social media best practices - Stealth Creative

Can you believe how many changes the social media world has seen lately?

Neither can we. That makes now as good a time as any to fine-tune your social strategy!

Why?

Because social media means more to the brand-consumer relationship than ever before – and there’s always opportunity to strengthen those customer connections.

Social media users are switching between seven social networking platforms, and they’re spending almost 2.5 hours per day on average glued to their profiles. In a shock that comes to no one, younger generations use this medium more than any other.

Time Spent Using Social Media, per Generation

Can you imagine the possibilities for reaching your ideal audience? We can.

Here’s how to become a social media socialite.

#1 Get comfortable with being uncomfortable.

We get it. Change can be hard. Especially when that change means doing things like getting in front of a camera.

But remember: Your customers want to see you. Don’t sweat being filmed. You’ll be talking about what you know best: Your business. And unless you’re doing a live stream, you can hit “Record” as many times as you need before publishing. (That’s what we do!)

#2. Know where your people are

Does your business need to be on every single social media platform? Maybe a long time ago, but not today. Whether you have an established business or are in the middle of building one, you should know who your ideal consumer is. Once you know that, it’s a matter focusing your efforts on where they spend their time.

Don’t know where that is? We do.

#3 Listen to Your Audience

If you’ve never heard of social media analytics, all you need to know is they help you listen to your audience. Most platforms offer their own analytic tools and insights, but you can also use third-party resources depending on your needs.

The best way to understand what resonates with your audience is knowing what makes them engage. For example, examine a post with a lot of comments. What kind of post is it? A conversation starter? Does it show personality?

Take the attributes of successful posts and recreate them. You don’t want to duplicate the exact same post, but consider how you can adapt the voice, message and imagery into your next social gem.

#4 Stop Their Scroll

You have three seconds to gain the interest of a social media user. That’s right: THREE. If you don’t grab attention off the bat, you’ll likely be ignored.

So how can you make sure this doesn’t happen to you? We’re so glad you asked.

Now that you know who your audience is and where they spend their social media time, put yourself in their shoes. If you were them, what would YOU want to see on your feed? Something eye-catching, right?

Right.

Whether it’s educational or entertaining, your content’s first impression can make or break its performance. A good introductory hook does exactly that – it grabs hold and doesn’t let go. And hopefully, it leads them to your profile to become your newest follower.

Let’s Get Social

Whether you’re a social media whiz looking for some inspiration or are just now starting to dabble, Stealth Creative’s team can help. Remember, it’s never too late to get your social strategy on target.

Source: Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Statista and McKinsey

Kirsten Hackett

Kirsten Hackett specializes in social media marketing and loves to focus on building social communities for our clients. She has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and an MBA with a marketing specialty. When she’s not working, she’s likely hanging out with her family, baking or crocheting.

Recently we shared how social media is quite different than traditional marketing. This marketing effort is intended to build awareness, drive engagement, develop loyal brand ambassadors and serve as a key facet to your integrated marketing plan. And it’s table stakes in today’s socially savvy world.

Millennials and Gen Z account for more than one-third of the workforce, with that figure expected to increase to more than half in the next decade, making the younger generations the most dominant in the workplace. And keep in mind 48 percent of younger generation managers are your decision makers at a director level or higher.* As consumers and business decision-makers continue to get younger and younger, having a solid digital marketing and social media marketing game are the crucial first steps in your marketing foundation. They are what everything else should be built upon.

Think about it like a house. You wouldn’t build a house by simply adding rooms on top of stilts without a solid foundation in place because they would all tumble to the ground in a heap. The same thing is true for marketing: Focusing on marketing tactics without building your website and social media foundation first ends in the same result. And by the way, we can help with both! Just give us a holler.

Putting Social Media Best Practices to Work for Your Business

So, how do you ensure you’re following social media best practices for your business to stay on point with your brand’s personality and the expectations of each social platform? You can start by checking out this social media best practices infographic we put together, or even reach out to us to help with your entire social media strategy, campaign and editorial calendars, execution, community management and analytics reporting.

