5 steps for a sustainable social strategy

I’ve been keenly following Kellogg’s Special K in India and more so their Facebook page. Why? Because I thought their social strategy was really amazing. They had hit the spot in terms of understanding the pain point for most Indian women - weight management, AND had devised a strategy to be that friend to the Indian woman with custom meal plans, tips and just really being that online friend. They clearly spent lots in the offline world too - billboards, print ads the whole shabang (let’s not forget spending on Facebook as well) 

Their Facebook page specifically had thought through messaging, images and what was even more amazing was the engagement they were creating around it.

Today their ad popped up in my news feed and I clicked to see what they were up to. Surprise surprise - their last post was the 4th of august!! After all that hard work of creating an engaged community there was no plan or strategy to take this forward. They are still replying to posts on their page but are not producing any new content. They have directed traffic to their website but that’s no reason to stop your social conversations. All this left me with one thought.This was a campaign - the campaign had a goal, budget and a timeline and social media was thrown in with the campaign Or did they simply run out of content? (There is always the chance I could be wrong of course..)  And here in lies the importance of a content plan and planning out your social strategy.

So as a brand tiny, small, medium, big - whenever you choose to venture into social media and create a page or account for your brand here are 5 steps to help ensure the longevity of your brand on social media and ensures you don’t come to a grinding halt because of lack of content or a longer social strategy. 

1. Define your target audience

Put down on paper who the people you want to target are. Create an ideal profile for them - age, gender, country or city, competitive brands they might be interested in or larger interests that are connected to your product. 

2. List what you aim to achieve via the platform 

While social media is largely used for engagement a lot of brands have driven sales through these platforms. Some use it solely to manage customer support. Whatever it is, define what you want to achieve. 

3. Define your tone of voice

Define the tone of voice you want to take - are you going to be funny, or serious, irreverent or a bit of everything. It’s important to think about it and define it as this gives you clarity in the kind of content you share. 

4. Create Content Categories

Think of all the content you want to share on your page and put them into broad buckets - product, offline activities, broader interests related to your brand. When you are going into the details in your content plan this will help give you consistency. Eg- Home Decor brand would also look at - ideas of home decor from around the world, or DIY projects for the home, seasons latest trends etc. 

5. Create a Content Plan

This is one of the most important parts of your social media strategy. I use a simple excel sheet and put down a day & date calendar. Google has a ready to use social media calendar . Start by broadly defining what you will talk about each week. Once you have that plan set, work on each post. This helps you plan images you might need for a post, or ensuring supporting content you are creating is ready in time - like a blog. This also gives you a view of what you’re doing on each platform and helps maintain consistency in language, tone of voice and messaging. 

Deploying these 5 simple tips will help you ensure you have a long term social media strategy. It will also ensure you don’t run out of content and will help you prepare in advance to create content you will need. 

3 Tips To Create Effective Status Updates

When it comes to Facebook Status updates a question I’ve always been asked by brands is ‘How can I get more likes & comments on my status update’ . While there is no set formula on what makes a status update engaging there are a few thumb rules that help in making them more  appealing to the general Facebook audience. 

1. Use a picture

  

The old saying ‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ has never held truer than today. With audiences having lesser attention spans a picture grabs your fans attention almost instantly. Once you’ve piqued their interest with the picture they then proceed to actually read what you have said. It’s is this point that then leads them to interacting with the brand via a like or even better a comment. If you have video content - it ranks even higher. 

2. ”Quote” the article

When sharing interesting articles & blog posts try and pick out the most interesting line in the article or post and quote it in your status update. This again grabs your fans attention and makes them want to read the article you have posted. The quote gives them that little extra push to click the link & interact with you. Don’t be shy to have an opinion on the articles you post 

3. Short & Sweet = Effective

Remember this is a status update and not your blogpost. Keep your communication to your fans short & precise. Don’t use overly complicated language. Adding a call to action (click here, read this, tell us your thoughts) opens up ways for them to react and interact with your content.

With the decreasing attention span fans have and the increasing amount of content being generated and shared it’s important to find ways for the content you share to stand out & grab their attention.

You've got to give to get - Even in the Social World

There is one conversation I have over and over again, with my friends and colleagues - Social Media and it's benefits. I am a social media addict + + and quite a lot of my friends have signed up on every social network possible. They know more about new and upcoming products in the space than I do, who funded which company, when they were launched and so on and so forth. But they really spend no time contributing to these social products, and question the time I spend on them 

I keep trying to stress on the point that being an addict, constantly posting things out and participating is NOT a bad thing. (of course i don't mean you need to tell us every time you are in the toilet)

Let's move to your offline world for a bit - lets say you choose to be a total recluse, not go out when friends call, don't keep in touch with them, never initiate anything social. Then out of the blue after not being involved an inch in their lives, you decide you need these friends to help promote your company. I think we all know you'll probably end up with zero help from said friends. 

Move back now to the online world. Just because you have someone in your "friends" list on Linkedin, Twitter or Facebook - does NOT mean you are networked.

Simple eg: I love baking and I enjoy it more when my friends encourage me to do it. Their responses to my posts or pictures are constant encouragement. In return I need to also ensure I do the same for my friends in whatever sphere their interest lies. Sounds transactional? YES! But when has the world not been like that - and that's where Social Circles online or offline actually help make it less transactional, because you also end up building a relationship in the process. 

I know tomorrow, if I need help promoting my newly founded business, or an event I am managing for work - this very network will be there to help me spread the word.

THE SOLUTION: Build online relationships with your network, show interest in their lives, share, comment, like, tweet, post interesting content. Even more important is to RESPOND when your network shows interest in your life - if they comment on your content, or tweet something, always, always respond & acknowledge what they have said.

Ultimately like any relationship even the social world is based on giving and receiving. They say there is no marketing better than word of mouth and that word of mouth starts with your inner most circle. Today that's your online social circle. 

So take those two hours off to be involved in the life of those in your "friends lists", remind yourself how you function in an offline world and I guarantee the pay off's will be worth it.