Social Media and the Creative Process
/Reprinted from RoadWarrior Creative's blog about the Fort Collins Social Media Workshop.
Because I enjoyed the workshop so much, I thought I would share some key takeaways with you from each of the three sessions that I attended. Read on for summaries of what you missed if you weren’t there…
SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE CREATIVE PROCESS
The first speaker was Eric Melin of Callahan Creek.
Not only was he the reason for the workshop, he was a fabulous speaker who had most of the audience laughing throughout his talk. Eric’s talk used his personal experience developing a winning air guitar routine as a framework to discuss the creative process as it applies to social media marketing.
Eric started out by asking people in the audience what their job titles were. He believes that no matter what a long fancy job title says, it all boils down to problem solving. We’re all problem solvers in careers, and social media is just that: problem solving. Many people say that problem solving requires three things: training, research, and experience. In other words, it’s all about trial, error, and managing risk…or it’s about experience.
WHAT EXPERIENCED PEOPLE WILL TELL YOU ABOUT SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT
Experience tells us, our approach to social media must change over time.
Social media used to be all about followers and likes. How many people like your Facebook page? How many followers do you have? In the past, these were metrics that we used to measure success. Now we know:
- Goals for every brands are different and our strategy must match our goal.
- We have to get the right message to the right people at the right time – often, this means paid targeting.
- Social media builds community, which builds trust and loyalty.
- A consistent tone that reflects your brand voice is a must.
- Set expectation and then deliver – you have to maintain a constant presence.
DON’T BE AFRAID TO CHALLENGE ASSUMPTIONS.
One great example Eric gave about aligning strategy and your language with your target market is a change that he made while managing Facebook campaigns for Nudges Dog Treats. Most of us, Eric included, easily use the words “dog” and “puppy,” to describe our favorite four-legged companions, and there aren’t many other terms we would think to use when creating marketing targeted to dog owners – but with a little market research, Eric realized that by calling dogs “fur babies” in social media posts, Nudges could further connect on an emotional level with their customers, many of whom view their dogs as more than just pets. You can see this in action on one of Nudges' many posts sharing customer-submitted photos (a great social media strategy, by the way).
OUR TAKE ON THE IMPORTANCE OF LANGUAGE
The importance of language is absolutely something that we have seen in our own research. Your company may use one term to describe a product or service, but if your customers use another you’re missing out if you don’t use it as well. This applies to more than just social media.
Using the right lingo is key to connecting with customers and also search engine optimization.
Not too long ago, we did a search engine optimization (SEO) review for an eCommerce client who sold products including wrapping paper and nightlights. Her products were unique, special, and made well, but she wasn’t getting the search traffic or the sales that she wanted. Before even doing the research, I suspected what was wrong, and digging into Google’s Keyword Planner confirmed it: she was using terms for her products – “gift wrap” and “nite lights” – that didn’t match what her audience was searching for.
You have to speak your audience’s language.
WHAT AIR GUITAR HAS TO DO WITH SOCIAL MEDIA
After some background and general information, Eric drove into the meat of his talk: the creative process and what goes into creating a content marketing strategy on social media. In addition to being a social media marketer, Eric is also a world champion air guitarist. He won 1st place in the 2013 Air Guitar Championships in Finland, and he used his experience working through the process of creating that routine as a lens through which to discuss the creative process in general.
A huge part of standing out in social media is passion. It’s having a willingness to engage with your customers and to not let anything hold you back. Many people believe they cannot take the time to post on social media because they think they don’t know what they’re doing or trust that they have the skills to make it happen. Eric said, if you believe in what you do, it can be fun and then quoted John Cleese:
When you’re coming up with a social media strategy for your business, get inspiration from everyday challenges. Creativity can be learned and improved – chase the sweet spot: the intersection of relevance and novelty – and don’t be afraid to try new things over and over.
When it comes to social media, if it works, it’s obsolete.
If you’re listing to your audience, you’ll get it right, and if you ever run into problems, just reverse engineer until you have the solution.
