Keep your content from biting back.
For a while, stepping back from social media was probably the best thing to do. Take a pause, gather thoughts, brainstorm and reevaluate; after all, choosing to post nothing over posting something you are unsure of, is a sure bet.
When it comes to the current climate and landscape of social media, there is much more to ponder before hitting “publish”. Will this offend anyone? Will we have to defend our position? Do we have the right image? Is this the wrong image? Is that person wearing the right shirt? Is that hat the wrong color? Are they standing too close together? Will this come off the wrong way?
It would appear there are more questions than ever when it comes to posting on social media. It can even make the sanest of sane lose a few marbles. Breaking news, these are the questions you should have been asking all along and this refinement of sorts will only benefit your social media moving forward.
As with any medium, a checklist should certainly be established and followed before publishing anything on your channels. Some of the key items on the list could and probably should be:
- Is the copy appropriate?
- Is everything spelled correctly (triple-check)?
- Is the image, graphic, or video timely and worthy of your brand?
- Do the emojis you intend to use have a double meaning? (Do your research ✅).
- Check out the social climate for the day and be sure you are not throwing something out into a hostile environment (if you are unsure, consider abandonment).
Social media is no longer just a thing that companies dabble in, it should be taken seriously and used with conviction. It is a potent and powerful tool in which you can reach more people than ever before. Just be sure your reach is intended, the road to recovery from accidental viral circumstance is extremely long and occasionally impossible.
All of this being said, light-hearted humor and a fun style can be a welcomed addition to the world of social media; thousands of accounts utilize this approach with great success. The ones who are successful, put in the time and effort. I like to call it the “Reverse-Mullet” approach, party up front and all business behind the scenes.
Whichever methodology your brand chooses, being diligent in what you put out will be rewarding in the end. We‘d like to think a combo-style is a win-win when executed properly. Good luck, work hard and triple-check before hitting send.