It has been over fifteen years since MySpace began redefining what the term “friend” meant and more than a decade since The Social Network told the story of Facebook’s early days. These days it can be a challenge to keep track of all the social media platforms out there.
Social media isn’t new anymore, and your association needs to have a social media strategy that prevents members from visiting your platforms and finding stale posts and low engagement on your feed.
Here are three ways your association can immediately improve its social media strategy.
1. Direct your resources where they will have the most impact.
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, TikTok—it’s a lot. Most associations simply do not have the time to post content to every social media platform in a way that maximizes impact and delivers a return on your association’s investment.
The solution?
Emphasize the platforms your members use most. In some industries, Instagram is essential to doing business. In others, LinkedIn may play a more prominent role. If your members aren’t spending time on TikTok, then investing in a strategy for TikTok just diverts time and resources away from platforms that are more relevant to your members.
Association boards occasionally believe their association must be on a specific platform just because everyone else is on that platform.
Don’t focus on the platform.
Focus on your members.
2. Emphasize consistency over frequency.
How often should your association post on any platform?
Daily? Weekly? Right after the board approves a marketing plan, and then only again when staff thinks of it?
Consistency matters more than frequency. There are tools that make posting daily on multiple platforms easy—but even then, posting something just because it doesn’t take a lot of time isn’t a social media strategy designed to have a lot of impact.
So, how often should your association post on any platform?
As often as you can consistently post value-added content.
Too often, associations will have bursts of social media activity followed by long periods of inactivity or low engagement. Winning the social media game requires consistently building and engaging your audience.
If you only have the resources to do one really excellent post a week on the platform your members most frequently use, then make that the focus of your social media strategy.
3. Benchmark yourself against non-association organizations.
You know who can be hilarious on social media?
Wendy’s.
The burger chain is known for having a laugh-out-loud funny Twitter feed that frequently engages in mock feuds with competitors and engages directly with customers. From picking fights with Jack-in-the-Box to showing a self-deprecating sense of humor, the hamburger chain has created a unique voice on a platform that prizes witty takes communicated in just a few hundred characters.
It is possible for associations to benchmark themselves against businesses like Wendy’s. The association landscape isn’t known for innovative or highly shareable social media content. If you’re trying to be the best, it doesn’t hurt to emulate the strategies of the best. Athletes from different sports borrow training strategies and methods all the time.
Even if your association only has the time and resources to do one or two really good posts a week, making that content relevant, memorable, and maybe even funny costs nothing.
Your members are scrolling through their feed for a variety of different reasons. Maybe it is habit. Maybe it is boredom. Maybe it is to distract themselves. Either way, their association’s content will jump out when it informs, educates, or entertains members. Associations often focus on those first two qualities while completely ignoring the third.
That needs to change.
Stop posting because you are supposed to.
Instead, make sure your association focuses on using its resources wisely by engaging on the platforms most relevant to members—and try to make your members smile, or even laugh.
When your association does that, you know your social media strategy is working.
Are you overwhelmed by how much work it takes to power the mission and vision of your association? SBI can help provide the staff, resources, and even the social media strategy so you can focus on the big picture. Contact us today to learn how our AMC can help power your association forward and make your role as a volunteer simpler, easier, and more rewarding than ever.
