Keith Pape is SVP Social Engagement at Singley & Mackie and provided some practical advice for brands working in social media.

Social equalises big brands with smaller businesses. It’s a pretty even playing field

Everyone can tell a story in a different way. The top 10 most engaged brands span several industries from supermarkets to travel agents to drinks companies

Too many clients don’t understand the business, not the social, goal of a project

Their recommendation is three phases:

Grow, engage, convert. It’s vital to measure and refine at every stage.

Grow = content. Keep measuring

Engage = talk (customer service & sales/ marketing). Keep measuring

Convert = sell. Keep measuring

During the Q & A he pointed out that people don’t visit your timeline, so your content on twitter and Facebook needs to stand out from the rest of the content. Assume only 15% of your followers see each of your tweets.

Use link trackers such as bit.ly to measure click though rates.

See the other presentation notes from ad:tech.