Daily Social Media Checklist

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Homer Lamb
6 years ago
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1 Daily Social Media Checklist Respond to All of Your Inbound Social Messages (messages, comments and replies) Potential clients may be putting in the effort to reach out to you so you need to showcase your exemplary customers service skills and return the favor. As you know, customer service through social media has become an expectation of consumers, with a timely response going a long way and most of the time can make the difference between gaining or retaining a customer and losing one. Ensure you make the effort to regularly monitor and respond to your brand mentions as they come in. You should really be doing this every hour ideally. Crucially, not every current or potential customer discussing your brand on social will tag you directly in the query so it is imperative that you go looking for mentions in search. This should also be extended to finding the conversations potential customers are having with your competitors and in general between themselves, and leveraged them by jumping in to the conversation yourself to offer advice etc. There are several social media monitoring tools out there that you can use to scan the various social networks for mentions you should be aware of. Damage Control (If Necessary) Make it a daily habit to actively search out for people who have had a bad experience with you or your service and have been vocal about it online. Look at places like Facebook, Twitter, Yelp and Google pages and if you come across some negative feedback, stay calm and professional in your response to try and rectify the situation. It is important not to engage in a slanging match however with comments back and forth in the public sphere. Your aim should be to direct them to a private space like messages or and fix the problem that way. The benefit of responding to all feedback including the negative is that potential clients will see these reviews and if they see you put real, genuine effort to resolve the situation they will be more likely to appreciate you and your business. Post Fresh, Engaging Content It should be fundamental habit of yours to post something new on all your social media platforms at least once a day. This can be an interesting article, a picture, meme, video, quote or simply asking your followers a question or a Fill-in-the Blank, anything that

2 you feel will provide value to your clients. It is important to also consider that the content you post satisfies the content and timing (i.e. best time to post) needs of each individual social media platform you have also. Sharing rich social media content with your audience will go a long way in helping to boost reach, increase fans/followers and establish yourself as an industry thought-leader. There are no rules on how many times to post a day as each platform and indeed business has a different social media audience there are however loose guidelines you can use. Post six + times to Twitter - Space out your posting so they aren t clogged and are timed with appropriate and high traffic Twitter hours such as #BizHour. Post one to two times to Facebook Post one to two times to LinkedIn - Keep this very professional and consider promoting your content for more visibility. Post one to three times on Instagram - Keep it professional but trendy and be sure to Include appropriate and popular hashtags. Pin at least one pin to each of your boards on Pinterest Upload at least one video a week to your YouTube Account Reach Out to at Least 3 of Your Followers/Brand Advocates Whether it s wishing one of your loyal customers a happy birthday, endorsing your local graphic designer on LinkedIn or re-tweeting a past clients tweet, maintaining and nurturing relationships is very important as it shows you are genuinely interested in your community and will therefore always keep you on top of their mind when it comes to spreading the word to others about your wonderful business. You should aim to also touch base with those who advocate for your brand. Make sure they re doing what they need to. Create conversations with brand advocates, continuing to build on and cultivate those powerful relationships. Reach Out to at Least 3 New People Every day on social media people are having conversations about your industry/community that you should be a part of. You just need to make the effort to find those conversations. Make it a habit to reach out and connect with people who are not in your network by identifying terms or phrases that are relevant to your brand, searching for those phrases and jumping in and contributing -when relevant - to the conversation. By doing so, you can tap in to a whole new base of potential customers and partners which will expand your reach and spread the word about your business.

3 Brainstorm Content Ideas For Future Posts Whether you carry around a notepad and pen or utilise a note-taking app such as Evernote, it s important that you take some time each day to jot down any ideas or inspiration you have had throughout the day that you can work into future content for your social media platforms. Inspiration can be found all throughout your day whether it s a question a client asks that could be turned into a very useful blog post, or a snap of your office pup can that be used in an upcoming hashtag or a national celebration day. Keep Up-to-date With Current Social Media Industry Trends Social media platforms are continually changing, developing and adding (and removing!) their features and it is a crucial element of your job as a social media professional to be aware of changes in the industry and think how they can be utilized to your own or a client s competitive advantage. Subscribing to official social media company blogs and indeed those blogs of influencers in the industry is one of the simplest and easiest ways to do this (as in most cases they have already done the laborious hard work for you!). Finish Any Outstanding Tasks Whether its sending a file over to someone, resolving a customer query or putting together a proposal, those small daily tasks when left till the next day or the day after that can soon escalate into a time-consuming problem if you don t make the effort to get them ticked off before you sign off for the night. If a small task can be completed that day, it will do wonders for your mind (and to do list!) if you just get them done and out of the way. Manage Your Personal Profiles Have a personal social media account in addition to a business one? Remember to spend a little time cultivating your own personal network too. Any profile of yours online is a reflection of you and your brand, so the last thing you want is to spend time making a perfect brand profile that s professional and updated regularly, only to have it let down by a personal profile that s quite the opposite. So ensure you apply the same basic level of care as you do to your official business page, remembering that it s good to put a face behind your profile to humanize your presence so you can get away with posting more humanizing content on it.

