By Doug Wright, Senior Account Director
Social media has come into its own as a widely accepted and
sought-after PR tool. It’s hard to imagine that any business today that would go
without LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook as a baseline for promoting themselves
and their products and services.
Once you set up your social media platforms of choice, what
are you going to say? This may seem particularly challenging for organizations that
offer highly technical or niche products or services. So, what do you post when
your company hasn’t generated much news recently?
With a little creativity, you’ll find there are many opportunities
to take the conversation in relevant directions that will connect with your
audiences. Here are several opportunities to widen your perspective to new
ideas that will keep your company’s or client’s social media content fresh and
interesting.
Is your company sponsoring or attending
any upcoming events, such as training sessions, presentations, company off-sites
or simply visiting customers? Social media provides a great way to drive
traffic to these events. Posting about events after they happen, preferably
with photos, also makes for engaging content.
2) Share
executive expertise
Who at your company is an industry expert?
Have they been recognized by a professional organization? Or have they written
an article or report that would be of interest to the company’s followers? Even
a simple shout-out to an employee who has accomplished something helps put a human
face on your organization.
3) Leverage
case histories
Here’s the opportunity to share a third-party
endorsement of your company’s products or services. Where has your product or
service been used to solve a problem in the markets you serve? Posting the
story of how your offerings improved performance, efficiency and productivity can
forge a powerful sales message.
4) Post industry-relevant
media coverage
Obviously, positive news stories about your
organization and company should be a mainstay of your social media messaging. But
as contributors and consumers of media, you should also post stories that are
relevant to your industry and product areas. Be sure to vet these stories
carefully as you do not want to introduce any unnecessary controversy or share
news that promotes a competitor. Reporters also appreciate when you showcase
their work and may tend to watch your feed for story ideas.
5) Celebrate special occasions
Is there an upcoming national holiday or a
certain awareness day, week or month that is relevant to your market? Holidays
and national celebrations provide excellent opportunities to wish your
followers well and show a little more personality, perhaps with a GIF or photo.
6) Get a
little silly
While giving your company a means to wisecrack
may not be the reason you set up your corporate social media platforms,
everyone can appreciate a good joke or meme—particularly if it is good natured
and positive. You’ll get extra points for keeping the gags relevant to your industry,
products and services. Steer away from controversial subject matter, such as
religion, politics, inappropriate language and themes.
7) Contribute
to conversation
All too often social media platform
administrators are focused on posting their own content, but not reacting to
their followers’ content. Social media is a conversation rather than a soap box
for broadcasting your company’s messages. By liking, sharing or commenting on
others’ posts, you are engaging with others. Also, by doing this you will
undoubtedly find additional topics that are of interest to your audiences in
real time.
As you hone your profiles and posts, a distinct voice will
develop that your followers will be able to identify – smart, arrogant, funny,
mean, happy or cynical. These tips will help you veer away from coming off as dull,
repetitive and insular. Making your company’s platforms varied, interesting and
attractive to your key audiences is well worth the effort and will help to keep
your audiences engaged with your company brand for the long term.
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