It was cool to have our friends from the Warhol in the other night, but I think we were probably all flabbergasted that such a huge social media operation is run by a team of two. Unfortunately not all organizations hire super-human social coordinators, and even they know they can't run their message and brand on every platform. So what do you do when you have zero budget and the person whose job description says communications is less than enthusiastic about social media? Diversify the accounts.
This question was raised by @JesseRayy to me recently - if an organization wants to diversify their social media accounts, how do they do it? It makes sense, doesn’t it? Often organizations can’t afford one person to just hold the social media reins (read: why I don’t have a job yet) and probably all staff members have some kind of social media and I mean that gal Debbie who works the front desk pins a lot so she’d probably be good at it, right?
Well, I wouldn't let the front desk Pinterista Debbie at your organization's social media just yet. If you don't think that multiple people should be on an organization's social media account, stop reading now, scroll down and leave your mandated comment. If you're like kind of ok with the idea, let's talk about it more.
I actually think it makes more sense. Frankly, working in the nonprofit realm, we're all held to these mysterious higher standards, sanctified by a mission that proves we must be doing good. And realistically, we are all faces of our organization. Every time you open your mouth, you do so as a representative of this conceptualized greater good - so why would you not be able to handle it when you tweet? (ha HA did you see what I did there) (it's a twitter joke)
It can be very successful - The Mattress Factory has an entirely diversified social strategy, and their Twitter account has been hailed as one of the most powerful museum twitter accounts on the web (whatever that means). Apart from some of the great points we discussed Tuesday night, (rich content, engagement - all of which the MF does well), there's some other tricks. Here's some of the tools that make it work for them:
1. Consistent Voice
- Everyone at the Mattress Factory is aggressively familiar with their brand, I mean, really. They understand the social voice of the museum, and a whole lot of staff members are empowered to use it. This creates a consistent but human sounding organization.
2. They have a schedule...
- Hootsuite and other social scheduling tools are important - they can keep your content timely and hit relevant notes. MF's social team takes a second approach as well, as staff have a day and a time of day to post - but not necessarily all the details about it. So, for example, Staff Member X knows they need to post in the morning on Tuesday - but the time is less important than that there is good content. This allows all of them to do their actual jobs and fill in the social media during the free moments in their time slot.
3. ...But not scheduled content all of the time
- I want to throw back to the very first post on this blog, where Katie Mo' told us about the CLO's "spontaneous posts" which are not planned in any way (which personally insults my honor but whatevs idc). MF's daily posts are spontaneous too - but it is a planned spontaneity. It fits in with the theme of "schedule without a specific schedule". For example, this post of the co-directors' cat was not planned - who could have guessed they would return from vacation with the feline, but it made a great post because the internet loves cats.
I think I'm over my specific word allotment, so I'm going to wrap up with some provocative thoughts: One, don't let Debbie run social media just because she spends a lot of time on it. Two, for the love of everything, have a social media plan and style guide. And three, don't diversify your social media because some old communications manager can't handle it - in that case, hire me.
Questions for yinz: Is social media actually worth it? Are organizations doing cool things with it - like this? Does diversifying sound like it could work or is it way too much work? Where do Ruffles get their ridges? And why can't I stop eating them?
Also read this article for homework:
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-07-05/features/ct-tribu-social-media-thirds-20120705_1_social-media-media-tips-column-amyguth-and-scottkleinberg
I completely agree with @rewilken's three final provocative points, and think that diversifying social media accounts makes a lot of sense. In the name of professionalism, I'll leave jokes and threats out of this response.
ReplyDeleteI was recently given the keys to my employer's social media channels, and told that there was no voice to use, no schedule, and to not worry about when or how much I posted, hence my questions for @rewilken. Unlike the MF or The Warhol. this diversified system leads to dry spells and floods of content, which usually take the form of last minute marketing, not creative or engaging content. This organization could dearly use a consistent voice, a schedule for timing content, and most importantly, a schedule for the type of content.
Because the organization doesn't recognize the value of social media they likely won't be hiring @rewilken, and because they gave me the keys with no instructions, they won't be setting up a functional diversified plan unless everyone with access to the accounts comes together on their own to become more comprehensive.
They should probably just hire @rewilken.
While I appreciate the sentiment, I feel like you're trying to handicap me by spelling my handle incorrectly, 4 times.
