By Frank Chezem
Organizations with limited marketing resources can find their marketing and communications team (or person) challenged to continually produce new content for their social media channels. A constant flow of compelling content is a key ingredient to grow an organization’s organic reach and drive engagement. And the need for content is never-ending.
Imagine what it’d be like to have a steady supply of relevant content to share on social platforms. What if your teammates thought about integrating social media when they planned their projects months or years in advance? What if you had a dedicated group to share your social content with people who are likely to engage with it?
Here are a few tips organizations can use to involve their whole team in the success of their social media and marketing:
Encourage your teammates to contribute to your organization’s blog
Think of your blog as a magnet that draws people to your website via your social sites and search engines. Ask your team to write casual, non-academic and non-promotional content for your organization’s blog. The blog topics should relate to your mission but also be diverse enough to connect with a range of readers. Find out what your colleagues are passionate about. Their interests may align with your organization’s mission, and their passion may motivate their contributions. Be sure to offer editorial support for contributors who have great ideas but aren’t necessarily gifted writers. Also, remind your teammates they can share their blog articles on their LinkedIn pages to promote themselves professionally.
Ask your teammates to socialize their initiatives
Social media can complement an organization’s initiatives such as educational programs, exhibits, outreach, and advancement. Remind your teammates to consider social media before they start planning their initiatives to make sure that social media is thoughtfully used rather than an afterthought. They may need guidance to start, so be ready to offer creative examples to get them thinking about social media as an integrated component, not just a tacked-on hashtag.
Encourage your team to follow your organization on social media and engage
This one is obvious but so often I see teams, leadership, and board members fail to use their social presence to increase their organization’s reach. I recall a team meeting where two part-time team members, both students, pointed out that they never heard about the organization’s events at their respective schools. Neither realized that each could be part of the solution by liking and sharing content with their network of friends.
Generally, your social network is a handful of close friends and a larger group of acquaintances. Nevertheless, it’s not uncommon for your network (close friends or otherwise) to share similar audience demographics with you in addition to interests.
Glancing at my 120 Facebook friends, I can accurately estimate their interests in events and share relevant content with them. That’s what we’re after: asking your colleagues to “follow,” “like,” and share content on their own social media sites, especially the content that is relevant to their friends’ interests. Most people average over 300 Facebook friends, so collectively your teammates have significant access to interested audiences. Remind your teammates at staff meetings how they can help. Be sure to show how organic reach works and remind them (or show them the stats) how their efforts make a meaningful difference to the success of the organization and to their individual projects and initiatives.
Wrap-up
It’s not unusual for marketing and communication teams to feel pressure from their leadership and peers to guarantee the success of any and all initiatives, which is all the more challenging for organizations with limited resources.
Transforming your team into digital advocates extends your organization’s social reach to relevant audiences. One blog post from your teammates provides fresh content for multiple social channels, your website, and e-news, as well as benefitting your organization’s ranking in search engine results. Overall, social teamwork enhances success for individual team members as well as for the organization.
About the Author
Frank Chezem specializes in creative strategy and design for a diverse range of clients, including cultural institutions, education, government, and private industry. He has a Bachelor of Science in Communication Design and Information Technology. When he's not percolating ideas, you'll likely find him enjoying the scenic outdoors with a camera in hand.