Like a Wedding, a Social Media strategy will make your break your campaign, or rather “Big Day”. When was the last time you heard someone say I’m going to “wing” my wedding? Said no one! In these 8 simple points I will make you change your mind and tell you why you should place the same emphasis of importance onto your Social Media Strategy as you would your Wedding.
1. Planning out your Day.
Some say being spontaneous is fun and filled with lots of surprises, something you don’t want for your Social Media strategy or wedding! Research is essential; you are not going to book any venue without prior knowledge; likewise you would not jump into just any Social Media Platform and start posting without checking if it is fit for your audience or wedding reception. If you have an awesome Twitter Strategy, but majority of your customers are on Pintrest, you need to rework your targeting. So before you dive into any Social Platform do your research, companies spend thousands annually on B2C targeting and gathering information so start there, it’s free!
2. The Dress, it’s all about the Dress!
Let’s be honest, the most important thing for a woman at her wedding is the dress. Whether the bride or bridesmaid, God forbid she is caught wearing last season’s runway or a shade of white that is too beige! Similar to a Social Strategy you need to dress your site to impress. Understanding the types of interactions your customers prefer and enjoy will grant you continuous engagement. To gain an insight on what will create appealing posts, monitor they way your ideal customer interacts on social networks then trial run different posts.
3. Something Blue, something old, something borrowed.
If you are a traditionalist, next to the dress are the accessories each bride endures to find. Ask any fashion orientated person and they will most likely say that accessories make the outfit. That little bit of bling could make or break your outfit.
Accessories for your social strategy, although not crucial to running a social media campaign, certainly provide a huge advantage. The Brightside is that majority of these tools are free, or have trial subscriptions! Here are some you should check out.
Hootsuite: The key to Hootsuite is to keep all of your streams organised, with this in order you can track trends, hash tags and schedule posts for the day, week or month; however in saying this having a content plan is essential but it is advised to keep up to date with news and events and allow for real time posting.
Social Mention: One of my favourites is excellent for tracking any topic or tracking competitors within a specified time. It is easy, efficient and works while you are focusing on other tasks.
Commun.IT: Although it is strictly for Twitter it simplifies followers into, highly supported users, main influencers, supporters and those who are most engaged. This is fantastic as you can separate each group and make sure you thank them accordingly. Additionally you can also set up series of key phrases you wish to track and receive notifications each time a key word is used.
4.Being fashionably late, truth or myth?
In this case of a wedding, no one wants a late bridezilla, however in regards to social media if you are too late you can miss your window of opportunity, too early and no one will see your efforts. After conducting research, Bitly informed us that 3pm on weekdays for Facebook is the biggest spike in usage while Twitter is most active on the weekends. Taking note of these times, are you sharing your content at these opportune times for better social media listening or are you being a stubborn bridezilla.
5. Is the venue cost worth it?
The last thing you want is to waste money on a wedding venue which doesn’t give you your money’s worth. In social media, time is money. Resources and tools are needed to perfectly execute your social strategy. If you are new to the social scene, spend a fair amount of time being an observer to see how things are run, when you feel comfortable you too can start conversation.
6. Calm amongst chaos
If you have ever attended a European wedding you will understand how difficult it is to get a word in without screaming across the table for your deaf Nonna to pass the prosciutto. Similarly you don’t want to be shouting at your social media contacts in an attempt to get their attention. With all of the other noise on the internet you need to make sure what you are posting is quality. If you have something very personal or meaningful to say then send a private message. This insures that they will hear what you have to say and identify that you have taken the time to send them the message.
With all the white noise on social media, it is ideal to take the time to listen to your audience. Observe when your clients are online, see what times of the day they engage the most with your content. Additionally observe when your competition is also online and posting. If you notice they always post around 10am, post an hour earlier to be the head lining news. Additionally, majority of social media platforms have groups, circles or favourites. Taking time to streamline your channels will pay off. You wouldn’t mix your once removed uncles second wife with your Nonna, so why mix your potential customers with already engaged customers?
7. Re-lightening the friendship/family flame.
There will always be part of your family which you don’t want to invite to your wedding, but you know that if you don’t it would will be the talk of the family. On the other hand there is family and friends you have not seen in months, years! And the plus ones they bring along could be even more beneficial for meeting new people.
Similarly in social media there are those old contacts that are stable and have been there for your whole social media journey. Like old friends you have not see them for a while, but when they finally engage again nothing has changed, maximise these contacts as your existing customers can prove to be a valuable resource when figuring out how to attract and engage new customers. There are a variety of ways that you can tap into the minds of your current customers. You could try:
- Sending out a customer survey and include questions about their social networking habits.
- Spend a portion of your monthly or quarterly meetings asking what sort of things they’re interested in learning more about on social networks.
- Asking their opinion on a new campaign you’re running internally to determine if they would find it useful and engaging.
8. A thank you note goes a long way.
Even though you may not appreciate the matching florescent martini glasses from your 3rd cousin Daniella, it is still proper etiquette to say thank you with a letter. The same goes with social media. When a client helps you out, old or new, a thank you “tweet” or post can go a long way. Not just for your own relationship with the customer to thank them for their contribution and engagement but also for social proof, others will see that your B2C relationship is genuine and set up great credibility for your company and for future clients.
With these tips you will have a strong Social Media Strategy, and who knows you might even be more prepared for your future wedding!
