• Amit Shankar

7 Social Media Hacks

1. Posts are not social media

There is more to social media than an assortment of random 16-20 post grid.

Please understand, social media is a platform with immense power and reach to help you strengthen views, opinion, brand presence and attributes.

And how do you do it?

Of course by invoking engagement and sharing the right thing.

The inherent nature of this media makes it a two way communication. If you are not being able to initiate communication, there is no point in putting up posts. Save that money, buy your wife, muse or girl friend a nice bag or dress.

2. ‘Likes’ are no yardstick

How many ‘likes’? Move beyond it. Buying likes and followers is the dumbest thing any brand could do. After al, the so called likes and followers don’t add anything to the kitty; in terms of engagement, brand value or for that matter, even sales.

Also, why to waste any money if your posts are not reaching your prospective TA, disseminating information about your brand, offers and helping you build some kind of Sales Funnel?

3. Social media is not a Freeway

If you are one the clients who believes in just putting up posts and hoping and praying for a miracle, sorry, you are in for disappointment. There is a wide and diverse TA out there. You have to reach them.

And how do you do? Of course by putting in money, buying Media and reaching out. Remember, it is a long drawn process and overnight results should not be expected.

Keep reaching out to new people, try different parameters; age wise, city wise, and you will see a gradual increase in traction.

4. Get the context right

You are a brand and despite all the media buying engagement will increase only when the posts would be shared, re-tweeted and re-shared. And what does it take to make your Brand story likeable? Make it contextual.

Remember the Amul hoardings? Every time you see one, it brings a smile to your face. That is what you ought to do on your social media. Make your brand virtue tie up with the current scenario. Amplification is the key word. Every posts has to tie up with the present social, political context and tie it back to your brand.

Putting Holi, Diwali and a million other posts will never get you any result. Remember, your social media posts are supposed to bring back the attention of your TA to your brand and offering and not Holi-Diwali.

5. The right lingo

Content writers are not copy writers and copy writers are not social media writers. The medium has its own lingo, a new grammar. It takes some amount of craft and dexterity to crack it. Brevity and Spunk hold the key to success.

No one is interested in reading jaded lines which you copy-paste from your brochure or website.

6. Innovate

From messaging to a varied mix of pictures, videos, graphics, try and see what works best for your brand. While innovation remains the key, remember the day your posts get boring you will stop getting the desired result.

Social media requires spark on a daily basis. Prepare fortnightly calendar and review if the messaging, visuals are exciting .

A word of caution: Being innovative does not experimenting with Brand fonts colour. Stick to your brand manual as it ensures instant recall in the mind of your TA.

7. Choose your agency wisely

Never ever look for a ’20 posts a month’ agency. Social media is an important part of communication. Get someone who understands communication and the intricacies of developing road map for your brand.

Yes, a communication agency will charge money but trust me, it will be money well-spent. As someone said, pay peanuts and get monkey. And as we know well, Brand and Communication is not monkey business.

Amit Shankar

Founder, House of Lions

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