Content is being produced and pumped out faster than ever. Stay focused and calm with these simple tips for digital marketers.

In times of uncertainty, it’s important to keep your mind engaged. During quarantine, I’m gobbling up digital content, and gathering advice from experts in social media and nonprofits. Recently, I attended Social Media Marketing World (SMMW). Don’t worry – I switched to a virtual ticket and this event was held before the invasion. This is the go-to international social media marketing conference. Dozens of marketers attended from Wisconsin, including several Social Media Breakfast-Madison board members and attendees. This is part of a blog series recapping things we learned at the event.

While many of the SSMW sessions were focused on large, for-profit companies, I took away several major lessons that also apply to smaller, community-driven organizations.

1. Building real community is more vital than building an online community. We also heard this at our February social justice panel. Think about having real engagement with a smaller group of people over reaching a larger number of people.
2. Slow Down to Speed Up. Take time to do the analytics work so that your marketing efforts are not in vain. That way you can be proactive and give people information they want and need versus getting frustrated if content is not being inhaled. Instead of saying, “We need a social post for _____,” say “Our customer needs ____ (and only we have that).” Email is the only place where people (not algorithms) are in control so utilize it to share unique services and initiatives. Source: Ann Handley
3. Stop random acts of social content! Social content must be someone’s favorite and it must be easy to find. Think about your social media content strategy like scheduling television shows. Identify your target audience, format, production process, distribution/amplification channels and calls to action. From there, you need three types of shows: binge-worthy (multi-media/episodic) for awareness; special event shows (monthly or quarterly, tune-in) for interest; news & updates (did you know/e-newsletter articles, answer common questions) for action. Side note: I’ve also heard people describe an organization’s social channels like a newspaper with different channels serving different news purposes such as editorials, features and breaking updates. Source: Convince and Convert
4. Boost “unicorn” posts. Identify “unicorn” posts that are already performing well organically and then promote those with ads! Organic reach-wise, iPhone videos perform better than professional ones. Videos that are posted live typically perform better than those that are scheduled in advance. “Add budget to the winning horse,” says SMMW speaker Mari Smith. Source: Mari Smith
5. Use Story-Housing: a. Ask a question (make people reflect), b. Tell a story (make people imagine), c. Provide the result (make people remember), d. Challenge people (make people act). Tell a story with one of your clients/members/donors using FB Live, Instagram Live or a post or a newsletter article). Source: Marcus Sheridan

Books to Read:

1. Content Mavericks by Andrew and Pete
2. The Storytelling Animal by Jonathan Gottschall
3. Everybody Writes: Your Go-To Guide to Creating Ridiculously Good Content by Ann Handley

Follow #SMMW20 for more content tips and tricks.

This blog post was written by Hannah Wente, Communications Director at the Wisconsin Council of the Blind & Visually Impaired. She received a partial scholarship from SMBMad to attend this conference. For more information about how to get a scholarship for professional development, visit /scholarships/.