DeleteBut I do really really think that a comprehensive plan is necessary and vital for them.
Yes they should hire Ms. Wilkinson. Maybe Ms. Wilkinson should think about social media consulting? Anyway, I totally agree that a regular schedule is very important. Dry spells and floods are annoying and people won't be as consistently engaged. Instead, they will forget about you and then get overwhelmed.
DeleteRachel - I love the idea of a comprehensive social media plan and style guide. Do you have examples that you might share? At my folks' museum we have a diversified social media strategy - meaning we all post if we can think of something and then fight over who has to respond to comments. I'd love to implement something more structured, but I'm not sure where to begin.
DeleteKate- I like this steps outlined for a plan in this article, especially the asking why are we doing this before defining what/how we'll do it. http://searchenginewatch.com/article/2202307/Social-Media-ROI-How-To-Define-a-Strategic-Plan
DeleteI don't have quite as good a reference for the style guide. If I were to write one, I think it would answer some of the same questions as the strategy (ie, what are we going to post? Museum facts or design stuff? How are we going to post it? Are we going to use third person, or singular voice - if singular, will the appropriate people sign each post? What logo/cover image will we use throughout the strategy?). It sounds like it might be a big sit down meeting for your fam to figure out the answers.
I have a sad feeling that many arts organizations are unfortunately not staffed with people who are "aggressively familiar with the brand" like the very tiny and intimate MF. Therefore diversifying successfully may be a bit unrealistic for most organizations.
DeleteI do think nonprofit arts orgs should recognize the importance of social media and invest in lovely ladies like Ms. Wilkinson. However, given all the other stuff they are struggling to fund, they are not inclined to (or able to) pull out yet another salary for a position which everyone at the company technically already knows how to do already.
Surprise - BAM does social media really well. They're an organization that boasts very diverse offerings and an audience to match - and their Facebook is great. Good mix of content about current happenings, behind-the-scenes tidbits, and BAM history (it's their 150th birthday so they're really stepping that up). Their Twitter account retweets and responds to patrons ALL THE TIME. Their voice is brand-consistent and appropriate (I agree with Rachael as to how important voice is - crappy, random status updates are a HUGE pet peeve of mine). But they probably get away with paying a couple of Carroll Gardens trust funders about 8k/year to handle social media because they're awesome and if they offered you sunflower seed shells to work for them you would be crazy to turn them down. Whoever they've got, they're doing a great job. Check 'em out:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/BAMstage
https://twitter.com/BAM_Brooklyn
My favorite hockey team, the New Jersey Devils, has been heralded for its social media initiatives. My one complaint is that the “Devils Army Generals” (devout fans who take turns sharing the account and tweeting play-by-plays/analyses of games) tend to say things that conflict with the Devils’ main twitter account, which sporadically will tweet about games as well. Thus, there is no consistent voice on social media to represent the organization’s brand.
ReplyDeleteFor example:
@DevilsGenerals12 Apr
“Out shooting Ottawa 23-9. Losing 2-0. Any positives out of this? #DevsSens”
Vs.
@NHLDevils12 Apr
“Second period ends with an unfortunate score of 2-0, #Ottawa. Need a strong 3rd period and continue this fire in the last 20 mins. #DevsSens”
Perhaps, to play Devil’s Advocate (pun), the organization thought it could gain a diverse array of followers by allowing “Debbie sports fans” to help shape its online presence.
It's too bad that their voice doesn't seem consistent, because that is a great strategy. Working with advocates in your network who are "influencers" is good social media - but if they're Debbies and don't know how to do good social media it doesn't work.
DeleteAlthough it is a bit different, it reminds me of how, for example, several orchestras' musicians have pages - "Musicians of the San Francisco Musicians" and "Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra Musicians". Although these pages might sometimes be promoting the same concerts the organization's main page might be, there are other times where they will represent a very different voice (for example, recent strikes for San Francisco). I wonder who is controlling/monitoring those pages?
DeleteI think the PSO musician’s page is actually a really cool and interesting engagement opportunity. For example, a few weeks ago, they were performing one of Mason Bates’ pieces that included some strange percussion instruments (I believe the picture that was posted was of a typewriter?). It was really awesome to see some “behind the scenes” action from the musicians. It was kind of like when Elliot showed us the video of the revolving stage a couple weeks ago. At first, it seemed really strange to me to see pictures that were clearly from rehearsal since I’ve always been taught to never ever even think about having a phone on stage regardless of whether or not we were actually rehearsing something I was a part of, but from the audience standpoint, it’s actually kind of fun to see these kinds of pictures online. I’m not sure how it all works out contractually, but I assume there’s no issue with it since it’s pictures of musicians by musicians. Thoughts?
