A Visit to the Social Media Country Club

By Sara Bojar

Most of us are active on social media in some form, whether it be professionally or personally. And just like technology, things are constantly evolving. To help us stay ahead of the curve, Scott Covelli and Andy Parmann with EPIC Creative took TOCA to the Social Media Country Club during this year’s annual meeting. We all picked up our clubs (pencils) and walked through nine holes of trends, duffs and industry hole-in-ones. Check out this recap for tips you can use year-round:

Hole One – Social Media Platforms

These include Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Snapchat.

Hole Two – Case Study Hole-in-Ones

Next we learned about several successful social media case studies. These included Mower Madness; the 450 Live Press Conference for Steiner tractors; blog, Facebook and Twitter activity from Dow AgroSciences; and the SiteOne Social Media Launch. It’s always great to learn from our peers!

Hole Three – Case Study Duffs

Here we learned some of the correct ways to react when tragedy strikes. It’s important to do your homework and ensure your message is relevant and tasteful.

Hole Four – Social Media Copy Tips

Use original copy in your posts. Less copy can mean more clicks, but stay away from click bait. Entice your audience without tricking them.

Hole Five – Traffic Drivers

Let’s show customers how a product will make their life better. Go beyond the features and benefits. It’s also important to choose sponsored or boosted posts wisely. When you’re putting money behind a post, have an objective.

Hole Six – Engagement Drivers

Video content, user-generated content and timely information are all ways we can help drive traffic and increase engagement.

Hole Seven – Video Highlights

We heard a lot about the importance of videos during this session. Some examples included 360-video, aerial video, reviews and interviews and third-party content.

Hole Eight – Industry Trends & News

People like to keep up with trends, and in social media that includes snaps and stories in Instagram, sharing real-time content through Twitter and streaming content through platforms, such as Spotify, Pandora and Audible.

Hole Nine – Social Advertising

To help reach your target audience, social advertising is a great option. Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter and Snapshot all offer different choices to meet your needs.

For more tips and trends, you can find Scott and Andy on Twitter at @ScottCovelli and @andyparmann.