Planning is a key element of social strategy. We all know it. We’ve all heard it before. We realize that we need to do more of it, and that we have to plan creatively to make sure our social media planning efforts are successful.
In terms of thinking ahead for your brand’s social media presence, there’s a very thin line between under- and over-achieving with your fans and followers.
The line isn’t so thin when it comes to over-promoting your brand. Too much “sell” without enough “self” is not going to cut it with your communities. If all they see is your logo, your promotions, and your all-about-us messaging every time they visit your page, they’re going to stop interacting. That means they’ll stop seeing your posts and ads altogether. If followers don’t interact with pages, those pages will show up less and less on their feeds. It’s that simple.
As much as we dislike the concept of our posts being managed so strictly by the social media deities that run the platforms on which they appear, it is, as they say, what it is.
So what can we do to think ahead and plan successful social media campaigns?
First of all, stop using the word “campaigns.” It’s all a campaign… One big, on-going, campaign. From the moment you create a social media profile, the campaign is on. Everything after that—if done the way it should be—is an ongoing conversation.
Next, drop all forms of the word “strategy” from your vocabulary. In fact, don’t fill your social media calendar with buzz-words at all. Fill it with real, actionable, meaningful things instead.
Things like comments on the weather today. It may sound cliché, but if you’re committed to your social media purpose, you’ll be able to make the weather perfectly relevant to your communities.
- Suggest how your products can help people when it’s raining outside.
- Offer rainy day activity suggestions that are—and aren’t—related to your brand.
- Cross-promote another brand/product/service that comes in helpful when it’s raining.
- Get people talking about the rain.
- Find ways to make the rain a positive thing.
- Help people look forward to tomorrow—when it’s not raining.
Whoa, see what we did there? Yeah, that’s called “going with the flow” and then “thinking ahead—but not too far ahead.” Responding to today, and tying it into tomorrow. That works for two reasons.
One: Because “today” is relatable. Everybody gets what’s happening today.
Two: Because “tomorrow” is also relatable. And it’s happening soon enough that it’s on all of our minds.
As all of these crazy-simple, basic little thought processes spill across the virtual paper here, there’s one point that we’re trying to make:
If you strategically manage your social media campaigns and schedule posts days, weeks, or even months out, you’re missing the point.
If you’re focused solely on a set of objectives spelled out in the boardroom months ago, how is that relevant to today?
If you’ve checked “Post May promotions” off of April’s pre-determined plan, but haven’t followed up on those posts by responding to notifications from followers, was it worth it?
If you’re not even watching today’s headlines because you’re focused on next season’s ads, how is that helpful to your customers who look to your brand for solutions every day?
Now here’s something else to think about. Your social media team has to have one, consistently recognizable voice. They need to know the brand and how it feels/looks/sounds/smells/tastes—virtually—like it’s the back of their hand.
They need to take what all the brand’s departments want to say and distill it so it comes out in a way that customers want to hear. That’s the only way social media messaging will the beneficial to both the brand and the people the brand is there to serve.
Deciding what to say via social media does take a fair amount of thinking ahead. It’s like putting together a puzzle. Yes, you need to keep an eye on the future because off-the-cuff marketing isn’t [always] the answer.
Yes, you need to be mindful of the bottom line. Yes, you need to work with the research that’s being conducted to discover what customers’ needs du jour are. But don’t be so tied up in the aforementioned to connect… today.
No matter how many members your team has, they need to make sure the brand’s messaging feels/looks/sounds/smells/tastes like one, personable voice to your customers. And personable is the operative term here. Scheduled posts, trite comments (“How cool is this?”), and little or no interaction or relatability may appeal to robots, but not to people.
So plan accordingly. Think ahead with your social media planning—but not too far ahead. Keep the company in mind, of course, and also keep in mind the company’s five-year plan when you’re building your content portfolio.
And, this more than anything: If you’re going to market via social media, be social. Today. Tomorrow. Always.
