The Social Media Takeover

Usually there is a purpose To show off followers To show off another side of the company/organization

Benefits: By replacing your regularly scheduled social media messages by a guest tweeter or poster you can: Reach new audiences Increase engagement Gain followers Tell your brand story in a fresh way

Tips for successful social media takeovers 1. Start with “experts.” The first takeover can be very important. It should be someone who is an “expert” about the company, or a longtime volunteer, etc. You also want to “minimize” risk. How are you going to share passwords, access, etc.? 2. Make sure whoever is doing the takeover is comfortable with the social media. If they don’t know it, they need to be “trained” before taking over. Don’t just have them “learn it.”

3. Share clear expectations and guidelines These may include: ·       Hashtag to use ·       Simple social media tips if they’re a newbie (like not to start a tweet with @) ·       How many tweets, posts or pictures you expect them to share per day ·       What is and isn’t acceptable ·       A wish list for content if you have a clear idea of things you know your audience wants to see ·       Instructions for sharing the content (or temporary access passwords if you’re really trusting) ·       Your contact info for questions and tech support ·       What your editorial policy will be for moderating submissions and editing or removing unacceptable content ·       How you’d like your guest to promote their involvement ·       How you’d like your guest to signal the beginning and end of their takeover

Another idea is create a framework they can follow Another idea is create a framework they can follow. Here is an example from Litmus (remote employees takeover on Instagram) Day 1: Selfie to introduce yourself

Days 2-4 showed their “work days”

Day 5 final post remembers to thank followers and tease next takeover

4. Discuss what makes a good photo Encourage those taking over to get creative Photos increase interactivity on Facebook and Twitter

5. Tell a story with the caption 5. Tell a story with the caption. (Instagram, for example is about photos and captions) Think of Humans of New York and how amazing those captions are You get 2,200 words in the caption on Instagram (but it cuts off in feed after 3 lines of text). So if you’re going to tell a much larger story, consider the first few lines as the excerpt—reel your followers in before launching into the details. Try to make the initial three lines stand out on their own.

6. Engage with audience Just like all of your other social media channels, make sure to respond to comments. If unsure of how “brand” would respond, encourage them to check.

7. Promote the takeover on all mediums. And tag those involved.

8. Stay authentic It’s about promoting your organization BUT it’s about promoting volunteers, or employees, etc., too. They need to come through as well as the brand.

9. Measure success One way to do this is to create a special hashtag for the takeover.