Social Media Best Practices
Now that you’ve got your accounts set up, let’s talk about some general rules of the road on how to be effective on these platforms.
Setting Your Strategy
Follow the Goldilocks principle. Don’t post too much, don’t post too little, post the right amount. This is a repeat of the signal to noise principle that was talked about in the previous installment “Setting up your Social Media Accounts.”
Build out a social media calendar, including what you’ll be posting and when. In the abstract, it sounds easy to optimally post on your social media platforms, following the Goldilocks rule. But then the campaign starts to pick up and you’re struggling to juggle promoting the newly received endorsement, repeatedly advertising for your upcoming virtual webcast, and being responsive to the news cycle. Oh, and periodically throwing up a photo of your dog to remind people you’re a human being. Conversely, when the stuff hits the fan(and it will), it’s difficult to post regularly because you’re too busy handling all the fires popping up. Planning your content strategy out weeks in advance will help you avoid both of those fates.
Develop a drafting and proofing process. It’s too easy to miss our own typos, or more frequently, grammar mistakes. When we’re our only editor, we won’t catch these mistakes because our brains subconsciously fill in the gaps. As this Wired article explains, “the reason we don't see our own typos is because what we see on the screen is competing with the version that exists in our heads.” Institute a “two eye” rule i.e. nothing public facing could be published until at least two people have looked at it.
Research social management software. All of the above will become exponentially easier by investing in a platform like Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, or one of their competitors. These platforms each have a barebones package that’s either free or affordable. Additionally, this type of software allows access to multiple users (or you can just share a password), making it possible to share this responsibility among multiple team members.
Creating Content
Stay. On. Message. Regardless of the format, message discipline can win and sink campaigns. And in this new environment, we all have to repurpose platforms previously thought of as personal. So while it may be tempting to veer to topics infrequently discussed, remember that doing so can muddle your message. Everyone, be it a staffer or an organizer, can become a messenger for a campaign and help shape the image of that campaign in possible supporters or voters.
Mobile first. Even now, when we’re all spending far too much time at our laptops, content should be made to be consumed on smartphones and mobile devices. Photos should be in square mode, text should be limited.
Use photos. While the algorithms are changing all the time, you’ll still find much better engagement when using photos on social media. In part, it’s due to limited screen real estate - photos take up more room on a person’s device so they’re hard to miss.
Use hashtags and trends. On both mobile and desktop formats, Twitter will show the emerging trends at any given point and link to a collection of posts including either that phrase or hashtag in their content, including your own. It’s another way to get your content in front of new eyes. But when doing so ...
Be authentic. When you’re trying to be funny or liberally using emojis but typically are known for a serious tone, it’ll stand out. Heed the warning of the ill-fated social media advertising campaigns of Mike Bloomberg. Once something’s on the internet, it will live forever in one form or another. And there are plenty people who are eager to call out someone trying to put on a false air.
Practice effective branding. If you spend any time consuming content from any national scale campaign, you’ll to notice how every item shares stylistic motifs and colors. This helps their content separate itself from the torrent of information that flows through on any social media feed. Mimic that practice by creating your own “frame” that you can use around your own original content.
General Guidelines
Remember it’s a public platform and, again, everything on the internet lives forever. As a communications professional once advised me, you should only say anything there that you’d be comfortable seeing on the front page of the New York Times. And that means everywhere, including in the comments. Because, despite the warning we’ve all received, yes, people read the comments. And so should you.
Read the comments. In them ‘thar hills, there be gold. Yes, because this is the internet, most of them will be critical and devoid of substance. Those should all be ignored. But a minority will fall into either direct questions or supportive comments which should be directly engaged. If you see the opportunity to respectfully clear up a misconception or invite a supporter to further engage with your campaign, take it!
If you’re the candidate, stay off the official account. First, it’s better for your mental health. Running for office is a supreme test of confidence, the last thing you need is to deal with the peanut gallery. Secondly, it’s not a good look. You’re the big deal! You’re the reason this campaign exists! You have much more important things to do than respond to trolls. On top of all that, you can easily get yourself in trouble.
Include your social media information on every piece of public communication. Social media rewards those with the biggest followings, so put your handles out there as often as you can- on emails, printed materials, as a footer on your livestream, anywhere. Organizing is about asking, so ask folks to follow you everywhere you can.
Have other suggestions? Send me an email at david@scrappyorganizing.com and I’ll address them in the future.