The OpenWater Blog

Learning Series: Social Media Considerations

Today, it isn’t just having a social media account that matters – it’s about having the right kind of social media account. More importantly, it’s about taking the right foundational steps to build a social account that speaks to your target audience.

There a number of ways to go about doing this, three of which we’ll discuss in greater detail below.

1. Create a Content Calendar

How engaging your platform is depends almost entirely on what you publish. As such, you need a thoughtful, robust content calendar that your target audiences will find interesting. And, while creating a content calendar can be tedious and time-consuming, it’s a great way to save time later without feeling pressed to always come up with new topic.

You can ask yourself some simple questions to determine what kind of topics will be most effective, such as:

• What kind of information can you give them about your program?
• Why are/should they be interested in your program?
• Who are some of the target audiences for your program?

2. Work on Your Profile’s Appearance

How your profile looks matters and when you tweak the layout to complement your branding and other organization-specific qualities, you’ll demand attention from your target audience.

Subtle, eye-catching qualities are most effective. More importantly, the visual nature of social media platforms is what makes them work as marketing tools. As such, it’s important that you rely more on visuals than you do text alone to create a cohesive, comprehensive experience on your profile.

Some of the simplest ways to take advantage of your profile’s appearance are in the cover photo on Facebook, header on Twitter, and other key areas that demand your audience’s instant attention when they land on the page. By using a creative graphic and including key information – like a link to your site, phone number, and email – you can do your part to take advantage of all parts of your profile.

3. Keep Communication Active

You can change the layout and create a content calendar but if you don’t keep communication active, you’re missing out on a major component of social media. The idea behind social media is to put you in direct contact with your audience. As such, communication is key.

Post updates at every major stage of your platform including the call for entry, deadlines, finalist and winner announcements, and judge selections. You should also use social media to send out reminders throughout your program to further assist your entrants.

There are Countless Considerations to Make Your Social Media Profile Great…

…and the three above are just the beginning of it!

If you want to learn all of the considerations and other marketing efforts you should be making as part of your awards program, download Awards 101: The Missing Manual for Awards Professionals.

Ashley Surinak

Ashley Surinak is the resident OpenWater expert on all things content. From the blog to guides and beyond, you'll find her at every turn in your OpenWater journey.

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