by Blair Kaplan Venables
Having a social media strategy is required if you want to achieve specific goals with your social media. It will guide you on content creation and enhance your visibility. Many different elements need to go into a robust social media strategy. Over time, as the world of social media evolves, more components are will be added into these plans. Yes, there is a heavy focus on a content calendar and engagement, but entrepreneurs often miss three essential items.
Curated Content
Content created by other social media users, known as User Generated Content (UGC), is the golden nugget of having a robust collection of on-brand social media assets. Leveraging other people’s content to fit within your overall plan is always a good idea. Most content creators want their photos or videos to reach as many people as possible, so you are doing them a favor when you share their content. You must ask them for permission to share their images or videos and ensure that you always give credit to the original content creator.
Crisis Communications Plan
It’s not all sunshine and rainbows in the world of social media. Someone will inevitably come along with feedback that may not be in your favor. There is a chance that your brand may receive negative reviews, trolls or even bullies commenting on your social media posts. Don’t worry, this happens to many companies of all sizes and is a part of business growth. A crisis communications strategy manages these interactions.
It’s essential to know the proper procedures and protocols if any of these situations do arise. It’s best to prepare for any potential crisis like injury, disgruntled customer, Internet roll or even a pandemic. If you know what to say and how to manage each possible situation, you will be able to handle these moments with grace and slightly less stress.
Leveraging Influence
When you build a community of influencers who actively promote your brand, you are getting a lot of organic exposure. People do business with people they like, know, and trust, so when other social media users post about you, they help solidify your credibility. Leveraging other people’s networks is a brilliant tactic, and every social media strategy should have an influencer or ambassador element.
The key to creating this part of your strategy is to focus on the quality of the ambassador’s followers and engagement. Your selection of ambassadors should not always be about how many followers they have. It is also a good idea to ensure that their followers are your ideal customers.
These three elements will ensure that your company stands out from your competition. No one size fits all social media strategy exists, but when you have different layers to your plan, your brand will stand out.
Blair Kaplan Venables is an expert in social media marketing and the president of Blair Kaplan Communications, a British Columbia-based PR agency. As a pioneer in the industry, she brings more than a decade of experience to her clients, which include global wellness, entertainment and lifestyle brands. Blair has helped her customers grow their followers into the tens of thousands in just one month, win integrative marketing awards and more. She has spoken on national stages and her expertise has been featured in media outlets including CBC Radio, CEOWORLD Magazine, She Owns It and Thrive Global. Blair is also the #1 best-selling author of Pulsing Through My Veins: Raw and Real Stories from an Entrepreneur. When she’s not working on the board for her local chamber of commerce, you can find Blair growing the “I Am Resilient Project,” an online community where users share their stories of overcoming life’s most difficult moments.
