Pre-scheduling your social media correspondence can be very helpful. However, if you do it too much and walk away, well, then you’ve just completely lost the point. Nashville friend and colleague Dave Delaney asked a question on Twitter about this subject, and it got me thinking… he does that a lot. (makes me start thinking)
I’ve been a Hootsuite user for years and think that the idea of timing your tweets is a very very good one. I like to put up what I call “tent poles” for my clients. My audience type can fluctuate. I currently manage eleven platforms on Hootsuite for two clients and myself. I may want to start a conversation with someone about community activism one moment, classical music another, social media strategy another and mass transit the next. It is important to recognize that each audience will find the space in their day to engage at different points. Your job is to be present when it happens. Boxcar and HyperAlerts are my most used tools. Only when you are present are you able to shape the conversation in a productive moment.
Knowing when to talk is important. The key is to test and change it up and test again. People’s habits change and your audience should always be growing so keep being curious. For example, I may place my Twitter tent poles at any one of these times and see how the response fluctuates; 8am, 10am, 11:10am, 1:30pm, 3:40pm. 5:15pm, 6pm, 7:45pm and 9:30pm. The pre-scheduled conversation starters may be placed at all of these times or just a few. I’m not going to post something at 6am because I’m hopefully on the treadmill then and can’t respond if the audience does. Likewise after 11pm … not gonna do it.
My goal is to try to respond on Twitter within 15 minutes and Facebook within the hour. Don’t start a conversation and then walk away, be present. If the conversation is too complicated to keep up with or you really need to unplug, then it’s time for a teammate to help! Hootsuite is awesome for that too. By adding even one extra user, you can become a schedule and respond tag team than remains authentic and true to your brand.
It’s easy for a business to forget that most people IRL (in real life) use Facebook and Twitter etc as a fun thing to play with and get information from. It’s entertainment, it’s media! Control your own schedule by putting up the tent poles and then committing to be present to engage and shape the conversation. These tools can help make a social media strategy truly take shape.
How do you manage the conversation?
