Every social media network ever (subject to change without notice). Via Wikimedia.
Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tumblr, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Google+, Vine…the list goes on, and more are added every day. Social media platforms give organizations and campaigns an unprecedented ability to engage directly with the people you’re trying to reach, provide your audience a chance to connect directly with you, and allow your fans to help spread your message directly to their networks. An effective social media presence is not just a simple matter of logging in once in a blue moon and sharing a couple of posts from other outlets. To make it work, you need to be investing thoughtfully in the following practices:
1. Prioritize
Don’t try to be everywhere at once! Unless you have a bottomless well of staff time and creativity to draw from, you need to prioritize. Better to be on just a couple of networks and doing it well than to be spreading yourself too thin trying to be everywhere at once. And where your you should focus is going to vary quite a bit from organization to organization — if you have access to a source of rich visuals, it’s probably going to be Instagram or Pinterest; if you have a clever staffer who can be given some free reign, they might want to be on Instagram; if you are trying to educate about a complicated topic, perhaps a Reddit AMA might be worth exploring. There are dozens of social media networks appealing to all sorts of audiences, from broad to more niche and specialty. Define your audience and the style of interaction that will suit you best and focus your efforts there.
2. Produce Good Content
Constant information bombardment, access, and overload are an inescapable feature of today’s wired world. To have any chance of breaking through the noise requires content that the audience decides is worth engaging with. It must be thoughtful, emotionally rich, self-referential (i.e., relevant to THEM, the audience, not YOU, the content publisher), funny, timely, interesting, shocking, and/or make people feel like part of a movement.
3. Be Consistent
Social media campaigns are too often treated as an afterthought, something that can be done on a catch-as-catch-can basis. To be effective, however, a social media campaign needs to have strategic vision, a sense of consistency of voice, and a sense of consistency with timing – the audience needs to know what to expect from the campaign, and the more that expectation is of good, timely content, the more interaction with the campaign will result.
4. Interact
The social web is not a one-way street, a simple one-to-many form of communication; it needs to be treated as truly interactive. An effective campaign cannot simply publish a stream of good content and walk away – there needs to be a sense of true interaction with the audience – answering questions, responding with genuine care, having a distinct voice/personality…in other words, there needs to be a really person at work, not merely a ghost in the machine.
5. Engage
A strategy that engages your audience – one that makes them feel like they are doing something – is key to bringing new supporters on board. A good social media campaign should regularly integrate asks of all shapes an sizes – polls, posts, questions, surveys, petitions, events, etc.
6. Be willing to pay
The social landscape – especially with respect to Facebook’s algorithms (e.g., how it is Facebook decides what to display in a user’s feed) – is shifting rapidly, but one thing is clear: Facebook (the largest and most trafficked social network to date) is more and more moving to a “pay to play” policy. Page managers can not expect content – even good content – to make it into users’ news feeds without ongoing investment in Facebook’s ad ecosystem. The good news is, the ads are relatively inexpensive, highly targetable, and generally quite effective. Other social networks – notably Twitter and Instagram – are making ads more affordable and integrated into users’ feeds, as well.
7. Analyze and iterate
Understanding what is – and isn’t – working for any audience is a key to a successfully executed social media campaign. Regular analysis of posts, progress toward goals, and high and low performing actions needs to be undertaken to refine the plan and inform the tactics of the campaign on a regular basis.
Need help lighting a fire under your social media presence? Contact OnSight today to talk about how we can help you develop a social media roadmap for your organization, campaign, and business.
Our intrepid team of Pretzel Ambassadors were canvassing outside GABF to make sure atendees’ snacking needs were met before they headed inside! We offered pretzels and beer coupons for a chance to talk to people who care about craft culture and get them to sign up for our email list or join us on social media.
As we prepped for this year’s Great American Beer Festival, the Keep Colorado Local campaign thought, “What can we do to jump start conversations with people who care about beer?”
Our pockets aren’t nearly as deep as those of the out-of-state chains that are trying to change Colorado’s liquor laws, but we do know a thing or two about GABF (In fact, more than 50 KCL member breweries poured their product at this year’s festival. And a bunch won awards, too!).
So we decided we couldn’t spring for t-shirts, Lederhosen or other schwag, but we could help attendees accessorize. As a way to engage with festival-goers and get them looped in to the campaign, we gave out hundreds of free pretzel necklaces over the three days of GABF.
