What makes one sports team better in the big game than their opponents? Why was the NCAA National Championship Football Game such a blow-out this year when the number one and number two teams met?
Strategy, Timing, Focus, Flexibility and Execution
Now that’s not to say the loser in a big game doesn’t have all those. Realistically they all do. But their opponents just do them better. They execute the game plan. They are disciplined. They don’t just look at each individual play… they look at the big picture, the end objective.
The same dedication has to be in your social media game plan. If you don’t adhere to the game plan, you could find yourself spending a great deal of time creating a lot of noise, but never being truly heard.
Strategy – Develop what it is that you will do with your social media presence. Which platforms you are going to use and when may change for your overall strategic goals. Make goals for long term and short term and treat each like a campaign. It’s not just a tweet or a post but an entire package of mediums and messages to reach your goals.
Timing – Pay attention to what is going on around you. If your community is facing a particular issue, for example residential break and enters, are you meeting their needs or throwing out information that has nothing to do with the issues at hand. This also goes with time of day / week for posts. Do you message when there is greater numbers for potential views of less people on line for a lasting impression.
Focus – Make sure your presence is focused on your strategy and goals. Don’t get off track with side issues and too much ‘fluff’. Case in point. You have a crime in progress and need to get out information. This is not the time to enter into conversations with the public about parking or transit issues. (Unless they relate to the event at hand.) Don’t take attention away from the priority.
Flexibility – No matter how well laid out your plans are and how committed to your goals you are, there will always be the need to deviate and reassess what you are doing. If your messages aren’t being heard or shared, step back and see if there is something different you can do.
Execution – Your entire team needs to be part of your plan and everyone has to be on the same page. This goes beyond just your online presence. Your front line and command officers need to be aware of your focus and strategy. Hopefully, they were part of the planning process in the beginning so that everything is in line from top down, bottom up and lateral within the organization.
The social media space is so large and so populated that you can’t just go out and start throwing around information and expect to be heard. You are competing with every other user and every other topic that is happening.
You need a game plan, plain and simple. Can you have five or six plans on the go at once? Sure you can. But each needs to follow the same principles for a greater degree of effectiveness.
And above all…remember that the biggest part of your game plan has to be including your public. Respond, engage, ask for CTA (call to action), and thank them for sharing and responding.
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