Social media can be a powerful communications tool for coalitions, but many coalitions we talk with around he country tell us they struggle to use social media effectively. In our series of articles helping coalitions get their message to their communities we are breaking down how to use social media effectively.

Creating a social media presence really comes down to what we call the four pillars of social media.

Pillar #1: Content Management

Whenever you post, tweet, comment, or blog, you are creating content. What you post, along with how often, says a lot about you and your organization to the people who visit your page. It should be filled with useful information that they actually want to consume, and it should be posted on a regular schedule. Want a little more information about the finer points of content management? Just click this link to our article How to Plan Your Content the Right Way.

Tip: Posting too much is just as bad as posting too little.

Pillar #2: Community Management

Now that you’re regularly posting content, people will start to pay attention. They may even want to interact with you and start a conversation. Congratulations! Now you’re seeing where the true power of social media lies. It’s very important that you’re prompt, cheery, and helpful with your replies. These conversations present your best opportunities to recruit new volunteers, network with community members, or distribute helpful messaging and resources.

Tip: Never let a comment or message go unanswered or you’ll start to see people stop interacting with you all together.

Pillar #3: Community Outreach

So you’ve developed a nice little community online. Everyone loves the content and you know it because they say so in the comments, but your community isn’t getting any bigger. What do you do about that? There’s a couple ways to solve this problem and community outreach is one of them.

Your coalition has no doubt spent time talking about which stakeholders and sectors of the community you want to engage. Community outreach is a way to do this through social media. You can directly reach out to stakeholder groups your coalition wants to engage. In your community there are plenty schools, organizations, and parent groups you could reach out to and start a conversation.

Tip: Search for stakeholder groups that your coalition wants to engage and them a message with a link to information you think they will be interested in.

Pillar #4: Ad Management

Remember when we said there were a couple ways to grow your community? Well this is the other. Most social media platforms offer a way for anyone to pay a small fee to reach a larger number of people. There are two main ways that most social media platforms let you pay to reach more people. The first is running ads that you create. The second is to promote normal posts and content you are already posting. Ad management is becoming more important to social media management strategy. Some platforms , including Facebook, are restricting how many people see your posts unless you pay to promote them. For as little as $5 per post, you can increase the amount of people that see your content by ten times!

Tip: Decide as a coalition if you can set a budget up for advertising and promoting your coalition on social media.

Now you are familiar with the foundation of social media management. Try to keep in mind that there aren’t shortcuts, so the more time you put in, the better the results will be. However, spending as little as an hour or two a week on these four concepts will give your social media presence the kick start it needs.

Action Steps

Do a self assessment and rate your coalition from 1 – 5 in each one of the four pillars of social media management:

• Content Management
• Community Management
• Community Outreach
• Ad Management

Kris Martin owns Limerent Communications and has spent the last 15 years working on communication strategy for youth, young adults and stakeholders in their lives. If this article interests you, you can find more by signing up for the Limerent Community Coalition Messaging Newsletter or follow us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.