3 Ways to Make Your Social Media Job Easier

in Strategy

3-ways-to-make-your-job-easier

Sit back. Kick your feet up. Your job’s about to get a little easier.

Managing social media for brands is not as easy as people think. Chances are you manage multiple accounts, create original content, and you might be managing it on your own.

At Colorado State University, we are “four”tunate that our Webby Award-winning social media team is comprised of four people (see what I did there?). But while universities and companies are starting the recognize the value in hiring multiple people to manage their social media presence, many times it’s only one person manning – or womanning – the ship.

Don’t worry. You don’t have to do it alone. Learning to utilize resources will give you life. Here are three ways to make your social media job a little bit easier.

1. Use Curated Content

The key to social media is being “social”. That means posting frequently, and regularly updating your accounts with fresh information. Content curation is a great way to share valuable content in an organized and meaningful way.

Here are some ways that CSU utilizes curated content:

  • Sharing news stories from our PR team through CSU’s website, SOURCE.
  • Sharing graphics and videos created by CSU’s Athletic department.
  • Finding and using GIFs: CSU uses a lot of GIFs on twitter to help convey specific moods.

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2. Lean on Trusted Partners

Tap into other departments, divisions, or groups within your organization to help tell your story. Sometimes that means handing over the keys to allow others admin access to your accounts. Because they will be representing your brand, make sure these are well-known allies and people you can trust. There are talented internal assets all around you – be intentional about building relationships with them.

Here are four trusted campus partners that #CSUSocial leans on:

  • Ram Handlers: the students who manage and care for our live mascot, CAM the Ram. They give us access to CAM for fun projects like THIS and THIS.
  • Our friends in Admissions help tell CSU’s recruitment story with projects like the I Found My State campaign.
  • Students whom we recruited that participate on the #CSUStreetTeam.
  • Communication leaders in any of CSU’s eight academic colleges, the Alumni Association, and Housing and Dining.

3. Utilize Your Creative Fans and Followers

Harnessing the creative power of our fans is a valuable key to showcasing everything that Colorado State has to offer. We are constantly on the look-out for inspiring images tagged with our hashtags. Often times these images tell stories from a different perspective – through the eyes of fans, students and even alumni. Fans are almost always happy to let us share their content when we ask permission.

Here are examples of ways CSU utilizes fan-generated content:

  • We host Instagram events on campus called InstaMeets. This helps us create a library of images to use on days when we need extra content.
  • We encourage fans to tag their photos with #ColoradoState or #CSUStreetTeam, then we share the most beautiful shots on our channels.
  • We allow a vetted group of students to host CSU’s Takeover Tuesday on Snapchat. This provides an entire day of content that we don’t have to create.
  • We ask our fans to participate. And they typically do.

As you can see, building intentional relationships and forming valuable connections within your social community is not only beneficial for you and your audience, but it’s also easy to do. Internal assets are all around you. Use them! You’ll have a lot more great content, and spending less time designing content will give you more time to genuinely engage with your audience.

Remember, together we are better!

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