We often get asked to share social media best practices with our clients as part of our marketing engagement or social media marketing strategy work. So, we thought, why not make those same best practices available to you?!

It all starts with the right approach, which looks like this:

Develop a social strategy that not only supports your overarching marketing strategy, but also your business goals and objectives. Everything should align from top to bottom.
Determine overarching key messages that reflect your brand’s personality and attributes, while ensuring any content you develop reinforces your primary messaging, keeping everything consistent in your marketing efforts.
Craft your editorial calendar by month, showing all platforms, date/day, subject, copy, call-to-action, hashtags and any associated links. This ensures you have the full snapshot of the month across all platforms – again, to ensure marketing consistency.
Post unique content on each platform. Let me say that again: Post unique content on each platform. This is important. Why? Because each platform has its own language and expectations, which we dive into in the infographic. It’s also important to ensure your content varies by channel because chances are the same people will follow you on all your platforms, and they’ll quickly lose interest or unfollow you if your content is the same across the board. It’s okay to post similar topics, but vary your copy.There is one time when it’s acceptable to cross-post the same content: If you have a social media channel and do not have the resources to devote to it, but want it to stay active, you can cross-post to ensure there’s activity on the channel.
Be consistent in your posting schedule. Due to the way the platform algorithms work, consistency is king. After 30 days or so of consistent posting, the algorithms will realize you’re being active, and recognize your content as ‘valid.’ This helps with organic visibility, as well as helps your audience know when to expect new info from you.
Engage with your audience. This is not a post-it-and-forget-it kinda gig. If you want a loyal audience and attract the right kind of followers (those who will engage with your brand), then you must engage with them. It’s called ‘social’ for a reason.Think about your social channels as a cocktail party or networking event. You wouldn’t walk up to someone, and say: “Hi, my name is Bob, and I sell widgets. Wanna buy one?” You’d ease into that. Get to know more about them and their interests. “Hi, my name is Bob. What’s yours?” You engage them back, ask questions, get to know them, understand them, and that will help you eventually present your products/solutions.And keep in mind, the rule of thumb on social is: Post nine non-product- or solution-oriented posts to one that ‘sells.’ And please don’t brand your posts. Organic social is about connecting – not selling/advertising. Save that for your paid social or digital ads. The more authentic and real you can be, the better.Additionally, your audience may have questions or comment on your posts. Answer them, comment back, engage with them, and you’ll start to develop a much more loyal following.
Monitor quarterly analytics/trends. Quarterly is the key in that sentence. Social media is fickle. One month engagement and impressions may be up, the next down. Typically, you’re going to see a fluctuation of 5% either way, which is considered ‘static.’ The objective is to grow the KPIs positively, and keeping an eye on the analytics quarterly allows you to see trends and adjust content accordingly.

So, check out the rest of the best practices to keep in mind by channel in the infographic, and then feel free to reach out with questions, to request a social media audit or even engage us to take social off your plate!

As always stay tuned until the next time we go Off the Radar.

*How millennials and Gen Z are reshaping the future of the workforce, CNBC.

You know what they say, an emoji a day keeps the doctor away. Well, there aren’t any emoji prescriptions just yet, but symbols are enhancing written language and becoming an essential part of modern communication.

Words are important, and emojis are just as powerful. If you aren’t using emojis to communicate with your customers, you’re missing out on a free and useful marketing tool. Let’s take a walk down memory lane to a very… emotional time in my personal life.

I was a freshman in high school. I remember staying up late one night thinking about my boyfriend at the time. This was the early 2000s when texting was new and expensive. I typed out three very short but heavy words on my Nokia 3650, “I love you,” and pressed send.

Seventeen years later I still clearly remember that night. I never got a response, and he broke up with me the next day. I wonder if things would have turned out differently if I had switch out the word “love” for “<3” before pressing send.

