13 October 2016
Top tips to using social media on the day the NFFO runs its first takeover with Newlyn skipper Alan Dwan
In this fast moving hyper-connected world, it’s crucial that your social media is in shipshape fashion to ensure it doesn’t get swept away in the maelstrom of the digital world. Abide by the following top tips to keep yourself afloat:
• Keep posts relevant to the industry – your followers follow you because of your maritime expertise, so that’s what they want to see from you. This may sound obvious but you’d be surprised how often people get this wrong!
• Strong, eye-catching photography often garners a lot more interest than text only updates– ocean scenes can be particularly striking so make use of that (and are relevant!)
• Share/Retweet the right content – not everything on your account has to be original content. One of the key ways to engage with your followers is to Share/Retweet things that will interest them. Strong videos in particular are popular (and again, maritime related videos can be very impressive).
• Like/Follow the right people/groups – it’ll improve your own following and show you know what you’re talking about (e.g. why would a fishing company follow Simon Cowell?). Also, by following other relevant accounts you increase your chances that they will engage with you – which is often a catalyst for increased interest in you from the general public. A good quick guide would be to follow the government ministers and organisations working in your the maritime industry – it shows you know your stuff and if they reciprocate it can lead to great exposure for you.
• Engage with your followers – People value engagement on social media. Always reply to comments/tweets in a friendly and helpful manner. This encourages existing followers to get more involved and pay more attention whilst also attracting new followers as they see it as a worthwhile account to follow.
• Post regularly –With so much content on social media it’s easy for yours to get lost in it all. Regular activity lets people know that you’re still there, that your account is worth looking at and keeps you in their minds. Too much activity though can lead people to feel like they’re being spammed. Make sure all content is on message, worthy of being posted and aim to post at least once a day, but not too often. Creating a social media posting plan in advance is the best way to keep up to date and ensure that all your content is worth posting and relevant.
Following these top tips will help to turn your social media from a minnow to a whopper!
You can follow Alan Dwan’s takeover of the NFFO Twitter account on @NFFO_UK and pose questions using #FishTales
To find out more about Acceleris’ maritime PR service, visit www.acceleris-mc.com