Top Takeaways from Ragan’s Social Media Conference

I had the opportunity to combine my passion for communications with my love of Disney at the Ragan Social Media Conference in September. We all know that social media has become more than a daily task – it is where brands create a sense of community, and it is where we as communicators strive to keep up in the constantly changing environment.

Here are four takeaways that stood out from the conference—with a Disney twist.

1. The glass slipper doesn’t fit everyone in the kingdom. Your brand doesn’t fit with every platform.

From user demographics to user experience, every social media platform is unique. Cross-posting identical content across multiple platforms has been shown to lower overall post performance and decrease followers due to repetitiveness.

Your brand is unique—as is the messaging—so avoid watering it down by being everywhere. Instead, choose 1-2 platforms with complimenting user demographics, and focus efforts there.

2. Embrace the bare necessities. Less is more when writing for social.

As communicators, we often overelaborate and overexplain in efforts to ensure our audience fully understands. When it comes to writing social posts, using too many words or characters may lead to lower organic performance. It is recommended to keep copy limited to 80-120 characters across platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. This allows for pertinent information to come before a call-to-action, like “Read More.”

3. It’s off to work we go! Use social media to attract talent.
Leveraging social media to hire and retain talent should be a two-part strategy: sharing company culture content and employee-generated content.
Use the company’s social platforms to promote and showcase the culture. Be authentic in writing style or video editing, using social media as an opportunity to offer a behind-the-scenes look at what it’s like to work there. Doing so allows potential employees to feel like they are getting to know the company before they apply or interview—and determine if it is a good fit for them. Examples may include showcasing impactful work being completed and highlighting employee successes or anniversaries.

No one knows your company values and brand better than current employees – so consider encouraging them to reshare company updates via their social media accounts and share about what it’s like to work there—such as photos from team or client events. This can help put a face behind the brand or messaging. Being open on social media about the workplace creates an added layer of empowerment and can help shape the perception for future employees.

4. Like Simba, video is (still) king.
Video continues to be the most engaging type of content—which should be no surprise. Brands looking to freshen up video content can do so by shooting from multiple angles with different cameras to catch varying viewpoints. Utilizing attention grabbing, punchy reels and TikTok-style videos spice up your content and allows your brand to show personality. When editing these videos, it is recommended to change the scene about every five seconds. Leveraging video trends can help increase views and engagement—just remember that not every trend is relevant to a particular brand. Have fun with trends and push the limits—while keeping in mind your audience and stakeholders.

Remember: every platform is unique, and, just when we learn what the social platform algorithm prioritizes, it changes. Try different tactics to see what works best!