4 Tips to Navigate Social Media During a Crisis
“Should I even be posting right now?”
If you’re asking yourself this question, you’re not alone. As a Social Media Consultant, a lot of my time these days is spent helping my clients try new things on their social media accounts and figure out new ways to reach their audience in a way that isn’t insensitive or tone deaf.
No one person has all the answers right now, as we’ve all been moved a few steps back and have to learn new ways to use the platforms we’ve come to know and love.
So the first thing I want to focus on is the positive side of things. In March 2020, I have seen more people reaching out to each other than ever before.
Parents are connecting with their kids over Facebook messenger because they’ve made it so easy to use.
People are sharing how they’re really feeling and getting support on their social media accounts.
Kids in isolation have access to the new Facebook Messenger for kids so they can connect with their family and friends.
Social media groups have formed for students moving their studies online.
Friends of all ages are creating message threads and private chat groups to keep checking in and sharing information.
While things are topsy turvy, it’s been beautiful watching Canadians rise to the challenge together.
For your business, however, things might not be looking quite so rosey. I can’t think of a single business that hasn’t been affected by the crisis happening out there, and if you’re not sure how to navigate social media right now--you’re not alone.
But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be posting.
You should still be online with your business, showing up for your audience and continuing to have a conversation with them.
We’re in this for a longer haul than anyone expected, so if you’ve been avoiding social media because you wanted to be sensitive to the current social climate, it’s time to get back to work.
I wish I had all the answers you could possibly need for this crisis, like what you should post and what you should say, but I don’t. None of us do. However, one thing that I have ALWAYS said has not changed: Your social media content should be 80% educational, informative, engaging and entertaining while only 20% should be sales.
Pushing salesy information on your social accounts as if it’s business as usual is the one thing I’m still sure will alienate your audience.
For all the people who have sent messages asking what the new normal to post about is, I don’t have a concrete answer. I’ve been working with my clients and consulting with other businesses in the past weeks to figure out what their new strategy is on a case-by-case basis.
However, in the meantime, there are a few general ideas that you can use for inspiration about what to post for your business.
1. Use your platform to spread awareness.
As of April 2nd 2020, the government has started to actively ask the online community of youtubers, instagram influencers and big promoters to start spreading the message #StayHome. As a small business, you can answer the call as well. Use your platform to share how you’re spending your time in your business. How have you changed your processes to heed the call for isolation? How are you navigating being a working-from-home parent? How has accessing your goods and services changed?
Posting with a positive mindset will both inform and engage your audience. And seeing you keep working will be inspirational for a lot of people who are still struggling to find their footing as things change.
2. Check your scheduled posts and promotions.
As you’ve seen from my recent post about Social Media Scheduling Apps and Reasons to Schedule Social Media, I still believe you can use social media scheduling applications.
The main change here is scheduling them 1 week at a time instead of 1 month at a time. Things change rapidly so you need to be checking on your post schedule regularly. Scheduling apps will still help you navigate the ups and downs of this situation, but checking in on them every couple days between will make sure you’re not promoting something insensitive.
3. Contribute. However you can.
A lot of people are facing financial insecurity at the moment. However, there are still a lot of things you can do to help other businesses without spending money.
Share your favourite restaurants that are offering a promotion that follows the crisis regulations. Start a campaign to help donate to a local food bank. Offer a services trade with a fellow business owner who is struggling.
Small contributions mean a lot in a crisis.
4. Be responsive.
My final tip is to be responsive. Make sure you’re regularly checking in on social media to answer any messages or comments promptly.
Your audience is looking for a sense of connection with the brands they are engaging with, and making sure to answer them quickly will offer a sense of connection to your followers.
Everyone's a little stir crazy, and in a world where we’re all used to getting things ‘right now’, it’s become even more frustrating to people when they have to wait for a response for more than an hour.
While it’s more work to keep connected on social media, in a time of crisis, it’s an opportunity to build trust with your audience so that when this is all over, you’ll have something to show for all of your work--a more engaged community.
It’s time to think outside the box
While you’re figuring out what will work best for your business, remember that we all have responsibilities as citizens on our social media platforms. Remember to report posts that have false news on them, report ads that look like they are misleading, and try to have polite conversations with your friends if you see them going against the rules that have been put in place for our safety, so long as it won’t endanger you in any way.
Things are grim, but we can all work together to get through this.
Think of it like an opportunity to try out new ideas. Instead of looking at your competitors and figuring out what they’re doing, look at your audience and ask what they’re looking for. Post new things. Try new ideas. Keep a positive spin on things (while also being sensitive).
Since no one has an answer for what you should post, this is the best opportunity to try new things and see what resonates with your audience.
For my followers, I’m currently offering hourly consulting at a reduced rate to help people audit their social media accounts and help come up with ideas on how to alter their strategy. If you need one-on-one help, click here to book a call, or as always, send over your questions on twitter so we can include more people in our conversation!
Need more support?
Join us every Monday for our Connect and Collaborate. Every week I’ll be posting the information to join our weekly Monday meeting at 10am to discuss content, social media, business and collaborate with each other to keep going until we’re past our current crisis.