Remember when you first read in Outliers you need 10,000 hours of practice at something before you can be an expert? This was based on the assumption of 20 hours per week for 10 years and is thanks to fellow Canadian, Malcolm Gladwell. Well, Heather Travis has been on social media for most waking hours since the mid-2000s. That’s about 30,000 hours accounting for sleeping, eating and working, so meets our criteria as an expert!
Heather has been driving brand voices forward in an engaging and authentic way for almost two decades. She’s spoken at events across Canada and has led the content, PR and social efforts of brands. These include high-end bicycle companies, agricultural groups, PR agencies, and for the past six years, a freelance digital strategist. To get a better idea of what Heather has learned in the last 30,000+ hours, read on.
Social Media is a Cocktail Party
If you’re going to a cocktail party, don’t be the person who sits in the corner and eats the shrimp and doesn’t talk to anybody.
You came to talk to people, right!? You want to mix and mingle, and the same thing applies with social. If you have a scheduled social media post and aren’t actively there to be in/on brand in the moment, you are at risk. In essence, you’re walking into a cocktail party and saying ‘Hi everyone!’ at the top of your lungs, not waiting for responses, and simply sitting in the corner ignoring everyone.
Still with me? Now let’s get online: If you’ve scheduled your post and you’re not monitoring it for engagement or commentary, that’s just like you walking into the party and then sitting in the corner with your phone. When people come over and say ‘what a great entrance you just made!’ and all you can muster is to sit there and stare, that’s a problem. It’s the IRL equivalent of not being available promptly to respond to messages you are putting out.
It’s crazy to think when brands deploy something on social and you, as the consumer, respond within minutes of them posting it, and the brand doesn’t respond to you for two days.
It’s such a missed opportunity for immediate connection and many brands miss it.
What’s worse, you’re now treating social as if it’s a one-way branded messaging service. Nobody wants one-way marketing… we’re social beings and want an invitation and opportunity to connect. That’s what good social media should be. It’s an invitation to converse, to read or watch more, and tell me your thoughts. Just like any good in-person conversation… which are especially important right now.
Digital Distractions During COVID
People are beginning to bury their head in the sand a little bit as this new reality wears on. Avoiding social media is part of that for a lot of people and it’s really interesting what we’re seeing now.
The winning strategy now is the same as it’s always been which is to deliver an authentic story that’s relatable.
It isn’t necessarily avoiding what’s happening in the world but you know people still are living their lives… they’re still making meals… they’re still decorating their homes… they’re still expressing themselves through art, which means as a brand you still have the opportunity to connect with them.
Musicians are still writing songs and performing, whether it’s to a lineup of their kid’s teddy bears in the living room, or an audience of 100 from their balcony. The average person is still looking for that expression. So if they can count on you as a creator to deliver moments of happiness, highlight things that are fun – and that’s why TikTok really took off during COVID – is because there’s so much fun imagining with your creativity, and simple moments of delight built into it. We all need an escape right now and social can be part of that outlet.
Planning for Social Media Serendipity
If 80% of success is just showing up (thanks Woody), then 70% of success on social is crafting the right message with an important part of the message being the appropriate visuals. The remaining 30% is the right message and image has to be delivered on the right day. We all know there’s events happening every day and there’s not much you can do about that. Sometimes your message gets lost because something else of note happens, and sometimes your message hits where you aimed.
Planning comes in many forms, especially with hiring effectively and staffing social positions with the person who’s actively managing the voice of your organization.
For those of us who have completed media training, you’ll notice you were training a spokesperson. It wasn’t Mike the summer intern. That’s because it’s widely understood who you put up in front of the microphone for the media is representing your company. Yet when it comes to social – which is now simply an online media outlet for your organization – so many organizations continue putting a junior person in charge of the voice of your company. Really!? It’s fascinating we’re still needing to talk about that.
This is where the incredibly creative and opportunistic (in the best way possible) Oreo campaign during the New Orleans Super Bowl blackout comes to mind. They had the appropriate, senior, creative people in the room. They owned the conversation due to their spontaneity and crafting the right message with the right imagery in real time. That single tweet overshadowed (pardon the pun) advertisers who were spending millions of dollars for a 30 second spot (and hoping for the best).
Schedule Social If You Must
So what do we learn from all of this? Nothing should be scheduled – but if you are scheduling posts for whatever reason – nothing is scheduled any earlier than a week in advance. You need to know when you wake up exactly what you have scheduled for that day as a social media manager. There are so many important and sensitive issues happening right now in the world, especially with Black Lives Matter. People are justifiably very aware about a lot of issues so you need to be really careful what you’re posting and what hashtags you’re using.
Consider: are you appropriating language that’s not yours to use? Is there slang involved? Double entendres? These can all be appropriate, depending on your brand’s voice, but the action of pushing of the button to publish should be relatively in the moment. There still needs to be – and this is again back to why you should hire people who have a brain and think strategically – a filter on why this ‘great content’ was approved six months ago is still relevant.
The World is Small(er Now)
It’s an incredibly challenging yet exciting time. There’s so much opportunity for collaboration and partnership out in the world since the world really is a small place.
If you respect the power of the tools at your disposal to engage on social media, it can be a significant part of your marketing toolbox.
There are so many ways to network and collaborate with people and partner with purpose, by reaching out on Instagram, sending a tweet, connecting with brands, connecting with people, places and followers. Being able to reach celebrities on Instagram is incredibly exciting, especially since they are likely never going to be a person you could meet IRL. When they reply, it’s thrilling. Who cares if it’s just a PR person managing their account. It still creates trust and connection. That’s what makes social the greatest connector in the world and potentially your largest opportunity as a brand. Reach out and touch someone today!
In Partnership With
Heather Travis works with clients to meet and exceed their communications objectives. As a strategist, her services include public relations and social media support, strategy, training, and execution. As a storyteller, Heather’s services include ghost writing digital editorial content, branded content, and crafting meaningful and engaging social media content for a variety of platforms.
Tim Bishop, CM is a multi-disciplined executive with a proven record of optimizing strategic efforts to expand the influence of leading organizations, such as the Canadian Marketing Association, Cineplex Entertainment, Lavalife.com, IMI International and Northstar Research Partners. In Partnership With is his latest focus to curate Canadian marketing experts to celebrate the power of strategic partnerships in a perspective-based content series.