Rae Hostetler, owner of Hostetler Public Relations, spoke at the Boone EDC’s May Brews + Biz. Not only is Rae an expert in her field with over 25-years experience, but she is also one of those individuals who can simplify overwhelming and difficult topics. We tasked her with the topic of how social media interacts with a company’s brand awareness and public relations strategy, and of course, Rae rose to the occasion.
In short, Rae simplified the social media strategy to ten points:
- Create your Brand– Since your brand is more than your logo, utilize color pallets, fonts, and letterheads to create consistent branding for your Company.
- Focus on your Message- Walk, talk, and breathe your message in everything posted. Focus on what the Company needs to communicate, referencing back to the mission statement, and make sure every post delivers this message. Do not mission creep with posts, or deviate from your Company’s mission, via your online presence.
- Establish SMART goals- Identify what you want to accomplish with social media and establish goals which are Smart, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based.
- Choose Your Channels Wisely- Identify one appropriate media channel which makes sense for your industry and brand. Become an expert in it, and then create a secondary channel.
- Time- Time is two-fold on its effectiveness.
- First, grant each channel enough time to gain traction. Followers do not happen overnight, so give each channel an appropriate amount of time and energy before throwing in the towel.
- Second, all social media strategies need to find an effective balance of time, so be prepared to allocate enough time to be successful but not too much time to fall down the rabbit hole.
- Processes- Establish consistent procedures for your social media posts in order to be effective but not too overwhelming. Social media management tools, like Hootsuite, can help establish monthly procedures so you are consistently posting across multiple platforms.
- Budget- Create a budget for your social media and do not deviate from this
- Tools- There is no need to re-create the wheel when it comes to social media content. Tools, like Canva, exist to help with marketing content and organization. This will save you time and energy when creating new designs.
- Manage, Manage, Manage- Always manage your social media accounts. If there are comments on posts, make sure to continually respond and update your pages. Try not to allow too much time to go by without being active on your channels. This step will amplify your processes stage as social media management tools will help you stay organized for comments and activity as well.
- Measurement- Referring back to the SMART goals, continually measure your social media traction against your goals. Allocate enough time to be successful, don’t be afraid to pivot in another direction if a particular channel is not working.
For more information on social media or digital marketing, Rae recommended we visit We Are Social. Visit our Brews & Biz page for additional details and to sign-up for the next Brews & Biz.