DeleteI disagree with you about the videos Elliot showed. I thought they were dull and uninspired. Although, I do understand his intention, I thought they missed the mark. I didn't see how they would generate interest in the show and with the organization.
DeleteSpeaking of having main and "advocate-run" social media accounts, NYC classical music radio station WQXR recently launched their @WQXRMember Twitter account. The idea is that a different member of the station would tweet from the account each week in order to "deepen the engagement between WQXR listeners." Participation is purely voluntary and the content policy is very loose, so tweets do not need to be limited to the station's mission/programming.
DeleteAlthough it's refreshing to see that the organization trusts its patrons to exercise good judgment in their posts (instead of censoring them after the fact), this lack of restrictions is resulting in some rather unfocused posts, similar to Mike's NJ Devils example. While your personal followers may (or may not, depending on how many foodie friends you have) want to see a Vine or blow-by-blow description of your lunch, does that need to be posted on an account associated with an organization? Not necessarily. We can't forget the core purposes of giving patrons a "voice" on behalf of the organization: advocacy and engagement driven by loyalty.
WQXR has a track record of great marketing/branding: the Obeythoven and Bach360 campaigns were hilarious and very effective in making classical music more universally relevant. So, we'll see how this Twitter experiment plays out organizationally; it's a great social media learning opportunity for them if nothing else, which is valuable on its own in this age.
I've been doing a lot of research around the Northern Spark festival for Kathryn's festivals mgmt class. It's an annual all night (nuit blanche) public art festival that happens over the course of one night in the Twin Cities. Anyway, this year they've started to engage with social media more broadly-mostly on Facebook. Here's a link to there fb page:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.facebook.com/NorthernSpark2011?ref=ts&fref=ts
In past years they have only used social media immediately preceding the festival to advertise participating projects and other important information (like day-of updates). This year, however, their slogan is "Art all night. Community all year" and almost every day they post something related to festival artists or presenting partners.
Anyway, just thought it was a good example of an organization (with a very limited season) utilizing social media to engage with their audience year-round. Sometimes their posts are irrelevant, but overall I like the changes they are making.
Thanks for sharing this great find Allison! They're page has a lot of diversified rich content for followers to explore! Also, I really appreciate the direct connection between their slogan and the use of daily updates on Facebook, demonstrates an excellent ability to connect organizational goals with their social media platform.
DeleteAlso, I know we talk about Trey McIntyre Project a lot, but they're use of Social Media is always on point! As a company that wants you to know their 10 dancers on an individual level, they use Twitter to showcase each dancer's perspective and participation in the company. http://treymcintyre.com/connect/
Well, I think that some smaller arts organizations struggle with diversifying accounts and really only have one person plus an intern managing social media content. I attended the Emerging Arts Leaders Symposium at American University and the one thing that presenters kept saying over and over again was don't let the interns manage social media content! Why can't interns help, if taught properly what the voice of the organization is and given immediate feedback from managers? I'm curious what everyone else thinks. (It's possible I'm playing devils advocate here, it's just something that shocked me.)
ReplyDeleteI think that the reason that interns become de facto social media managers is that they tend to be the youngest person on staff. I see two problems with making interns in charge of social media. First, I think that an organization's voice is something that's hard to teach in a short period of time and shouldn't necessarily be entrusted to someone who probably doesn't have the experience to understand what differentiates this organization's voice from another organization's. Second, while I'm sure there is a fairly strong negative correlation between age and proficiency with social media, it is not safe to assume that just because someone is under 30 that they will (a) be any good at social media or (b) want to spend their time working on social media.
DeleteI think knowledge of the organization is also an important factor to consider in letting an intern contribute to a social media strategy. Most often it is the dedicated staff who know their programming best and are best able to deliver good content (i.e. content that their audiences care about). But, I agree that, if properly trained and knowledgeable, interns can and should contribute.
