Navigating Social Media

June 28, 2012

From the push toward boosted posts on Facebook to the rise of Snapchat, social media is constantly evolving. Are you keeping up?

Organizations that have added social media to their marketing mix using internal staffing may find adapting to the constantly changing landscape of social media is overwhelming for staff with other responsibilities. Common issues include losing focus with too many channels, not keeping up with content or channel changes, not presenting the right brand image, and missing opportunities for growth. Here are some tips on navigating social media to keep your efforts on target.

Know your goals and set priorities. If you know what you want to accomplish through your social media channels, it’ll be easier to prioritize your investment of time and resources accordingly. Not every social media channel is right for all organizations, so even if it is “free” to add, it may not be worth the investment of your resources. Focusing too much time on the wrong channels can keep your team from maximizing the potential of the channels that best fit your organization’s goals.

Know your brand. Social media is naturally conversational and those tasked with managing your channels need to balance the fine line between ‘personal’ and ‘brand’ communications. No one wants to read posts that feel like they’ve been run through management and legal departments until they are devoid of any personality. Conversely, the person tasked with posting for your organization should fully understand your brand and be able to represent it accordingly. Common shortening of words to fit Twitter’s character limit may work for some brands, but not for others. Posting those same words, or hashtags for that matter, on Facebook looks sloppy and is an all too frequent cross-platform error. And bottom line, misspellings and grammatical errors can reflect poorly on any brand. Just because it’s social media doesn’t mean you can ignore your brand positioning and voice.

Know social media (or know someone who does). What’s the next big change in social media? How are hashtags used? How do I measure engagement in social media? What’s a Facebook app or Twitter API? What are the potential legal issues with pinning a picture to the corporate Pinterest account? If you are actively engaged in social media for your organization, you need to be able to answer these questions or seek advice from someone who can. Having a social media plan is great; having a professional partner on your side to help you keep pace with changes can be even better.

Even organizations that manage social media channels internally, can benefit from seeking professional guidance on social media strategy. Pinpointing goals, setting priorities, solidifying your brand voice, and identifying changes and opportunities in the social media world can help you find social media success. If you need help with your social media strategy,  contact Fresh Creative on our website or check us out on Facebook or on Twitter.

 

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