By Joie Healy
Corporate Sociale Media Lead at Cisco
San Francisco, USA
Connect
You’re scrolling through your twitter feed or maybe even Facebook and something catches your eye. Instead of clicking on it, you accidentally hit home and then you are back at the top of your feed. Wait, where did that post go? What was it called? Shoot, what was the hashtag?
How many times has this happened to you and then it hits you, conversation over. Right now, as you are reading this blog, there are about 10 or maybe more trending conversations. Some will begin and end extremely fast.
Information is constantly flying at all of us, and most of the time it shifts and changes several times throughout the day.
So how can a company catch a consumer’s eye or get an influencer's attention?
Sometimes it’s simply jumping into the conversation as soon as you see it. Information is constantly flying at all of us, and most of the time it shifts and changes several times throughout the day.
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The mistake some companies make is taking too long to get their message out
One thing we do at Cisco is identifying the trending topics we want to be a part of and quickly turning around a story and share it on social. I have to say we are lucky to have content creators who used to work in newsrooms and can turn around a story in a matter of minutes. So that’s exactly what we do. Turn it around, insert relevant links, gather an image and create some social copy. Boom, we are ready to roll.
I realize not all teams have content creators who can do this, but there are still ways to get it done. You don’t have to have a long blog or even a written article. Sometimes inserting yourself or your company into a conversation can be as simple as a quick tweet or a quick quote from an executive.
The point is to be bold and be relevant. The mistake some companies make is taking too long to get their message out and by the time they get everything together, the trending conversation has passed and they miss a great opportunity.
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While a company like GE probably has a bigger content creation team and or a bigger communications team, it’s not to say smaller companies can’t do the same thing.
The companies who are doing this right have many fans and followers. One of the companies I like to follow is GE. The storytelling is consistent, the social platforms are aligned and they often times push out their content in a timely way to participate in a trending conversation. While a company like GE probably has a bigger content creation team and or a bigger communications team, it’s not to say smaller companies can’t do the same thing.
So here are my tips for getting this done.
1. Get buy-in from your execs
When everyone is on board, the easier it is to make this happen. To do this, make sure you’ve got the metrics to back up your plan. Examples of how it has worked. Also, I suggest gathering quotes and information from subject matter experts that will surely be aligned to company strategy.
2. Get social
Make sure the platforms your company is on are aligned. It is something that is difficult for larger companies but it can be done. Create social media guidelines that employees can follow and reference when needed.
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3. Listen
Someone needs to be paying attention to what is happening outside of the company so you aren’t talking AT followers but rather having a conversation with them. Create a small listening team to help with this, that way they can flag things to others who are managing the platforms.
4. Take chances
The more changes and bold risks a company takes, I believe the better. It’s also another way to stay engaged and current with marketing and communications.
5. Last but not least, try a paid campaign:
Boosting your posts and stories can definitely help your chances of reaching the audience you want to attract. Target them in your posts as well to make sure your content will show up in their feeds.
Joie Healy is featured as one of "100 Significant Women in Native Advertising 2018"
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