DeleteI think the reason is because social media has now become an integral part of strategic communication and it represents the brand image of each organization. As we learned last week's class, social media experience is now equivalent to traditional customer service, which means building and maintaining consistent communication is extremely important. Letting interns to do such significant work can be somewhat risky for big organizations that their front-line communication was taken by mainly social media. I think being consistent under the overall strategic planning and organization branding and activities are the key. And the decision on who's leading what contents on social media should be decided based on such context.
DeleteI agree with Aimee that brand and planning consistency are important and should help guide social media content. Since social media is still trying to be figured out by many organizations, I don't think it is something that should be thrown at a random person. While some interns would be brilliant at it, not all would be. There should be some sort of plan and well thought out voice for whomever will be posting. The organization should also spend time figuring out the right person(s) for the job.
DeleteOh man does kate have that right on! As the intern at Miller Gallery for the past 2 years, I still have trouble truly understanding not only the brand, but where we are headed and what our "visionary" wants to go next. I have no style/format/voice guide, and feel like I'm suppose to know more about this stuff just because I'm younger.
DeleteI agree, Elizabeth, a plan is necessary. To be blunt about social media, it is not rocket science. A person can be trained well in order to do it and an intern is the perfect person. This frees up the time Marketing employees otherwise would not have to accomplish tasks. Even though, it is not rocket science, it has to be monitored, but I think anything an intern does should be monitored for quality assurance. Some of y'all may disagree and say that Social Media is the new holy grail of marketing, I disagree. I liked what Warhol said about finding a balance between the new and the old. But does a whole new role need to be created for managing social media? No, I think it a waste of limited resources, especially at a NFP - Sorry Rachael.
DeleteThis summer, I spent time at NYTW and they had the Marketing Director and one of the artistic assistants managing social media. I thought this was an inefficient use of the Marketing Director's time as she had bigger tasks to accomplish, like managing her budget and an ornery graphic designer. Give it to the assistant, full time, as part of her daily tasks.
First, to offer a humorous fail at thinking that 'young people are good at the social media' thing: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2305118/Paris-Brown-Is-foul-mouthed-self-obsessed-Twitter-teen-really-future-British-policing.html
DeleteAs I'm reading everyone's comments, I'm noticing that we all seem to have different assumptions about social media and its role in a business. This has all inspired this thought: our generation was introduced to social media as entertainment for informal personal use, but is that changing? Will younger generations see social media as a means for both personal and professional interaction, and therefore overcome an assumption that social media is related to leisure time and should be absent in the workplace?
Kaitlin - I think that a large portion of the younger generation definitely has a hard time seeing social media as something for professional and informal use. You can tell from how many times people have to be told to watch what they post on facebook or twitter because future employers might see it. I think as our generation get to be slightly older (and go to grad school like all of us), we see how it can be used for professional interaction and isn't just a portal for posting status updates about how much you drank last night or rich kids posting photos of the mindless things they do. (http://richkidsofinstagram.tumblr.com/ in case you thought i was kidding)
DeleteOne of my favorite tumblrs. I strive to get on the richkidsofinstagram tumblr.
DeleteSounds to me like the Mattress Factory is actually implementing all of the recommendations outlined in Beth Kantor's original (and fabulous) opus: The Networked Nonprofit (the parent tomb of Measuring the NN, which you have all read now :-)
ReplyDeleteI know, I know, I am a late joiner, but I would like to add:
ReplyDelete4. Know your constituents, know what they enjoy hearing about, and know who your regular attenders are, because they are going to be your strongest advocates. "Likes" on your page mean nothing – which I am debating telling my cousin who sends "Please like my friend's homemade soap, baby clothes, you name it page," all the dang time. Comments, shares, INTERACTION, is what you want from your constituents. Your advocates, who are basically the the people who are going to be most vocal about you (in a positive way) are incredibly important to identify in order to be successful at social media.
In addition to knowing advocates, an organization should also be LISTENING to its followers, fans, etc. People are only going to be interested in what you have to say if you are interested in what they have to say, which is a basic tenet of human interaction.
I'm reading a fascinating book, "The Hyper-Social Organization" which discusses in depth how social media interactions are really just social interactions, and how, in order to understand social [media] interactions, we need to understand other peeps.
That's a great number four Elyssa and I think that goes right back into what Mission-Based Marketing(and Brett)has been hitting us over the head with. Ask, ask, ask and then listen. We need to be listening to what our constituents want and enjoying hearing about from us on our social media channels.
Delete