Check Out “Social Media Analytics 101” at Thursday’s Marketing Roundtable

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version

The next biweekly marketing roundtable hosted by the American Booksellers Association is devoted to “Social Media Analytics 101,” focusing on analytics for the three platforms businesses use most: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The session, scheduled for Thursday, July 12, will be led by Mary Cate Stevenson and Noah Nofz of Two Cats Communications, who manage ABA’s social media pages.

Two Cats logo

The roundtable is part of a regular series of online video conferences hosted by ABA on Zoom.us from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EST every other Thursday, during which booksellers exchange online marketing strategies with their peers. As this week’s guest speakers, “The Cats” chose a topic by polling booksellers on ABA’s Twitter account to find out what they wanted to learn about.

Marketing managers or social media managers will get the most out of this week’s session, said Stevenson, but also encouraged to attend are booksellers who just want to learn more about tracking their store’s social media.

“It’s going to be pretty 101,” said Stevenson. “We figured that many social media users at bookstores are probably at different stages of familiarity with analytics, so we’re just going to start with the basics.”

During tomorrow’s roundtable, The Cats, whom booksellers can reach out to at any time via e-mail, will cover three main points: what analytics are, where you find them and how you activate them, and whether focusing on analytics should be a priority for you. The Cats will also provide access to a handout covering each point.

“We want to be able to give folks some actionable takeaways or, at the very least, something that they can use to either revisit the information we go over or share with colleagues,” Stevenson said. “We want to give booksellers a handout because while talking about things can be great, if you don’t have something tangible to take away at the end, things can drift off or get left on the back burner.”

Nofz said that while thinking about social media tracking can feel overwhelming to some, booksellers should remember that each store will have different needs and focuses.

“One of the things we want to hit on is the degree to which a particular store should monitor certain analytics and what issues should be a priority, and I think that will be on a store-by-store basis,” Nofz said. “Different stores are going to have different goals with their social media. We’re planning to leave a lot of time for questions at the end so we can chat with folks individually and give some recommendations based on their specific needs.”

All ABA members are invited to join the weekly marketing roundtables. Booksellers who would like to participate can send an invite request to ABA’s Phil Davies.