If you’ve got your social media networks set-up, you are almost ready to dive in and start conversing with your communities. Figuring out who to engage with on social takes some research, trial and error, and lots of time. The accounts you choose to engage with are more than just twitter handles or Facebook pictures, they are humans and organizations that will add value to your mission-driven marketing.
Here are a few tips on who to engage with on social media.
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Engage with stakeholders.
In past blogs we’ve talked about knowing and prioritizing stakeholders as they are an important aspect of your mission-driven marketing. Engaging with them on social media is another avenue to communicate and create conversation with them. Their insights, questions and feedback can develop into beneficial offline discussions for growing your organization. You’ll be able to see how they operate on social media, which provides more insight for your marketing efforts. Finding your stakeholders on social media may take digging – and it may even take a few months to build a strong community, but don’t get discouraged because it is well worth the effort.
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Engage with industry thought leaders.
Learning about your industry can be easily attained through regular social media interaction with thought leaders. Thought leaders are those who have wisdom and authority within your industry, whether that be major speakers, authors, bloggers or those regularly quoted in the media. We suggest following those in your space to gain knowledge through shared articles, content and blogs. This keeps you up to speed on trends and news relevant to your marketing plans. And if the opportunity presents itself, you should share your content back with these thought leaders. If they repost, you’ll have instantly expanded your reach.
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Engage with industry media.
If your organization hopes to amp up it’s marketing efforts through media placements and recognition, engaging with those outlets and reporters on social media is a must. By following and interacting these people and organizations, you will gain knowledge on what the top news is in your industry is, helping you stay relevant in the space. You will also see who the reporters are you should be talking with in order to effectively share your organization’s news. For example, use your social media to learn more about who they are as not just a journalist, but also a person. Follow them to understand what they are covering, then share their content with your audiences and tell them when you like their work. Build a relationship with reporters so that if your organization has something of interest, you can easily make the connection.
We believe the best way to engage with these groups is through a Twitter list, which can be created right in Twitter or with social media tools such as Hootsuite. It’s helpful to create lists for each of the above groups, so when you start following an industry thought leader, you add them to the specific list. From then on, you know to go straight to the list when looking for thought leader insights. It also helps you organize your Twitter feed so you can easily learn about those you follow with more focus on specific accounts.
Who are you engaging with on social media to drive your mission-driven marketing?
Photo Credit: Official GDC