4 Attend a Twitter Chat Getting involved with a Twitter chat is a fantastic way to build your online community, learn the newest trends in your industry, and showcase your brand and expertise. Remember to attend and join in with appropriate chats to you and your industry and be genuine and not self-serving within them. Twitter chats present you with an engaged and relevant audience so utilise this potential pot of gold to grow your brand awareness and develop strong relationships. Weekly Social Media Checklist Engage with Thought Leaders Every industry has several big thought leaders, who are considered as somewhat celebrities and indeed tend to have just as much social media pull and influence. Make it a habit to regularly reach out and engage with them by following them, sharing their content (and adding your thoughts), making blog content of your own that tags them in (e.g. 50 must read online marketing blogs) and replying to their messages. This will help with your reach as if they end up retweeting your content then this will tap into their vast audience and have you seen by a large number of people. Engage With Marketing Partners Many businesses have fruitful relationships with brands in similar/local capacities and collaborate on things like events, tips, ideas, exclusive offers etc. If you are collaborating with several partners, actively engage with them on a weekly basis to keep the relationship thriving. Create Unique Social Image Collateral Its no secret that including high quality, impactful imagery within your social media marketing can dramatically enhance your posts as attract a lot more attention than a simple written post. Ensure you take the time during the week to create enough

5 shareable social media images for all your platforms. Whether it s a new Facebook banner to highlight an upcoming offer or a nice image that has an inspiring quote to share with a popular hashtag such as #MondayMotivation. Keep Tags on Your Competitors Social Media Presence Whilst you shouldn t let their activity or strategies dictate your own, it is very useful to keep tabs on your competition on social media, looking for valuable information such as what are they posting? When are they posting, who are they following and interacting with and what platforms are they on? Arming yourself with this information can help you find both gaps in the marketplace for you to utilize as well as giving you a heads up on ideas you hadn t thought of but should be doing too. Keep Your Events Calendar Up-to-date Whether it is your own event you have planned, an industry event you must go to or even a client s birthday or an upcoming friend s wedding, keeping organised and knowing what events are coming up is key to effectively scheduling future content. Make it an absolute habit that when new events arise, you re loading them all into your calendar. Assess Your Analytics Your social media analytics show you a wealth of important information that will help guide and dictate your future content and strategy. Ultimately it shows you what s working and what isn t. At the very least you should be sitting down once a week and asking yourself the following; Which types of content resonates best with my fans? Am I responding to all interactions in a timely manner? Am I posting at the right time? Am I attracting the right type of people I m aiming to target with my content? Have a had unfollows/unlikes? When did these happen and why? - Was it a certain type of content that was unfavorable?

6 Monthly Social Media Checklist Audit Your Strategies and Goals You should be holding monthly personal meetings with just me, myself and I. Why? This time to go over your data and collect your thoughts makes for better social strategy auditing. Run a social media audit: Auditing a social media presence consists of pulling every piece of data available in order to figure out what is and what is not working. While pulling your social media analytics gives you a higher-level view of what s happening on social, an audit is a deep dive into each social media profile, page and network. You can then utilize those insights to help guide your social media strategy moving forward. Visit seminars and local events focusing on your business and/or purpose. Never miss an opportunity to stay educated. Attend local social media events: Events pose amazing opportunities to create in-person experiences from online relationships, and since community managers are such social beings, there are always events to attend. Look into social-media-related events in your area and reach out to the hosts to score an invite. If there aren t any events in your area or if you d like have more control over the topic of an event then consider planning your own. Just make sure you have enough interest before you create the event. Don t forget to occasionally take social breaks. Being a social media manager is a tricky business. You re going to have to take some breaks from social media once in a while in order to detox from it. It s exhausting to deal with it 24/7 give yourself a break and close the computer for a weekend. Step away from social media: If this checklist teaches you one thing, let it be that the job of a community manager is not an easy one. It s important to make sure whoever is in charge of your social media efforts is taking time away from their screen. This pause will help them gain perspective. Just make sure you have someone else to cover your accounts while they re out.

