This past summer I interned for the leading global interactive software company, Electronic Arts Inc. I had the unique responsibility of defining the brand voice for an iOS app that was under the EA Sports umbrella called Yogify. As the Marketing & Community Specialist, a big part of the job was developing the editorial strategy ie. producing web-friendly & on-brand, content for Yogify’s owned channels. Additionally, I was responsible for identifying and engaging individuals I called community connectors – brand influencers if you will.
The most valuable lessons I learned on the job had a lot to do with the Social channels I was managing. My top 5 nuggets for powerful content strategy on social are:
1) Strategic Call to Actions (CTA)
CTA: “What time of day do you prefer to practice?”
Posts with the highest engagement rates didn’t necessarily have the most reach but they had a distinct CTA that resulted in the highest percentage of people who liked, commented and or shared. Making sure the CTAs were unique, intentional and meaningful to the audience’s interests, and simple enough to act on was imperative for success. An example of a CTA is: “like if…”
2) Images + Quotes
From @Yogify Instagram page
The posts with the most organic reach were images with inspiring messages on it or content that our audience thought was funny. This meant that we got a higher number of ‘likes’, comments and, shares.
3) Engaging Industry Influencers
Identify the thought leaders and active and connected participants on social media within your industry. You can find them through keyword searches on search engines or through services such as KLOUT. The most connected people will help expand your reach and may even be used to leverage
Talk and engage with them. Add value to them by posting interesting and timely content! These people will become brand advocates and loyalists that should be rewarded in some way.
4) Humanize the brand
The cover photo on our Facebook page is the yoga model as well as producer of the app. Having a face associated to an EA title gives Yogify a “friendly” appeal. Yogify also created videos that introduced the yoga guru who created the Yoga sequences and would occasionally post videos and photos of real people using the app. Behind the scenes shots as well as increasing the observability factor (seeing others engage with the app), has helped our rate of adoption.
5) Review & Review Again
Don’t forget to spell check! I can’t stress this enough…double and triple check content before it goes online to ensure professionalism and seamless communication with your audience.
These take-aways and online strategies are versatile and can be replicated across industries. Note, these 5 tips don’t encompass the entirety of a social content strategy. They are just pieces to a puzzle that creates a clearer big picture. Please feel free to leave a comment & join in the conversation.