Ready to have someone take over your social media? At first glance, you might get the wrong impression. We’re not talking about being hacked! Instead, a social media takeover allows someone other than your usual social media manager to run the account for a set period of time.
Why would you do this? Increased publicity, of course! There are a lot of avenues you could take with this. You could ask a specialist in the company to handle it. Or you could bring in the owner of a related business. You might even invite a celebrity to try their hand. In any case, you’ll be trying to attract a new audience by relying on the guest’s special knowledge or fame.
A social media takeover can be like having a guest host on a show. They’re more than simply a guest for an interview; they actually run things. You can work out the topics and the pace with them beforehand. Or you can leave it wide open. But they’ll be the ones creating publications and interacting with the audience.
Forms of Social Media Takeover
There are various angles you could take if you want someone to take over your social media.
One is to allow your guest to simply publish on your account(s) and answer comments. Of course, you’ll want them to remind your audience in each post who they are and why they’re there.
Another idea would be to have an AMA (Ask Me Anything). Your social media manager could still be there coordinating things. But the guest fields the questions. AMA’s are particularly popular on Reddit.
Of course, these are largely text-based. Having a guest video presenter take over your normal video feed is awesome! If they’re a familiar face, even better! A live video allows for more interaction. Your social media manager could help follow the comments and relay questions from your audience to the guest.
Who Should Take Over Your Social Media?
Anyone who can share something of interest makes a good social media takeover guest. If they can engagingly express themselves, they move up to “great!”
Within your company, you might ask the head of a department or specialist in some area. Of course, you want someone knowledgeable who can present the information in a way that will hold attention.
If you want to look outside, cultivate your friendships and business relationships. Of course, it’s often easiest to convince someone to be your guest host if the arrangement is mutually beneficial.
For instance, say you specialize in interior design. Your audience might like to hear from someone who designs bathroom fixtures. You both stand to gain from it – some of their audience may start following you. And some of yours may want to know what they have to offer.
Of course, you could pursue other guest hosts as well. You could even pay someone to join you for it. Again, look for influencers in their field who your audience could benefit from hearing.
When Should You Do A Social Media Takeover?
One of your goals with a takeover could be to increase your audience. However, we wouldn’t recommend doing one right out of the box.
While it can help you grow the audience, it helps to start with a good-sized, loyal audience first. Build that through consistent quality posting. Have other videos where you present. Get people accustomed to interacting with you.
You want your audience to get accustomed to your voice before having another voice on your feed. This increases the “specialness” of the moment. It also makes it easier to spread the word – an existing audience serves to spread the word about what’s going on.
Finally, the larger your audience, the more likely you’ll get quality guests who are willing to come on. Remember, they may be looking for a benefit from it, too.
Conclusion
A social media takeover brings in a new person to run your social media for some time period. This guest host could come from within your company or from outside. It’s a great way to generate buzz, attract new followers, and provide useful information from a new perspective!