1. Engagement First, Community Size Second.
What’s the point in spending a fortune building a huge community when many of them will never see the amazing content you’re publishing? The way Facebook keeps pivoting their reach algorithm means that it’s getting more and more expensive to put your content in front of an audience, even when you’ve previously paid to make them part of your community. Yes, it’s cheaper to reach those who like your page and finding new followers is an important branding exercise, but I am a big believer in letting your content do most of the work for you – create great content, amplify that content through quality targeting, and the rest will take care of itself.
Inevitably, it will be necessary to educate the power-brokers in your business on this fact: the higher ups will always be impressed by big fat community numbers, because it’s the first thing they’ll see and be asked by others. Therefore an important aspect of shifting to an engagement-focused social strategy is in managing their expectations. Say it early and say it regularly: “Yes, we’re growing a little slower, but we’re speaking to and engaging with X more people every day. That's worth a lot more than an arbitrary 'like'.”
2. Stories Not Sales.
There’s a quote from either Plato or Hopo-Indian culture (I’ll really need to clarify this one day, because I use it in all of my presentations) that says, “those who tell stories rule the world.” In reality, a business is there to make money, and the end game will always come down to generating sales. But the fact is, customers won’t buy from a brand they don’t love, trust or feel an affinity for.
Don’t overdo the product messaging – scatter it throughout your content calendar so that when you push a product, your fan base doesn’t feel like they’re being bludgeoned to make a decision. A soft sell is always more compelling. Overall, you may see a drop in web traffic, but the long-term ROI and conversions will increase.
3. It’s Social Media: Be Sociable
You can create great content, target effectively and reach a massive audience, but you’ll never make the extra yards without taking the time to respond to your engaged users. Not only will it buff out the numbers, but it will create loyalty to your page (one person at a time) and make a public statement that there is someone on the other end, breaking down the barrier between brand and fan.
4. Who are you?
Figure out your social media persona and stick to it. Are you a teacher, providing your fans with information they might find useful, or are you a leader, inspiring them to greatness in a field? Or, more likely, are you a combination of different personas? Consistency is key, from the type of content you post to your brand tone of voice and style of imagery.
If you’re constantly changing who you are and how you speak, the loyalty and devotion you desire from your fans will be difficult to garner. A great way to do this is to write out a list of questions and ask yourself (or your team) each time you’re gearing up to post something: Does this sound like us? Does this look like us? What content pillar does it stick to?
5. Map it Out
While having questions for yourself helps manage your daily posting and keeps you on brand, there are bigger picture themes that need to anchor your content strategy on social media. As well as creating a master strategy document, detailing your content pillars, regularity of posts and competitor case studies, you need to map out your content as far in advance as possible, to ensure you can actually stick to the strategy. I’ve got a digital copy (which I keep updated and send round to stakeholders regularly) and a physical version, which I’ve got stuck up on a big board behind my desk, allowing me to add notes and inspiration.
Things will change, of course, but mapping it out is an essential path to making sure you aren’t missing things: products that need to be mentioned, events (social or brand-related) that are worth piggybacking off and wider business tactical offers that need creative prepared in advance. It’s also a key part in ensuring you’ve got that content cocktail mix right – a bit of this, a bit of that. Finally, you'll find it easier to adapt your content based on your results: ie. "This performed really well: I'll schedule in something for two weeks time utilising the same style of post."