7 Quarterly Social Media Checklist Collate Detailed Performance Reports Every three months, collate robust social media reports from all across your platforms including your website etc. to ascertain what was accomplished over that time. When explore the data, keep these questions in mind; How much site traffic was driven from your efforts? Who is following you? Explore demographic data - gender, age, location of followers? Which platforms are performing well and which aren t? Are there any new technologies, apps, social media platforms that should be implemented? Evaluate and Adjust Your Goals and KPIs As your business develops over the months, so too may your priorities and goals. Team this with social media as a rapidly ever-changing medium, it s important to evaluate and adjust your goals and your strategy accordingly to stay ahead of the competition and keep your business heading in the right direction. Current: If you exceeded your goals and expectations, then set new ones that are challenging but attainable. If you didn t meet your goals, find out why and choose to then either lower your goals or continue to push yourself to reach them next time. Future: What do you want to accomplish in the quarter? How are you going to do this? Why is this goal important? Remember, if you change your goals, you may have to adjust your KPIs accordingly. I.e if your new goal is to drive traffic to your site instead of boosting branding and awareness, your KPIs may change from reach to clicks. Re-evaluate Your Social Media Crisis Plan There are a great deal of famous horror stories online of social media marketing goofs, gaffs, some with very serious consequences. Whether your account gets hacked, a disgruntled employee posts an inappropriate tweet or you simply posted content that was meant for your own private social media, it s important to have a strategy in place that takes you through step-by-step of how to from those situations. If you need to

8 develop one now is the time, if you already have an existing one then take this time to check that the steps within it are still as accurate and relevant as they should be. Assess Your Performance Take this time to step back away from your business a little bit and take a good hard look at yourself and how well you have done in your position. Are there areas in which you can improve on a personal level? For example do you need to work on your personable skills, or is there an annoying habit at work that you really need to kick as it s holding you back, i.e. you hate talking on the phone so always . Now is the time to look at what you can do on a personal level that can develop you as a person and further develop your business onto another level too. Assess The Performance of Others The same as above applies to others that you may work with also. Do you hire a freelancer to do your accounting? Is he/she a positive person in your life and doing their job well? How about the other people you connect with around you, the graphics designer or web person you use for example? Could they do better? Is their poor performance hindering you/your business? If someone is hindering your business on a personal or professional level its time to cut loose. Gauge Your Work Load and Potential How have you managed your work load this quarter? Could you have gone further? Have you taken on too much at the expense of the quality of work for your clients? It s crucial to the success of your business to gauge your own capacity and needs. Based on the success within this timeframe, or lack thereof, you need to seriously consider whether or not you either need to stop taking on as much work, reevaluate your goals or overall work strategy, or on a more positive side - due to your exponential success - bring someone else onto the team either externally or internally - to back you up and help your business to continue to thrive.

9 FACEBOOK DAILY Respond to all new messages, tags, likes, comments Engage with and contribute to any relevant Facebook groups Post an update with original, relevant and interesting business content. Being aware of your insights that show you the best time to publish Check relevant hashtags that present opportunities to interact Go through newsfeed and get updated on news and insights. Add your thoughts and comments to any relevant discussions and aim to share at least 1 piece of relevant content. WEEKLY Check Facebook insights to see how posts are performing and act on what your insights tell you Look to see if any new connections from other social media platforms have a Facebook page and if they do like their business page and leave a visitor comment. This can be something as simple as Hello from [insert business name] we are following each other on [insert social media platform], thought we could connect on here too! Actively find and like any relevant other businesses and industry influencers. On a Sunday/ Monday, plan and schedule the upcoming weeks content

