As people around the world are continuing to adjust to social distancing and stay-at-home restrictions, business owners, influencers, and social media managers have been clambering to pivot marketing messages, adjust content calendars, and rethink how they’re showing up on their social media platforms.
And as though social media marketing didn’t present a wide range of challenges as is, these unparalleled times have made it more challenging than ever to know if and how to maintain your business’s social media presence. In fact, some businesses have even chosen to go silent altogether in an effort to avoid going about it the wrong way.
But as our current #quarantinelife continues, it seems everyone is turning to social media for information, connection, or overall distraction; giving your business a unique opportunity to put out impactful messaging that will nurture current customers and offer value to what they’re both reading and seeing.
But with the increasing number of consumers and businesses showing up on social media each day, how can you ensure your posts (and your business) are being seen and remaining relevant? To help, we’ve gathered and broken out a few factors we believe to be key for managing social media when “the norm” stops being the norm.
Content and imagery are everything (especially now).
With screen time rapidly increasing, this means the standard of content and imagery is also increasing—causing mistakes to seem more unforgivable now than pre-COVID-19. So when it comes to positioning yourself during this new era of social media creation, striking the correct tone in your visuals and captions is vital.
Here are some tips from Business 2 Community to consider when evaluating current social media imagery and language:
- Avoid visuals of crowds or people touching. This includes people working in offices or at social gatherings out of the house.
- Reframe marketing language that describes close interaction. Reconsider figurative language like “get in touch,” “work hand in hand,” or “get closer to your customers.” Messages encouraging immediate interaction may be deeply scrutinized.
- Swap out visuals. If you have current or upcoming campaign visuals that may be tricky (I.E images with crowds, people touching, ungloved hands managing food or beverages, other potential sanitation concerns) revise the imagery now or push the timeline to later in the year.
Schedule in increments.
By now, most businesses have paused, recrafted, or completely deleted their previously scheduled content calendars—and for good reason.
With how much can change on a daily (sometimes even hourly) basis right now, it’s a good idea to begin scheduling social media posts in weekly increments vs. monthly or further in advance. It might even be necessary to create more in-the-moment posts some days, too.
Don’t over or under post.
As mentioned before, there is an abundance of people both scrolling through and posting on every social media platform right now. Due to this, it can feel difficult to determine what post frequency to maintain. Some businesses may want to over-post to ensure they’re being seen and staying top of mind, while others may only show up once a week (or less).
So where, if at all, is the happy medium?
As Constant Contact mentions, “[w]hen it comes to social media marketing, posting three times a week might have been enough, but now once a day isn’t too much — especially if you’re changing what you have to offer on a daily basis.” And for businesses without daily operational changes, “it’s good to post a little something every day right now, just to assure your audience that you’re there, and you’re still ready to do business.”
However, with social media management transitioning from pre-scheduled to weekly—or even daily—real-time posting, it may be difficult (or even unnecessary) to show up on social media every day.
So when deciding on the best marketing frequency for your business, take the time to think through what your followers need from you each week and adjust your posting to meet those needs. When in doubt, try to show up (whether through a post or a story) at least 3 times per week.
Need ideas for crafting social media posts during a crisis? Check out our previous blog for a few topic suggestions!
Reassess success.
Pre-COVID-19, most businesses could attribute their social media marketing performance to—as with most things—its return on investment [ROI]. But according to AdRoll, “ROI is important, but engagement metrics like clicks, likes, shares, comments, etc. are better gauges right now while people may not be as willing to buy.”
So when setting goals for your social media marketing, try to reassess what success may look like during the current environment and generate a new set of key performance indicators.
Be human.
Although it’s important to craft messaging and posts related to the current situation, people are likewise looking for connection and relatability. So allow yourself to be vulnerable with your audience by pulling back the veil and displaying things like your real work-from-home environment, new safety precautions taken by you and your staff, or your business’s stories of challenge and perseverance in the midst of uncertainty.
Perhaps go live on Facebook and Instagram to share your business continuity plan, share pictures of what your team’s WFH [Work From Home] office setups looks like, make an Instagram story and get real with how you’re balancing both work and a high-energy toddler, generate a series of posts highlighting what business as (un)usual looks and feels like for you and your employees—the possibilities are endless.
Conduct a social media audit.
When was the last time you updated your social media information, looked at analytics to see which platforms are performing best, did research on how you compare to your competitors or took a deep-dive into your current following to ensure they’re aligned with your target audience?
Not only does this time provide ample opportunities to get innovative and creative with how you engage with your followers, but it likewise gives your business a chance to fine-tune any loose ends and consolidate your social media platforms.
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Not sure where to begin with pivoting your social media efforts, or don’t have the time to do so on your own? Our Postern team is here to help. Send us an email at chris@posternagency.com.