I recently wrote a blog about creating a social media conversation calendar and was excited to learn how many people took action after reading it. As a follow-up to the blog, I wanted to share an example of client who is successfully using a conversation calendar to engage with and grow their fans on Facebook.
The Opportunity
A 50-year-old consumer brand was ready to incorporate social media into their marketing and PR efforts. They had very clear objectives and guidelines for their social media content strategy including:
An identified target audience
An established and agreed-upon voice and tone (e.g., neutral third party not first person)
Four content buckets each post should connect back to, directly related to their brand positioning
A set number of posts per week
Specific criteria for what not to talk about (e.g., non-paid celebrity endorsers)
The brand team also had specific goals for the results of their social media content and engagement, such as:
Generate excitement, awareness and trial of specific products
Share other relevant current brand content from the website and expert blogs
Drive loyalty and create brand advocates through meaningful consumer relationships
Our Action
Armed with so much fantastic information, we used their strategic guidelines to create monthly conversation calendars with three posts per week. Each post dialed back to one of the specific content buckets to ensure we stayed on brand strategy, and each positioned the brand as an industry expert while remaining friendly and conversational.
Many posts were developed as conversation starters to ignite engagement with their fans and increase interaction on the page. Other posts were focused on information their audience would find interesting or on timely topics related to holidays or events. But, they always tied back to the brand.
The Results
The conversation calendar initiative started a week after the actual Facebook page launched with fewer than 15 fans. By the end of the first month there were over 20,000 fans and daily interaction.
It’s a continually evolving process and we learn something new each month. In collaboration with the brand team, we observed the types of posts that received the most response and comments and incorporated more of those posts in future calendars. We’re constantly creating new ideas and building on topics that the target audience will find most interesting.
We are certain the results have been so strong because there was a very clear, aligned strategy from all internal and agency teams from the beginning. There are also designated responsibilities for individuals charged with strategy, writing, posting and governance.
Have you used a social media conversation calendar for your brand or a client? Has it been successful?
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