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| Kat Tancock at the Alberta Magazines Conference (photo courtesy Don Molyneaux and Sandra Markieta) |
As social media platforms proliferate on the web, it can be difficult to manage them all for your publication. Kat Tancock, Toronto-based digital consultant, says you don't have to.
Tancock, who spoke about effective social media at the 2012 Alberta Magazines Conference, says you should start with the basics -
Facebook and Twitter - and then do what you gravitate towards naturally. After
all, social should be fun.
Platform by platform, here are a few
of Tancock's top social media tips (generated by her in consultation with top
people at publications like Fashion, Today's Parent, Afar and National
Geographic Traveler):
Facebook
- Treat your readers as experts and solicit content for your editorial from them.
- Choose quality over quantity; refine your frequency and don't post more than a few times a day.
- Try posting photos instead of links because they receive more attention.
Twitter
- Be personal and sincere.
- Don't just broadcast: converse, respond and share.
- Always reply to people when they tweet to you or about you directly.
Tumblr
- It’s been called "pictures for the kids", so use it to reach younger, web savvy readers (if that's your market).
- Spotlight original photography.
- Use it more for branding than to generate web traffic to your site.
Instagram
- Showcase your original photos here.
- Keep it positive; Instagram is not a place to break hard news.
Pinterest
- Pick topics that fit your brand, position yourself and your publication as the curator and create unique and targeted boards.
- Participate with others by liking and reposting other people's posts.
- Put a Pinterest share button on your website (this is key).
Tancock also offers a few do's and
don'ts, including don't just broadcast; do respect people's time/space; and
don't get too personal. Her number one rule is: don't be annoying.
And if you're so busy that social media seems to fall to
the bottom of the pile, Tancock offers these suggestions:
- plan through a schedule;
- create a lineup;
- share the workload among staff members;
- set limits,
- use tools such as HootSuite to manage platforms;
- and repurpose content wherever you can.
[Kat has posted both of her conference presentations on her website at http://www.kattancock.com]
--- Heather Setka