Today we not only have heart emojis ❤️, we also have a rainbow of colors – 16 to be exact. So how do we use these symbols to benefit our brands and relationships? Like a lot of symbols, emojis pack a lot of feeling into one character. You can use them to express heavy emotions without seeming too needy, aggressive or boy crazy (in my case). They lighten the mood. You can say things you would never be able to express in written words without looking crazy.

Now that we have established just how important emojis are, let’s dive into some best practices and how to use them to elevate your brand’s communication without getting broken up with – or worse, unsubscribed from.

Can Emojis Replace Words?

The short answer: YES! But, emojis are most effective when combined with text. If you can effortlessly replace a word with an emoji for emphasis, your copy will be draw attention, pack an emotional punch and get your message across quickly.

With that being said, you rarely see emojis grouped to create a phrase or an entire sentence. That would be the equivalent of all caps and multiple exclamation points at the end of a written sentence. The sweet spot when it comes to emojis is adding one or two naturally into your copy; don’t go overboard. Less is always more.

Social Media and Emojis

Today you rarely see a social media post that doesn’t include an emoji. The old saying, a picture is worth a thousand words still holds true. Images are a critical part of social media. They delight and entertain your audience while grabbing and (hopefully) keeping their attention. Powerful visuals are a must when it comes to social media, and that includes emojis. These tiny pictures make your message look less cluttered and more fun!

And there is more good news: Emojis cross language barriers because they are international! Who doesn’t understand the basic message behind a smiley face? Your brand can take advantage of this and not only attract millennials but customers and followers from all over the world.

Here are a few rules to remember when it comes to social media and emoji use:

Keep it simple. If you can’t find an emoji that fits with your message, it’s best not to use one at all. Don’t overthink it, or it won’t feel or read naturally.
Stay consistent, and add a few emojis in with your brand guidelines. Pick emojis close to your logo colors, and express your brand message. This not only gets you out of the corporate box, it also makes it easier to respond to comments and interact with customers in a playful way still true to your brand.
Emojis make your content seem more light and fun. They shouldn’t be used when talking about serious topics because people will assume you are making light of the situation and may get offended.

Email and Emojis

Using emojis in email subject lines let you quickly express your message without adding more clutter to your customers’ inboxes.

Many brands are now picking one emoji to include first in every email subject line they send so their customers can quickly identify their emails in the hundreds they receive each day. Certain emojis are becoming a natural extension of many brands. These colorful graphics can help your emails stand out in the sea of unreads.

Here are a few rules to remember when it comes to emails and emoji use:

Don’t be overdramatic. If you are exaggerating or using emojis as clickbait, your customers will quickly learn to disregard them. Don’t overuse the siren emoji, or people won’t trust that your subject line emojis correlate to the message you’re sending.
Test compatibility. All emojis aren’t compatible with every major email client. Be sure to check that your emojis are showing up in all mail programs before you send, especially if you are replacing words.
Gauge audience reaction. Perform a few tests, and see how your audience responds to the addition of emojis in your subject lines. Target audiences respond very differently to emojis. As much as the data points to them improving open rates, they might have an opposite effect and end up in spam if you are trying to reach an older or less social-savvy audience.

Emojis Are Here to Stay

Start adding a few emojis to your social media and email subject lines. Step up your communication game, and use the free tools that are at the tip of your fingers. Emojis allow you to say the things you never thought you could say before while simultaneously seeming more approachable and fun!

Stealth Creative boasts a social media and digital team that’s wired into the internet.

Drop us a line if you need our help…We <3 U

We’ve heard the legend countless times: The lone social media marketer, tapping away at their phone keyboard deep into the night. They are essential, but your company – and that lone wolf – deserves more.

To all the coffeepot-ed crusaders out there, we salute you. We know running a successful social media campaign can be challenging, especially if you have to go it alone.

For some reason, a lot of companies don’t truly understand the exorbitant amount of time and work that goes into developing and running a successful social media strategy.

Just because Facebook accounts are free, doesn’t mean social media marketing is.

