Social media is no longer a shiny new tool; if executed

well, it can be a powerful channel within an integrated marketing strategy that

supports an organisation in meeting its objectives.

 

Earlier this month, I delivered social media training on behalf of ALPSP in their Effective Social

Media for Scholarly Publishers course. After 6 hours of online training, my

head is still happily swimming with all things Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn,

Instagram, TikTok, strategy, and metrics. There were also fantastic discussions

on crisis management in scholarly publishing, smart goals, and

critiquing! 

 

If you couldn’t

attend the course, I’ve got you covered! Here are key takeaways that will help to

shine a spotlight on your current social efforts and, if needed, some tips to shake

up your strategy: 

 

Platforms: 

 

According to a 2022 HubSpot survey, the biggest social media

challenge that brands are facing is determining which platforms to place focus

on. 

 

Tip: If you are at the beginning

of your social journey, as a starting point research where your audience is. For

example, check out relevant # engagement, undertake a competitor analysis and see

what level of traction their posts are getting, and look at reach capabilities

using paid social.

 

Paid social: Securing organic reach is

increasingly challenging, especially on Facebook. Paid social is relatively

inexpensive and allows you to apply an experimental approach to see which

platforms best meet your objectives.

 

Tip: Paid social best supports

the top of the marketing funnel (awareness) but retargeting via paid social can

be a great support in the consideration and conversion part of the journey.  

 

Community: Think of your social media

followers as your community and not your audience. Audience implies a hierarchy

and a one-way conversation.

 

Tip: Be a good member of your

community; understand your role in the community, and to do that successfully…you

need to listen!

 

Strategy: Without a sound social

strategy in place, you will face all sorts of avoidable hurdles, for example: securing

buy in from budget holders; spreading yourself too thinly, which can result in

burnout and lost productivity; not having focus; and the inability to measure

success.

 

Tip: Set SMART goals; these

should fall out of your broader company and marketing objectives and should not

sit in their own bubble! Don’t fall into the trap of starting with tactics; start

at the top and understand the business mission and objectives so the social goals

underpin company goals.

 

Trends to watch

out for in 2022:

 

Tik Tok: Excluding messaging

platforms, Tik Tok is now the 4th most popular social channel after

Instagram. However, most businesses are reluctant to invest, with only 38% planning

to increase investment in 2022 …is your organisation the rising star of

scholarly comms on TikTok, and ready to take centre stage?!

 

Short form videos are now more accessible to

brands thanks to the lower production costs, and the authenticity and lower

production nature of video/stories/reels is part of the appeal to users. It’s

listed as the most engaging social content type, so if you’ve not yet

integrated short-form videos into your social strategy, what are you waiting

for? 

 

Metrics:

 

Including social

metrics to measure ROI not only holds you accountable but also showcases the

impact and bottom-line results your social strategy generates. A Sprout social report highlights how only on 15% of

marketers are using social data to measure ROI, and just 10% use the data to

inform business decisions.

 

Tip: Watch out for vanity

metrics! Think about followers...it’s meaningless having a huge follower base

if they are not your target community. Make sure you choose meaningful metrics

to track and if something isn’t working…stop doing it! Where possible, go beyond

native metrics on the individual platforms and link it up with Google Analytics;

this can really help to link social activity to hard metrics that matter most

to the organisation–such as usage, submissions, and sales.

 

Oh, and one last

point on metrics…you can’t measure success without a strong strategy in place

(see above point on strategy)!

 

Tools:

 

There is a

vast selection of tools to support you on your social media journey, ranging

from scheduling, to listening, and analytics. Your choices will likely come

down to the scale of your social presence, and as is so often the case, budget.

 

Tip: If undecided between platforms, sign

up for free trials and compare tools to see which fits your needs. Don’t

underestimate the power of the good old fashioned manual method, that can be

customised to meet your requirements.

 

Booking for next

year’s ALPSP course, Effective Social Media for Scholarly Publishers, will open

later this year.  Contact Melissa Marshall for further information about this or other training courses.

About the author

Kelly Henwood, Senior Manager, TBI Communications
Kelly’s experience includes developing brand strategies, brand assets, and improving brand experience and engagement across multiple channels including digital, TV, film, and licensing.  At Oxford University Press Kelly led the Humanities, Social Science and Law Journals Product Marketing team driving results with diverse marketing strategies. She has also managed partner relationships and the marketing program for several leading society journals.  In previous experience, Kelly managed international brand and licensing programs for both the commercial arm of the University of Oxford and a TV production company.
Kelly is CIM qualified with a Postgraduate Diploma.
Follow Kelly's social channels:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kelly-henwood/ Twitter: @kellyhenwood