Don't just rely on social media to grow your community

Social media has a shelf-life. Meta goes down quite often for such a big company, who knows what's happening with the TikTok Ban in the US and another mad billionaire could come along and ruin another big platform. It's also not unusual for platforms to kick you off. This is a social media managers nightmare but it can happen. 

What does this mean for all of us, who literally rely on social media to pay our bills? 

First and foremost, it means we need to be growing our community outside social media walls. TikTok is fantastic for community management and engagement, due to how specifically you can target an audience using hashtags #cleantok #booktok etc but it’s not the be-all and end-all. 

You can achieve a similar niche community by inviting your audience to a more intimate space, whether that’s a Discord server or a WhatsApp group. As long as it's a dedicated space for your community to meet, share ideas and where you can fully get involved too, the world is your oyster. Be present, and be engaged with them. They will feel special and valued that you want to talk to them in a smaller space.

Next, you want to encourage your client to double down on their mailing list. This is one of the most important parts of digital strategy, and it’s a tool that’s wildly underused. This is the best opportunity to tailor  emails to specific lists and segments, using platforms such as MailChimp or Klaviyo and gives direct line into someone’s inbox, the most personal of spaces! 

FYI - we don't want to be those people who say social media managers should do everything but mastering email marketing is an excellent skill to have and a great service to offer. Especially if you're in charge of the client's social media, too. The two go very nicely hand-in-hand and one backs up the other. 

Thirdly, you need to make sure your client is investing some time and money into their website. People want to be able to find you so make sure your SEO is up to speed as well. A clear and navigable site should be presented in their brand’s TOV and colours as this will help with recognisability if your content is uniformly formatted across your site and socials. 

Whether or not TikTok gets banned in the US or Meta explodes again, these are good practices to follow, there’s no time to present to get started 🤝.