While Bruce Wayne might be able to single-handedly clean up the streets of Gotham, a social media team of one (no matter how tragic their backstory) won’t make any significant headway on the interwebs – even with stellar content.

The current situation that pits small companies against established behemoths might be criminal, but we’re going to crack the case for better social media practices wide open.

The Deep Freeze

It’s diabolical. It’s repugnant. It’s…actually a pretty smart marketing ploy on their part.

No, we’re not talking about a supervillain’s plan for world domination (although some people might see it that way). We’re talking about Facebook’s algorithm that makes it virtually impossible for businesses to engage in organic marketing with their customers. According to Facebook, content from family and friends is prioritized in the newsfeed over content from public pages and businesses.

As expected, this has a rather chilling effect on how simple posts on social media translate to exposure or conversion for many brands. Of course, that’s the point. Platforms want you to fork over the big bucks to participate in their advertising program or to boost your posts. Either way, it means using Facebook is technically no longer free for businesses.

If you’re a Fortune 500 company, you can walk it off no problem. But if you’re a small fish in a big pond or just starting out, you may not have Wayne Enterprises’ levels of dough needed to throw at your social campaigns.

Not to worry! There is a way to trick the system. But you’re not going to like it…

The Bane of Algorithms

The best way to use social media to your company’s advantage is to perfect the art of storytelling.

Story-centric posts seem more natural, are more appealing to customers and can sneak by Facebook’s rigorous ad detection algorithms.

This approach requires you to spend more time and effort when crafting your posts. You can’t just throw up a link to your deals page anymore. You need to create content that will encourage your consumers to engage with you.

Here’s the catch: Excessive linking to websites, calls to action and comments are out.

We said you weren’t going to like it.

In the process, they’ve quashed what they term “Engagement Bait.” So links, CTAs, and requests to like, comment and share will tip off the Facebook ad police, and your posts will get banished to the land of eternal under-exposure.

But in the story-driven content approach, your story is your ad. So make sure the stuff you’re posting is interesting enough to make people interact with you in a more natural way.

Denny’s X (Twitter) feed is the poster child of this strategy. Notice how they don’t link to their website in every post, or continuously nag you to go buy food from them (although they do make you want to go buy food).

Learn from them; be molded by their experience. Don’t merely adopt the story. Become the story.

Riddle Me This

What’s free, only requires a Facebook account and a phone to use, and is something you’re currently not doing? Two words: Facebook Live.

More and more of social media is starting to move towards live interactions. Whether it’s gamers on Twitch, YouTubers doing charity live streams or celebrities hosting in-depth discussions on X Spaces, the answer to more effective social media usage has never been clearer.

And when data shows that live video gets 40X the interaction as other posts and rank higher in customer newsfeeds, there’s really no question: You should be live streaming.

This method is both cost effective and simple to use.

It does require a little more day-to-day planning and dedication, but you can’t argue with results!

Don’t Call Us Jokers; We’re Serious

If you’re part of a small social media department, chances are your company doesn’t have the time or resources to plan out your social media strategy. And this is no laughing matter.

It’s amazing the difference something as simple as creating a content schedule that supports your social media, marketing and overarching business strategies can make.

Scheduling a quick meeting every once in a while to brainstorm content ideas that support your defined strategy and putting them on the calendar is all it takes to set yourself up to keep an active – and consistent – feed across multiple platforms.

Whether it’s tips and tricks on your blog, numbered lists of dos and don’ts on LinkedIn, or email drip campaigns with news and updates, taking time to plan out your themes for the year for your social media accounts, and crafting monthly editorial calendars ensures you always have something to say that’s on point, on brand and supports your business, marketing and social media strategies.

So stop clowning around, and get planning! You really have no excuse.

Still feel like a social media marketing vigilante? Have no fear! Stealth Creative is here to back you up.

We offer social media strategy development, editorial calendar creation and execution, monitoring, and reporting of social media. We also have a successful track record with creation and implementation of consumer interactive opportunities.

Want to learn more? Drop us a line and stay tuned for more great tips from Stealth the next time we go Off the Radar.