects a response within 24 hours.
Therefore, it is important to keep that mind, or it can prevent future interactions.
5. Return the Favor. If someone shared one of your posts on social media, you should
do the same for them. Share their latest content.

Facebook Admin Page

Facebook now has an admin page, making insights and analytics so much easier. This
page will help you see what is working, what is not and who exactly is receiving your
messages. The Insights feature is broken down into 6 important segments:

Overview
Shows you the past 5 posts, page likes, post reach and engagement from the current
week. The graphs will show how this week compares to last week.
Includes a pages to watch section at the bottom for you to monitor the number of
page likes, posts and engagement from competitors. Keep track of their numbers!
Know that all sections can be adjusted to view content from any week in the past.

Likes
Shows you how many page likes are gained and lost each day and where they are
coming from so you can compare your average performance over time.
Click on total page likes on the right hand side to compare your average to last period.

Reach
Monitors posts that get more likes, comments and shares and those that are hidden,
unliked or reported as spam. If you notice a spike or dip, look at what you posted that
day to learn more about how you might have influenced your reach.
Click on likes/comments/shares on the right hand side to compare your average to last
period.

Visits
See where people are coming from on the Internet to get to your Facebook page and
the number of times your pages are viewed

Posts
Understand how people are responding to your posts through post types, reach,
engagement and post clicks to help you create content that your audience cares
about.
You can also monitor top posts from pages you watch to keep track of what is working
for the competition.
Gives you a better understanding of what days and times most followers are active.
Therefore, you can promote your content when they are most likely to respond.

People
Find out more about the gender, age, location and language of the followers who like
your page to improve your targeting