Startups and Social Media: Planning is Sexy!
You might have read my recent post about the Six Issues that Startups have with their social media. I’ll be diving a little deeper into each one now. So why is planning sexy? Because you can’t spell success without sexy! Well, you can, but it would be dumb. Plus, everyone wants to succeed and be sexy! You can’t argue with logic, man.
Get Someone on Board
Get someone who lives in the social space. That means, they’re involved in social media every day. You want someone who breathes this stuff, not someone who pins one pin every month to Pinterest, or checks their Twitter account every July (no matter what!). They need to be reading Mashable, TechCrunch, using the top social media platforms, and knowing what direction social media is going.
Have Someone Who’s in Touch with the Team
Your social media manager doesn’t have to be a developer, but they should be able to communicate with the technical team. They need to be involved in meetings so they understand your product, so they can speak on your behalf. They need to have someone to contact in case of emergencies or if they are out of town, too.
The Social Media Manager Can Get the Word Out!
Social media is about connection, engagement, and social capital. Your social media manager can start to build excitement about the product even before launch. Why not share some behind-the-scenes glimpses into your world so people are interested in where you’re going as a brand? For instance, if you’re attending a big conference, you could be posting pictures of the team.
Be Generous First
Listening is such an important and overlooked (and sexy!) skill. Without listening, how will you know what your customers really want? With social media, you can be listening even before you launch! Know what the conversation is so you can join in.
Connect, Connect, Connect!
Your social media manager can build connections pre-launch
Your social media manager can build the connections that you’re going to need before you launch, so when you do launch, you’ll get out of the gate get much faster. They can drive business offline and into real life meetings for you, make introductions, and set up everything on your social media to reflect your brand promise.
What Did I Forget?
Why else is planning sexy? Please leave your comments below! Thank you!
This is applicable to new restaurants, too.
Before the new one opened up across the street, we were all wondering what it was going to be.
Anticipation was naturally occurring because of the construction. They could have used that to get us all loyal before day 1 or even had a special Grand Opening only for fans/followers.
So true, Bridget! Not only that, but the restaurant could’ve started building good will with other local businesses before they opened, so that when they opened the other businesses would want to return the favor and speak well of them. They could’ve built up some good feelings in the feelings bank!
Thanks for commenting, as always!
Sincerely,
Carol
Sexy tips Carol!
Gotta develop a social media voice first though, right? One of the challenges I’ve been facing as we plan our app launch and start our social media effort is finding the right voice that will resonate with consumers. I haven’t even tweeted from the account yet because I don’t feel confident in our planned approach.
Do you think that voice is something that shouldn’t be sweated right from the start but rather developed as the effort is carried out? Or would you agree with my perspective?
Thanks! :)
Hi Eric,
I suppose it depends upon how much of a “chameleon” you are with developing your voice. Are you able to be more scientific for a highly-educated audience, to be more low-key for a casual audience, to change your tone at the drop of a hat? Who is your app for, and can you clearly see who they are so that you can talk to them? If you know, for instance, that most of your audience will be 30-something women, then maybe a few conversations with 30-something women would help you know what to focus on.
I’ve taken the opposite approach and don’t sweat it too much. I find that the more honest and transparent I am, the better a response I get from my posts. Sometimes I think no one will read what I write, but find that when I’m most afraid to push that “publish” button, those are usually the posts that get the best responses.
Make sense?
Thank you for your thoughtful comment!
Carol
Makes perfect sense! Thank you thank you.
You’re welcome, Eric! Let me know when your new site is up!
Carol