By Claire Weinzierl, ACN Member
One of the best uses of social media for associations is to connect and engage with its membership. In order to effectively engage, there are several considerations good communicators need to keep in mind beyond simply knowing how each social media platform differs.
It’s important to first understand what topics trigger conversation, and then strategically plan your messaging to create content that cuts through other noise on the platform. You can easily engage with members but asking for interaction via replies, reactions, participating in polls, and more. These methods are great options to utilize social media as a survey mechanism on specific issues or organizational objectives.
Take advantage of this one-on-one opportunity to create a community within the channel by starting the conversation, commenting on industry posts, talking to farmers, and tagging other organizations where applicable.
It’s crucial to go through the process of conducting a social media audit in order to establish an effective strategy. It’s also beneficial to have an outside organization conduct the audit to bring attention to weaknesses you may not be aware of.
At ISA, our main priorities when it comes to content creation is to be as farmer-centric, relevant, and timely as possible and to continue to build farmers’ trust in us as an organization and show value for the soybean checkoff. We work to highlight industry partnerships that benefit the farmer and showcase real content provided by real farmers.
We think that it’s important to be authentic and share engaging content that farmers can relate to – not just fluff. This is where it’s important to really understand your unique audience for each channel and know what content they want to see.
When promoting upcoming events or initiatives of an association, it’s critical to promote them in such a way that is engaging and entertaining. In ISA’s case, when we promote a new program the soybean checkoff is funding, we want to make sure that we’re exhibiting results of that project in an educational, fun, and relatable manner.
In terms of content types, videos, animated images, static images and polls have been proven to perform the best for engagement. Sharing articles, infographics or posts with no images are not discouraged, but to reach the desired engagement rate, you’ll see more success with supplemental visuals.
Here are some quick tips to keep in mind as you plan, create and schedule social media content:
Tip 1: Focus on your target audience for each platform and what they want to see.
Tip 2: Adjust content to be more real, timely and authentic.
Tip 3: Consider implementing a paid strategy to elevate your brand voice.
Claire Weinzierl is the communications manager for the Illinois Soybean Association.