Flash Card
BE PRODUCTIVE - TIME SPENT PREPARING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ITEMS - Use this opportunity to build your memes, videos, blog posts, posts, etc... these things take time and some more than others. Be aware of the calendar schedule sent to you by SMAC and prepare for the coming days of posts. It is different every day and every week, so if you have time one day to prepare a few extra items, do it. You'll be glad you did, for those days you have extra stuff on your plate and you still need to post something. In no particular order (and they are not advertisers --- we just like the ease of use and availability of templates, etc...) here are some of our favorite websites:
freepik - a place to find images, vectors and other digitial designs
Audiojungle - a place to get inexpensive audio tracks for your intro, outro and background music
Creative Market - A place to get new text styles, watercolors, brushes, etc... which can be used in creative software like the adobe products.
USE SPECIFIC HASHTAGS - If it's a holiday, special occasion or just a fun fact day, Hashtag it! (or pound sign for some of you) (this symbol #). Note - if a # or holiday doesn't have relevance in your sphere of influence, don't use it. Find one that fits you or your corporate brand. A hashtag your followers feel brings value are the ones you want. Don't use a hashtag just to use it, it needs a purpose. Hashtag posts are to get your brand onto the hashtag lists to get new people seeing your brand. People follow hashtags and you need to be there! For an example: #LABORDAY and post a meme or image to go along with the theme/holiday. Be sure to put the # and your logo or #YOURNAME in the image (at the bottom or on the side) so that if someone shares it "you" are shared as well. Research hashtags that are relevant to you, your product, or your services. Keep a list of those handy and update it every few months - nothing sits idle in social media. You can use them not only on hashtag posts, but also regular daily posts you share throughout the year using your SMAC calendar. We will be using #DailySMAC on our posts. You can (and should) create one for your company or event, too! Just remember, don't put too many hashtags in a post (over 4 or 5 is pushing the too many card). You can however, put as many as you want at the end of the post.
A great site to get image templates is Canva.com. Another handy site to get free images, vectors, etc. is freepik.com. Both offer free content, however, once you feel comfortable using the products buying the premium versions can be worth it (we are not associated with these companies in any way, just like their platforms). A couple sites that can help you quickly identify a fun day or national day to use for your hashtags is Nationaldaycalendar.com and daysoftheyear.com.
PICS AND FLICKS - When promoting your business or brand you need to share images of your products or services. On these posts try and share a video about your products or some images of maybe an upcoming sale. Don't sell on this post, just inform. You are using these posts as catalysts for when you do the "ASK". If your business or brand is service-related, videos work really well, while both videos (of your product in use or on display) and photos work well for businesses with physical products. Just remember you're not selling in these posts, but if a sale comes along DON'T TURN IT DOWN. Be sure to watch all the comments on these posts. If you have bullies or inappropriate comments take them down and remove (and block if necessary) those people from your followers. You want a clean follower list.
BE THE PRODUCT - TIME TO PROMOTE - These posts should be all about self-promotion. Because most struggle with the notion of promoting oneself, this type of post will occur infrequently. Up to this point you most likely have given people glimpses into your life, shared free content and info, and revealed who you are as well as your products/services on social media, now its time you sell them and yourself! Post a video of you talking about your blog, or post a blog entry about your services, or share a link to your company website. And above all else "ASK" your followers to buy! Keep an eye on the comments and be sure to remove any bullies or inappropriate comments.
SHARE YOUR FAVS - Think about your favorite things. Ask your employees about their favorite things. These posts should be about things you or your employees enjoy, a good book, a great movie, a pet, a place, a blog, hairbrush ... you get the idea. Post about it. Share an image if you want (BTW images get more clicks than just text in a post). Allow your followers to get a glimpse of who you or your employees are by sharing favorite things. Get creative, ask friends or family members what they think your favorite things are. You might be pleasantly surprised at their responses. This is a great post to use hashtags. Once you post, be aware of the comments. You want it to be fun not full of bullies and inappropriate language. Remove and block any offensive comments.
SHARE HOT TOPICS - Hot topics are the trending items you see listed on different social media sites or on Newsfeeds. We see funny videos and read funny posts on a daily basis. Share Hot Topics days are meant for you to find a hot topic and share it. To get started scroll through your Facebook feed or search Twitter's trending topics. Another good source is your favorite news website to see what is trending in the news, or you can use a search engine, like Yahoo, for trending topics. Then click and share. You can write something or if the item needs no explanation, even better! This is also a good day to maybe do some newsjacking. Newsjacking is the use of a trending news story to your advantage by injecting your ideas into a breaking news story thus generating possible media coverage and social media engagement. Newsjacking is an art --- be sure to use it wisely. Be aware of the comments after you post. Be sure to monitor for inappropriate posts or bullying.
