Associations: how to make the most of social media

Associations need social media to spread their message and raise awareness of their work among as many people as possible. Leveraging these highly effective tools can help attract new members. But how do you make the most of social media? How do you integrate them into an inbound marketing strategy?
This article offers several answers across 8 key points.

Understand how to create or redesign the ideal responsive website for your association

Making the most of social media: know your audience

Indeed! Once again we refer to the target audience — and our famous buyer persona. Depending on their age, profession, and level of education, that audience will be more active on one social network than another.
Today, Facebook is used more by people aged 25 and over. The 25–34 age group accounts for 26.3% of active users, while the combined 18–24 and 34–44 age brackets represent less than 20% of users (source: https://blog.digimind.com/fr/insight-driven-marketing-fr/construire-strategie/facebook-les-chiffres-a-connaitre-en-2018/). Moreover, 51% of profiles are female.

Making the most of social media: quality matters

Indeed! Publishing a short piece of text on a social network can be far more complex than it appears. The more impact you want to make, the more carefully you must choose EVERY word and punctuation mark.
Ask yourself one simple question: what message do I want to convey?
The answer you arrive at will lead you to write the right message.

Making the most of social media: consistency

You must think of your association as a brand! This marketing-oriented mindset is generally unpopular, but you must always bear in mind that you are defending a brand image here.
The more consistent your brand image is (cover photo, profile picture, published content), the more effectively you will engage your audience to see you the way you want to be seen.

The 70/30 rule

Do not publish exclusively promotional content! Don't try to draw people to you.
Yes, as difficult as it may be to accept, the more you entertain people, the more you will engage them in your cause. Bombarding your audience with promotional messages will have the opposite effect to what you are looking for.
Respect this ratio: 70% entertaining and interactive content to 30% promotional content.

Make the most of all social networks

The general public is, as a whole, present on social media.
By crafting targeted messages — tailored to each platform's core audience — and publishing them on the right social network, you will always be able to raise awareness of your cause.
Don't hesitate to build a multimodal strategy by investing simultaneously in YouTube, Pinterest, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Snapchat, or any future social networks that emerge.

Embrace automation

Automation can be applied in several ways:

• publishing a message without being at your computer or phone — this ensures your presence even at weekends and on public holidays;
• automatically sharing new content published on your association's website to your social networks. You can configure tools such as Hootsuite or Buffer to broadcast your messages everywhere at once;

Don't overlook influencers

Some people have turned their use of social media into a genuine profession: they are known as influencers.
Anyone can get in touch with these individuals. You can simply start by following their news with your association's accounts, then gradually begin to interact with them in a friendly way. There is no guarantee your cause will interest them, but if it does, don't hesitate to ask them to talk about your association and the cause that drives you.
Your visibility will receive a real boost. Influencers can help you take off on social media.
However, be warned: the impact can be the reverse if you approach them aggressively. They may speak negatively about you, which will affect the overall image of your association.

Engage!

If you succeed in creating engagement with a community, communicate with them!
Whatever you do, do not make the mistake of ignoring replies or failing to respond to private messages you receive.
It is precisely by showing closeness that you will win new members.

Making the most of social media: be patient

Indeed! Rome wasn't built in a day, and your social media presence will follow the same rule.
You will need to prove your existence before people take an interest in you. That can take time — a great deal of time.
Don't give up: you will get there!

Avoid bad buzz at all costs!

Bad buzz is the perverse side effect of social media! It arrives without warning and can destroy a reputation and brand image in a single minute.
This bad buzz will inevitably come from something you have published: a piece of content or a reply, it doesn't matter.
If someone provokes you: do not react by escalating! On the contrary, show publicly that you are keeping your composure. If the person persists, it is better to move the conversation to a private channel to defuse the tension.
Try to understand why the person is attacking you. Often, a simple gesture on your part will be enough to ease the situation.
If you are faced with a bad buzz: do not react immediately, but make absolutely sure you respond within the hours that follow.

These rules for making the most of social media are a set of common-sense guidelines. There are dozens of others, and we will revisit them in a dedicated section in a few weeks.