“Social Media Is Not About Management” 5 Ways Brands Can Develop their Social Media Right Now
Most organizations today have invested in all the foundational social platforms. These social platforms have become as necessary as having a website, and they’re usually up and running on a consistent basis. However, handling them all is extremely time consuming, hence, employees are hired just to manage these platforms. The problem is, organizations spend so much time and money emphasizing the importance of “managing” the numerous platforms that they forget all about the real opportunities that social media provides. After all, social media shouldn’t be something you just “manage”, it should be a constant portal for brands to effectively and creatively communicate to their customers. (For more information on defining an effective communications strategy, see our post on “How To Improve Your Organization’s Communications”) If you’re following the same communications plan you did last year, that’s enough to know that it’s time you bear down and rekindle the fire.
Here are 5 ways that brands can energize their social media communications:
1) A SHARED CONTENT DATABASE
If the old adage, “two heads are better than one” is true, what does that say about 10 heads? Or 20? Create a shared database of content with your co-workers and give everyone the opportunity to contribute potential content. Whether it be curated articles or videos, or blog posts from different departments. The more people you have contributing, the fresher your content will be. All you have to do is spend some time introducing the communications plan to your co-workers so they’re aware of what’s considered on or off-brand.
2) A STRATEGY FOR REAL-TIME
As mentioned in a previous post of ours,
Digital never sleeps, so your digital marketing shouldn’t either. Progressive brands are realizing this and integrating “real-time” into their communications strategy. This is a form of “News-jacking” in which brands try to join conversations rather than change them.
Having a real-time communications strategy is especially useful if the communications team doesn’t always have the time to create custom content. It enables the communications team to create custom content for only the most optimal situations.
Read #4 of this blog post for examples and steps on setting this up.
3) START TRACKING STATISTICS CONSISTENTLY
Consistently tracking all the statistics on your social media platforms sounds like a daunting task – but it can start with something as simple as setting up a free bit.ly account and tracking your clicks. This strategy isn’t going to necessarily provide a spark to your social media communications instantly, but within a couple of weeks it’ll start stimulating new ideas and opportunities. As you continue to understand what your followers are engaging with, and at what times of days, and from where, you’ll begin to be able to think up creative ways to further engage them. Risks won’t seem as risky anymore, and opportunities will become more obvious.
4) REDEFINE YOURSELF
A great way to spice up a social media platform is to redefine. Perhaps you decide your brand’s twitter page just isn’t very effective – maybe it needs to be reconverted into strictly a customer service portal where all it does is answer customer questions. Or maybe your Pinterest page is in need of a community board where users can submit images that inspire new products from your brand. Whatever it may be, make sure your social media platforms are contributing to your brand’s greater purpose – otherwise it’s just a placeholder.
5) CONSISTENT CREATIVE BRAINSTORMS
The beauty about working in the marketing industry is that you always have the opportunity create. Budgets and time are just obstacles – they don’t restrict you from creating and pursuing opportunities. Having monthly meetings dedicated to brainstorming new opportunities will encourage your team to think proactively, rather than reactively. After enough brainstorms, your team will start thinking forward – constantly looking at new technologies and trends to improve your social media communications.
With the amount of time it takes for brands to manage Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Google Plus, and everything else, it’s understandable that organizations have resorted to just “managing” all these platforms just to keep up to date. However, this tends to stretch a communications team thin, resulting in a routine filled with bland content and uninterested followers. Every marketing and communications team should only be focusing on the platforms that make sense to the brand, thus, leaving enough time for the team to not only communicate effectively, but also, creatively.
This 20+ page booklet will help pinpoint which phase of brand growth your organization is in, and which phase you’ll need to go to next, until you ultimately build your brand its own tribe of ambassadors.
There are a few reasons why you might want to download this:
- You want to know what it will take to build your brand its own tribe of ambassadors
- You want to learn about the 4 phases Brand Growth
- You want to pinpoint which phase your organization is at
If any of the reasons above resonate with you, download the booklet free by entering your information below.
Our hope is that, by the time you’ve completed this guide, you’ve learned about each of these topics, and will be ready to take your brand to the next phase.