ASK YOUR FOLLOWERS - Be creative with this content. This is a SMAC that is to help include people and spark conversation among your followers. These SMACs can create a sense of community which can increase social media engagement for you and your brand. Ask questions that you feel are fun, important in your niche, or just things you've been pondering. For example: "Who is your favorite Superhero?" Mine is ... and then give the reason why. And of course, use hashtags! Remember this, people love to talk about themselves (why do you think social media is so poular). Use these SMAC days to inspire lots of feedback on your post. Asking questions that make it an easy avenue for your followers to join and offers them an opening to get involved and share their thoughts. Don't get hung up on how many likes or views, just post and allow your followers to enjoy the conversation. Monitor the dialog. If there is bullying or inappropriate feedback, be sure to remove or block those users. You want a clean followers list. You can find web pages with lists of questions, just do a search in your favorite search engine such as Bing or Google.
SHARE YOU - PICS OR FUN FAQs ABOUT YOU - Sharing you means to be personal. It doesn't mean sharing all your family details or your employees personal information. It means to share a pic of you and your friends out for a day of shopping, or dinner with your spouse, or your kids running in the park. Maybe pics of your employees having lunch together or having a meeting in the conference room. You don't have to show faces, or use names, but you do need to let your followers see that they are following genuine people with real lives. It makes the experience of following you more personal. Remember, you are special and unique. People are following you, not a screen. Use the Share You day to highlight your employees. This can benefit you by them sharing the post about them with their friends, too. Get permission to tag your employees or family members. These are great days to use lots of fun hashtags! For inspiration look at others Instagram posts, or Facebook, or LinkedIn ... you get the idea. Be sure to keep an eye on the comments on your post. Be watchful for inappropriate posts or bullying. Remove them or block them. It's important to have a clean follower list.
BE THE RESOURCE - Help others to learn about your niche. Be an expert in your area or a skill today. When you help your followers and others gain knowledge they will want to come back to you for more information! Write an article for your blog, or share tips based on your skills. Watch the comments on your post and respond quickly and answer any questions or concerns your followers post. Be sure to monitor for inappropriate posts or bullying.
POST A QUOTE - Posting a quote is not just about sharing text. It is about making an impact with your followers. We suggest you incorporate a meme or image with your saying. Be sure to tag the author if they have social media pages (sometimes you have to like their page first before you can tag them). If they don't have a page or have passed, just use a hashtag of their name. We have hundreds of quotes and images available for your use in the Quote Gallery on the SMAC app. Remember this is about using words of others to spark good feelings and inspire those who choose to follow you. There are plenty of websites to find quotes. Bookmark your favorite sites (title the bookmark folder with a distinctive name e.g., Quote web pages - so you don't forget where they are). Here is a valuable resource to help you get creative - www.canva.com - they have a mobile and desktop version. Watch the comments on your post. Keep an eye out for inappropriate posts or bullying.
PAY IT FORWARD - These days designate 1 or 2 posts that help others! Search out followers who might be trying to get a fundraiser moving, share it and comment. Find followers who might be selling products (things you would be willing to recommend) and share! Tag someone who had made an impact in your life or career! You can even use these days to talk about a product or place you had a great experience. Praise that person or company publicly (tag them) for their great service or product. User-generated content (UGC) is a plus to every company - including you and your brand. UGCs will typically get retweeted or shared by the company you tagged. Whatever you do, these days are about everyone else and not you. And remember to respond if the one who you paid it forward for responds to your post. Keep an eye on your posts, too. If any negative feedback or bullies jump on it, be sure to handle those appropriately.
ENGAGE WITH OTHERS - When these days show up on your Daily SMACs, be sure to use the time wisely. Find followers or people and companies in your niche and comment on their stuff! Don't share your products, just be in the conversation! This is to help you go beyond your followers and extend your reach even further organically. You have to take steps to "beat" the social media algorithms. Be sure to not get dragged into the negative comments of posts. Keep it positive and uplifting!
CHAMPAGNE FRIDAY - Each Friday we encourage you to celebrate something good that has happened over the past week. As stated in the blog post on Level Up Leadership - "Celebrating achievements at work is an important part of the productivity cycle. Without taking a moment to celebrate victories both large and small it becomes all too easy to lose sight of what you’re all working towards. Celebration is a chance to take a pause, to reflect on success and revel in your accomplishments." There are many ways to celebrate. We choose to raise a glass (cup, vessel, mug, bottle...you get the idea), but you can make your own style of celebration. Maybe it is lunch every Friday with a friend or colleague to talk about the good things. Maybe a meeting every Friday morning to have everyone in the office share their good thing. Whatever you choose to do, be sure to use each Friday to not only encourage yourself, but also those you are connecting with. Cheers and happy celebrating!
We encourage you to use #champagnefriday every Friday as well. This will help get you seen by people who may not know you exist.