We manage many social media account for our clients, but that doesn’t mean their social media presence is entirely out of their hands. We’ve found it’s important to engage clients in social media activity. It seems simple, but can have a huge effect on the quality of your client’s social media presence.

Often, fans view brand posts as robotic and have trouble identifying that a real person is actually posting. Having the “voice” of a client is vital in running engaging social media accounts and lends a personal feel. Below are ideas and tips for getting clients involved, helping them feel more comfortable with posting and what we’re currently doing to get our clients involved.

Getting Clients Involved in Social Media

Let’s face it: posting the same content can get stale! No one will be interested in boring robotic content. Keep your audience interested about what you’re posting.  You can’t always do that unless you have the help of your clients, who are the experts in their field. Get your clients excited about social media and help them feel comfortable.

• Ask clients to provide photos of events, employees, every day life around the office, etc. Visuals are an effective and easy way to get clients involved and get consumers interested.
• Suggest shooting a 30-60 second video each month directly on the Facebook wall. No need for a fancy camera. Facebook allows you to record videos directly on your Facebook wall, and you can use built-in computer camera or a smartphone camera. Videos can drive traffic to your client’s site.
• Suggest clients provide trivia/poll questions related to their brand to engage consumers.
• Get clients to dive into the conversation. For example, if another brand posts an interesting article, have the client participate in the conversation. It’s crucial not to hide behind your own page and just post your own content all the time. Be active!

How to Make Clients Comfortable with Posting/Sharing Content:

• Create sample posts and share with clients.
• Create possible responses for conversations they can partake in.
• Show them how other, similar brands are engaging.

What We’re Currently Doing to Engage our Clients:

We’ve seen first-hand the benefits of client involvement in social media. Below are some ways our clients are getting involved.

• Each week or every other week, our clients provide a quick tip for people working in their industry, which helps to build engagement.
• With some posts, we include a photo of the employee who provides the content. This way there’s a face associated with a post.
• With the launch of the new Facebook Timeline on March 30, we’ve been asking some of our clients to send old photos, documents, etc. to build Timeline. It’s an easy way to get clients excited and it’s a great way to tell the story of a brand through photos.

Consumers gravitate towards original content that clearly reflects what they value in a brand — not just automated updates from a third party. Lastly, don’t forget to take a deep breath and relax! Social media should be a fun interactive place for both clients and customers.