You’ve created your social media strategy (if not, check out our recent blog with tips for creating an effective strategy). You know why you’re on social media and what you’re hoping to achieve with it, but have you also considered how you’re going to be “present” on social media?

After all, one of the key elements of social media is right there in the title – it’s social!

6 observations on what it means to be present on social media?

When you look at the number of famous vloggers out there, or view the Instagram posts relating to popular hashtags, it’s clear that there are some social media trends to consider following. These include:

• Posts with videos or slideshows tend to be most engaging, followed by posts with images – I was once told that when creating content for social media you’re writing to “stop the thumb” from scrolling past, so a post with motion is more likely to gain attention
• Be yourself (or your brand) – Your social media account is an extension of yourself (or your organisation) on a digital platform, so use messaging and graphics that are true to this. In terms of an organisation, this is likely to help you to develop trust with your audience
• Create/share content that you’re interested in – If you’re not interested in your posts, it’s unlikely that you’ll write with passion and conviction.  Why would the rest of your audience be interested in your posts if you’re not interested in them yourself?
•  Don’t just broadcast content – Being present and social is also about responding to posts and interacting with others.  Conversation is a two-way thing, so if you want to develop relationships with your audience, show them that you are interested by responding to their posts or interacting with their comments on your materials
• Interact with trending topics – But only if they’re of interest (or relevant) to you/your organisation and your audience
• Ensure you stay up to date – There are many tools available for planning and scheduling your posts (check out our blog about social media scheduling tools). But a word of warning - keep an eye on when your posts are going to be shared, there’s nothing worse than a badly timed post with messaging that seems insensitive or inappropriate when considered in the context of a current news story, or a post about the “hot summer” when there’s a gale blowing outside!

It’s also important to consider why people (and your organisation) chose to be on social media in the first place as this is likely to affect the type of content you post.

People may look to your organisation for guidance and expertise about a particular subject, so social media provides an opportunity to convey your expert voice.  However, many people use social media in their leisure time so it’s also good to present some social/fun content too (where appropriate), demonstrating your personality and relevance to your followers.

Clearly there’s lots to consider when creating content for social media and everyone is different so there’s not a “one size fits all” approach. But our experts are here to help with creating strategy, developing campaigns and delivering content. Please check out our recent blogs about social media strategy and scheduling tools, or give us a call to explore how we can work together to help you make even more of a difference on social media.   

Acknowledgements

Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash

Photo by Rodion Kutsaev on Unsplash