10 TWITTER DAILY Post several original tweets sharing blog posts, tips, news etc. Aim for 5+ tweets a day Show off your customer service skills and respond promptly to any interactions from people. This includes replying to messages, retweeting positive responses and thanking everyone that retweets or shares your content. Go through news feed and retweet, favourite, and mention any relevant news items. Aim to retweet 3 5+ items a day Actively engage with targeted people, prospects and industry influencers. Retweet their content, comment on their blog posts etc. Search for tweets/ monitor hashtags mentioning your business, products or services, local area and any other keywords that present opportunities for you to interact. See who competitors and industry influencers are following and, if appropriate, follow those users too. Aim to follow 10+ users a day. Take part in a daily Twitter chat hour. #BizHour or #NorthWestHour for example Check new followers, if appropriate greet them and follow them back WEEKLY Check Twitter insights to see how tweets are performing and act on what your insights tell you Look to see if any new connections from other social media platforms have a Twitter account and if they do follow them Actively find and follow any relevant other businesses and industry influencers. Go through followers/ lists and unfollow anyone who is inactive/ inappropriate On a Sunday/ Monday, plan and schedule the upcoming weeks content

11 LINKEDIN DAILY Share a status update with relevant business content Check and respond to any messages, invitations, notifications and respond where appropriate Engage with and add your thoughts to relevant discussions and conversations in your groups and newsfeed Send at least 5 new requests a day by looking for other members in your groups and the people you may know section. You can also look at who your competitors and industry influencers are connected with and, if appropriate, connect with those users too. Give people you know and have worked with recommendations and endorsements. Only do this if you are genuine and can personally vouch for the person WEEKLY If you blog (if of course you do as very business should be doing!) post your latest post in your LinkedIn groups and on LinkedIn Pulse Look to see if any new connections from other social media platforms have a LinkedIn profile and if they do send them a connection request Actively look for and relevant groups you can join and businesses and influencers you can follow On a Sunday/ Monday, plan and schedule the upcoming weeks content

12 PINTEREST DAILY Check and respond to any messages, comments on pins, follows and any other interactions Go through Pinterest home page and pin any relevant images to boards and where appropriate comment on and interact with pins. Aim to comment on at least 5+ pins in the popular section Using the search bar, type in keywords and relevant words associated with your boards to find more images. Aim to pin at least 3 new pins to each of your boards and at least 2 repins of influencer images Give people you know and have worked with recommendations and endorsements. Only do this if you are genuine and can personally vouch for the person Follow at least 5 new relevant pinners a day WEEKLY Think of any ideas for new boards you can create. Aim for 1+ new board a week and once you have created it remember to promote it across your social media platforms. This can be a simple as Check out my latest board on #Pinterest: [Insert board name] (remember to put a hashtag on the keyword of your board name when sharing on Twitter) Look to see if any new connections from other social media platforms have a Pinterest account and if they do follow them Collate photos/ testimonials/ marketing collateral/ client portfolio pieces that you can pin as original content on your boards Go through boards and make sure everything is organised and optimised

13 BLOGGING Post 1 or 2 blog posts weekly with relevant keywords and share them across your other social media platforms. (Tweet it, put a snippet in your newsletter with a link to the main article, add it to my blog posts board on Pinterest etc) Look through blog posts that others have posted (ones you follow, blogs of industry influencers and other blogs you have come across) and if relevant respond by adding your thoughts and/ or sharing it Look to see if any connections/ followers from other social media platforms have a blog and if they do blog, subscribe to it. Aim to follow at least 5 a week Everyday during the week gather information and sources for the following weeks blog post(s) Respond to any interactions and comments from others on your blog posts During the week check your insights to see how your post(s) are performing and use the information gathered to help guide your following weeks post(s)

14 GENERAL BUSINESS DAILY CHECKLIST Follow up with an to any clients/ prospects you have met in the week and follow them on their social media platforms Quick Monitor of the competition- what are they saying? What platforms are they on? Look for business prospects/ relevant job postings that are seeking for your product/ service and follow and/or message and them to start dialogue Sign up for any local events/ tweet-ups that crop up during the week Actively look for useful blogs to sign up to and follow sharing any useful articles that you come across with your social media audience Go through business directories/ local groups and interact with local businesses Continually look for new ways/ technologies/ apps to help you advertise

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TOOLKITS ADVENTURE BIZ. Social Media Best Practices IN THIS TOOLKIT WHY THIS MATTERS: Social Media Best Practices IN THIS TOOLKIT Lesson Overview Social Media Planning Facebook Tactics Instagram Tactics Your Survival Kit WHY THIS MATTERS: Too many times, adventure brand owners treat social