Structure: organize your storytelling
Budget tight? Don't want to fly? Want to bring the dog? The clear answer to your vacay dilemma is CAMPING, and in Michigan we have LOTS of options for that. But for any of you glampers, non-campers or camping novices, be aware: it takes a special set of skills to pull off a good ol' fashioned camping trip, and a lot can go wrong (fast) if you're not prepared and organized. Well, social media is the camping of communications, and if you're not structuring your great ideas and putting process around storytelling, your awesome work will quickly fail. Never fear, think of your social media platforms as campfire conversation starters, not highway builders.
Takeaway #1: organize your 'what' and 'when'
- Create standard 'buckets' of content you want to share (teacher profiles, classroom feature, etc.) - those buckets will help you look for the right 'stories'
- Determine how often you want to post on which channels - make sure all of your content publishers understand those expectations.
Takeaway #2: empower many storytellers
- Share the love - empower multiple content publishers to spread the work load.
- TRAIN the storytellers on creating the perfect post, responding to angry comments, staying on 'brand,' etc.
- Be accessible to your storytellers as a resource when crazy things happen.
Takeaway #3: budget for social storytelling
- Social media can be much more cost-effective than traditional marketing - and you DO NOT have to spend lots of money on digital ads to be successful.
- Incentivize your content publishers for their great work. Whether that's a stipend, gift, bonus, etc. - they're providing an additional professional service.
