Best Practices for Social Media

Observe this beast in the wild.

Quietly watch the social media behavior of organizations who work with fire, and whose work you admire. You’ll get a sense of how many words to use, and the specific cadence and tone of informative posts, call-to-action posts, and cool/inspiring/feel-good tidbit posts. You’ll see lots of high-quality photos and short videos and how they get referenced and shared. You’ll leave feeling that these people know their stuff, keep it tight, and are truly fighting the good fight for #goodfire. And when you’re ready, you can do it, too. Now get to stalking!

Key questions to drive your strategy:

• What type of social media platforms does your audience currently use? And what type of platforms are best suited for your content? (ex: Twitter for timely updates, Instagram for visual media)

• Understand the benefits and limitations of each platform as that will dictate how you craft your social media post. Are there character limits? Are they well suited for video?

• Pay attention to how your posts perform—are followers commenting, clicking or taking a desired action? If not, why? Utilize trial and error to test out your messaging and your strategy.

• And don’t forget that communications go both ways. Be there to answer questions and engage with your audiences, and be prepared to manage the platforms you create.

Resources for Social Media