Lawrence Medina

You’ve decided to pick up the mantle and tell the tale of your company/personal ventures through the vast outlets that are social media. There are a number of directions you can go in, yet being faced with so many options… Is, well, numbing.

Fear not, for here is the quick and easy guide to handling social media.

The Beginning

Choose the platform you think your audience normally roams.

While it is fine to have an account for each social media platform, it could be considered dead weight if your audience does not go there.

If your company already has an established social media account, the best thing to do is check their current and future posts. Get a grasp of what had been working for them so far and the areas they have been lacking. Perhaps your company was not using the right voice, where they needed to be conversational, they ended up being just informational.

If you’re starting to establish your company’s social media, then look to the service and product and create an “idealized voice.”

Idealized Voice

A quick sidebar, your company’s idealized voice will be the way you wish to be perceived—whether or not you’re perceived in such a light is dependent on your writing. The best way to create your idealized voice is simply by taking 3 words and using their exact definition.

Then add some nuance.

For example, you may choose “aware” as your word, because maybe you want your voice to wary of hard issues or bigger plights facing your audience. Aware could also mean that you are aware of most—or all, things around you.

The nuance in your idealized voice is what will lead to more content being created for your brand. Once you understand the nuance of your voice you can branch out and get a greater understanding of your brand. This will, in turn, bring you towards better community building, but before you dive into that, you need to solve one thing.

The main crux of the next matter comes down to, how long will the content last? And what do you do to ensure that your engagement stays up and your audience doesn’t simply disappear the moment you stop posting.

That is when you need to utilize something that any company requires…

Planning Your Course

Creating a plan may seem quite simple, but a lot goes into it when you’re talking about both your brand and content. You must create a framework to play within, be sure not to leave that framework if you have an audience. Shifting or leaving the framework can cause people to leave your brand. Since it won’t be what they’re accustomed to.

When creating your framework think about the type of content that best appeals to your audience. It will ensure that you keep on track with each post and keep your growth going. After all, a strong framework will only boost your content.

Once you have created a framework you are comfortable working within, find the best times to post. This will make sure your audience actually sees your content. If you post too late you may just miss the time your audience is online, too early and you meet the same issue. The right time brings the most awareness to your post and in turn, brings more people to your brand.

This last bit is primarily for those of you with smaller audiences. Find similar communities. No matter your niche, there is always an audience out there. Specific hashtags will invite you into those communities allowing you to bring them to your brand. However, be sure that the content you post under those hashtags is relevant.

Irrelevance does not help a brand grow—on social media that is. It will only push your audience away and make people of those communities wary of your content.

It is a surefire way of keeping that beloved audience away from your cause.

Interacting with Your Audience

Interacting with your audience. A dangerous game of cat and mouse. You may want to stray away from interacting until you are fully confident in what your brand voice is. If you are sure how to speak as your brand—then this is essential.

No interaction means no engagement, which means no growth.

Meanwhile, maybe your audience is trying to speak with you but you are unsure of what to say. This is where your framework comes in. You will always want to speak to your audience in a voice they are expecting. This merely means, don’t stray from your voice.

If your interaction with your audience goes poorly you may just frighten them off. Branding is a unique skill and talent. Repeat the voice they expect, but this does not mean become a cardboard cutout. There is a line that exists in branding. Be sure not to become a parody of your voice.

Once you become a parody, then you lose the meaning behind what you are saying.

Basically…

Feed Your Audience

With content that appeals to them. With content that is in your brand voice. With content that isn’t dull or repetitive.

When one post works and gains traction, find what your audience found most appealing. Try to replicate that, without repeating the same beats. At this point, content creation focuses on the “creation” bit.

Never stop feeding your audience new and engaging content and you’ll be rewarded handsomely. After all, we’re all human—yes even the brand voice is human—and none of us like to eat the same thing again and again.

If you give your audience the same type of content day in and day out, they’ll eventually leave you. If you give them a fresh take—whether it be with old content or new, then you’ll keep them satiated.

The Self-Made Machine

In the end, your social media will be something that essentially runs itself. (Not really, but once you get a good flow of it, it’ll certainly feel like it.)

The most difficult part of handling your social media accounts at this point will be interacting with your audience and keeping a good balance of voice and content. Where you’ll simply have to find where it best fits into your framework.

If you’re having trouble fitting any piece of content into your framework—then that piece of content may not work with your voice. Try not to throw a wrench into the machine you’ve built—or have been tasked with building.