Anyone who manages social media knows that keeping up with ever-changing trends, continuously creating interesting content and managing social media relationships is no easy task. In fact, it can be downright overwhelming.
In a previous post, we talked about “What?” kinds of things to focus your social media efforts on. That got our journalistic juices flowing, so we thought we’d continue down the path of organizing social media efforts by breaking them down into The 5 W’s.
With social media, as with every worthwhile effort, there is always give and take. So, to better direct the information, we’re going to break the W’s down into parts:
Part I: Elements that you “Give” or offer to your communities via your social media efforts.
Part II: Elements that you “Take” away, or learn and grow, from your social media efforts.
And we certainly don’t want to forget the ever important H-factor, so we’ll later explore:
Part III: “How” to put it all together into manageable, approachable and sustainable social media practices.
First, let’s re-visit WHAT you’re giving to your social media communities.
- What value or benefit are you putting out there for them?
- What will you say to grab their attention?
- What can you do to direct their thoughts?
- What experience will people get from your social media – are you informing them or entertaining them?
- What questions can you answer or solutions can you provide?
- What combination of images, videos or links will you include that will be most engaging?
- What things do you and your followers have in common?
- What are others in your market sharing, and how can you build on that content to better serve your communities?
Determining what is important from your customers’ perspectives will help you develop more appealing content. Directing content toward specific benefits for your customers will ensure that your messages are received more effectively.
Think about this: Based on the information you provide – even without fancy analytics – you can determine what people want, and you can then provide more of what attracts them to you.
Voilé! How’s that for “Instant ROI”?
How about the WHY of organizing your social media efforts? Just like when kids ask “Why?” over and over again, it’s possible that one Why? could very well lead to others. But when it comes to your social media presence, opening up Pandora’s Box before you put your message out there will help you create more effective communications.
- Why should you take your social media personally? (Hell-o! If you don’t, why would your community?)
- Why are you presenting the information you’re presenting?
- Why are you choosing one social media platform over another?
- Why will people find your content interesting?
- Why will they want to keep coming back to your pages and posts?
- Why should people prefer your brand over all the others out there?
- Why is your brand memorable? (Or, Why is it not?)
Unlike a storefront with set business hours, people from anywhere in the world can access your social media information 24/7/365. Give them reasons to find and follow your sites. Provide opportunities to have them visit your sites often, and to encourage them to bring their friends with them when they come back.
It goes without saying that you also need to align the customer-driven benefits with your business needs. Creating “customer first” messaging, however, will always get you where you need to go.
Now let’s discuss WHO you’re talking to. But first, can we have a moment of silence for the term, “target audience”? Let’s put that term to rest right here and now. It’s everywhere, on everyone’s mind, written in every social media plan, and discussed at length in every social media format. If we may be so bold, however, it’s time to redefine who we’re relating to – not who we’re “targeting.” (Relating = friendly. Targeting = not so friendly. See the difference?)
- Who (beyond overarching demographics) are you trying to reach?
- Who is already in your social media community?
- Who are the people in your community following and listening to?
- Who are your neighbors? Your biggest fans? Your best customers? Your friends?
Relating to people is a more personal way to connect. All trends point toward people wanting more personal connections, and social media allows us to quickly and consistently connect our brands and messaging with a lot of people on a personal level.
Finding out WHERE your customers are will tell you where you need to be.
Don’t just sign up for “the next big thing in social media” or jump on the bandwagon du jour, but study the different platforms and determine where your audience is.
- Where are they now?
- Where will they be in a year? Three years? Five years?
- Where are they spending the most time?
- Where do they sign up and convert?
- Where are they engaging?
- Where are they coming from when they find your content, and where are they going with it?
Where they are leads to WHEN they’re there, which means that’s when you need to be there. Post, or schedule your posts, at the times when your community is the most present and active. Whether you’re tracking manually or via analytics, the information is there for you to build on. Use it!
“When” you post also relates to “how often” you post. Taking into consideration the typical life span of the posts on any given platform will also indicate how often you post. If you don’t post at the heaviest traffic times, you may miss your crowd. In addition, if you post the very same things at the very same times, your social media may be perceived as lacking variety.
Shake it up. Mix it up. Throw some curve balls once in a while. Be predictable in terms of consistency, but don’t be so predictable that you’re presenting an uninteresting front.
Are you familiar with the old saying, “Always keep ‘em guessing?” If not, get familiar with it. And then do it in a positive way.
Every company has different customers with different interests. Different customers frequent different platforms at different times. There aren’t any “one-size-fits-all” answers to social media, but the rewards far outweigh the risks of investing a little time and effort in determining how to build the most interactive communities possible.
If you’d like to find out HOW to better handle your social media W’s, stay tuned to this series. Next time, we’ll discuss The 5 W’s of Social Media Give and Take – Part II. If you can’t wait, just give us a call. We’re here to help!
By the way, we’d love to hear how you organize your social media efforts. Do you “W”? What have you found to be the most successful ways to engage your social media communities? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comment section!
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