It was a fun, high-visibility effort that led to hundreds of new email sign ups, a lot of positive interactions with people who care about our issue, and put a lot of smiles on strangers’ faces, to boot.
It’s been a busy few months here at OnSight, and we wanted to take a moment and share some of the videos we’ve had the opportunity to produce with our clients and partners. Take a second and take a look.
We’ve got a few new videos we’re excited to release. The first was created for the Great Outdoors Colorado Great Outdoors Summitin June. The 4:30 video showcases some really stunning Colorado landscapes, and highlights opportunities for Coloradans to protect and experience the value of Colorado’s outdoor resources. (Produced in partnership with Travis Rummel and Ben Knight with Felt Soul Media.)
The second is a 1:30 video released just this week for the Yes on 1A for DIA campaign. The video has a driving, hyperkinetic energy that showcases the economic engine DIA has become. The 1A for DIA campaign will be engaging voters in both Adams County and Denver to support new commercial businesses at DIA, bringing new manufacturing, new retail, and an estimated 12,000 new jobs to the airport. (Produced in partnership with Milkhaus.)
The third video is an infographic for the Keep Colorado Local campaign on social media, helping viewers connect the dots between the craft brews they love, and the liquor laws in Colorado that have made our craft brewing industry so strong and diverse.
The Julesburg marching band set the stage for the opening ceremonies on Friday morning.
The fourth annual Pedal The Plains bicycle Tour launched from Julesburg, Colorado for a three-day, 155 mile journey through eastern Colorado’s high plains. From September 18th to 20th, participants rode to stops in three host communities: Julesburg, Holyoke and Sterling.
OnSight was on hand for the entire weekend, photographing and posting on six social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, SnapChat, Vine, and Flickr) throughout, as well as managing posts from the Plain Pedaler community bloggers.
For the first time in Pedal The Plains history the route took riders over the border into Nebraska.
The ride across Colorado’s Eastern Plains is a celebration of Colorado cycling culture, combining great rides, delicious eats and close friends. Billed as “a ride for the rest of us,” Pedal The Plains is set in the heart of western agriculture, home of the frontier spirit that inspires all of us to keep pedaling. Almost 1,000 cyclists took part in this year’s ride.
With OnSight, you’re getting a team, not an individual. Together, we have experience and contacts in Colorado and nationally that few, if any, individuals can match. By hiring a firm, you benefit from the breadth and depth of our collective expertise and relationships we have cultivated in that time with the press and policy-shapers.
2. Cost.
We regularly deliver extraordinary results for less money than a traditional hire when factoring in an employee’s salary, benefits and related overhead (computer, office supplies, and stolen lunches from the company refrigerator).
3. Tools.
We have access to a suite of tools to help you monitor issues, companies or stories, distribute media releases to targeted reporters and to share your messages via earned and social media channels.
4. Creativity.
We are also a full-service creative firm, meaning we design and deliver websites, video, graphics, logos and other collateral material.
5. Flexibility.
As a professional communications firm, we have the staffing and bandwidth to respond to your needs in real time. We don’t keep banker’s hours; you can always reach one of us when there’s work to be done.
6. Honesty.
As outsiders, we are able to bring a perspective that is grounded in past experiences and help set realistic expectations.
7. Scalability (and dump-ability).
When there’s more work than one person can handle, we get it handled. And, when the work is done, your work with us can be done. We can arrange contracts around a single event, or for extended periods. And when it’s time to break up, we’ll let you keep you T-Shirts.
8. Efficiency.
We track hours, set benchmarks, measure performance and deliver excellent results on short notice. You only pay for what you need.
9. Practice.
Maybe you do need to hire an in-house PR professional. But engaging a PR firm first allows you to have your current communications needs met while taking the time to find the right employee and then giving them the time to get up to speed.
10. Results.
Whether working with CEOs of Fortune 100 companies or a high-profile political campaign, we have a reputation for delivering excellence that has earned us kudos from everyone from 5280 magazine to The Washington Post.
11. More brains.
When you put us to work, you get the benefit of our collective experience, our brainstorming sessions, side conversations and creative culture.
When you hire OnSight, you know you’re getting people who love what they do, and put their hearts and minds into it. You’re the expert in your field, but we’re curious and used to getting up to speed on complex, important topics in order to translate them into plainspeak and increase your reach.
Contact us at info@onsightpa.com to get our team cracking on your project today.
