1. PLAN

Overall, every social media platform may not be appropriate for your brand. The worse plan to have is to try and be everything to everyone and be on every platform. The platform should reflect the brand, and nothing should ever be forced, contrived or above all else, cringe-worthy.

A brand’s social media presence is where it can interact with its customers and fans. Each platform is different and choosing the appropriate one is half the battle. But when you choose what platforms, what comes next? The plan. What do you want to share? What stories do you want to tell? What do you want your audience to get out of your content at the end of the day?

2. CONTENT

A brand is more than the products or services it provides. It’s an experience and on social media, a company can produce content that their supporters are craving. A brand becomes recognizable and then a fan of someone through the customer journey as well. From unaware, to aware, to engaged, to a customer and follower and then to a loyal partner is how a customer interacts with brand in the world and a big part of that world is social media. So the content is meant to progress the customer experience and be a living extension of a brand’s communication. Simple likes or followers is not the end result but the beginning.

3. PROMOTION

When a company has a sale on their products or services, they can struggle in how to reach the audience that would already be interested in the discount or offer. Social media can be a CRM or customer relationship manager platform in itself. The followers are following and users looking to discover and do so easily. Give your audience access to a special club with discounts or offers that enhance their loyalty and affinity to the brand.

4. MESSAGE

What’s the message a brand wants to convey? It shouldn’t be just consume more, but an articulation of why the brand and product exists in the first place. A brand can speak and say much more than just information about its product. Sometimes the message may have nothing to do with the product but be what the brand stands for or just the way it wants to interact with its audience. Maybe it’s just motivation to tackle the work week or a tidbit of knowledge that is not widely known. Maybe it has to do with the brand’s geography, where it lives, where it wants to be and where it can go. Maybe it’s that previously stated promotion to advanced the customer journey and experience.

5. PRESENCE

A brand’s presence on social media has to be more than just posting to show that there is someone behind the curtain showing that the brand is “active”. The presence is a dialogue, interacting with its audience either directly or indirectly. What’s cool to share? What’s the next step? What’s ways to have fun? All of these questions are great to ask in correlation with content.

6. STANCE

When companies and their brands stand for social issues or political movements it risks the appearance of coming off as disingenuous. It can be very transparent that a company is only moving with the tide to affect their bottom line. Other times a company and brand has inherent core principles and making profit above all else is not part of doing business as usual. On social media this articulation takes place and Buena Vista can help in crafting how to express those beliefs.

7. CONSISTENCY

many brands and businesses struggle with their identity, who they are? That’s a problem that should be worked out before the social media plan and strategy are ever born. Buena Vista can help solve the eternal question for your brand of what came first, the chicken or the egg?

8. SHARING

Your brand’s content plan doesn’t just have to be original content as well. Follow other brands that inspire yours and share anything that fits with your social media strategy. You want your content to be shared so don’t be afraid to share another post from a follower, non-follower, or even competitor.

9. ALERTS / EMERGENCIES

Organizations that serve their audience during emergencies can use social media as a real-time walkie-talkie to get what needs to get out…. Out. Not juts government agencies or emergency related organization can use social media in this way. Let your customers and employees know what is open, what is closed, where they can find resources and what’s the status on an issue or concern. Let your customers know the release or shortage of a product or simply congratulate someone who deserves it, again all in real-time.

10. RECRUITING

Finding that dedicated workforce is easy when recruiting from social media. The applicants are already brand disciples and probably have keen knowledge of what your business does and what the brand represents. Let potential rock star employees know when there’s a job fair, an opening, or even highlight current employees to show the world you value your company’s workforce.

11. LISTENING

Listening may be the most important part of a social media presence. It gives everyone a chance to tell your business (which is in the business of having happy customers) know what it’s doing right and what it’s doing wrong. Listen to what they say and respond. Give them notice and the world that you hear them and if it’s something you’re looking to change that your proactive on it. Don’t be afraid of criticism, embrace it. Your brand, business, and bottom line will thank you.

12. THE RESULTS

The result should always be genuine engagement and interest from your audience. They are choosing to follow and take interest in your brand so the least you can do it provide the content they desire. For a trusted social media content plan and partner, reach out to Buena Vista and we’ll create the strategy and the content that will not only drive engagement, but business and loyalty.