Relevancy on Social Media: How Current Events Improve Support
Writing about current events and the economy is almost always tricky. It’s difficult to find a balance between starting lively discussions, being offensive and boring your readers.
So it can be difficult to write a post that will spark a lot of social media engagement in the form of comments and shares.
For the economics industry and beyond, it’s important to make your writing current and accessible. No matter what kind of blog post you’re writing, engagement is key to attracting large amounts of readers.
There are a couple ways to use current events to improve readership and support for your social media.
Real Time Marketing
If you’re thoughtful, yet quick, current events can be an effective way to promote your brand or business. With all of the social media platforms out there, most companies that respond to current events the fastest typically get the most views, shares, retweets, etc.
For example, during the Super Bowl black out, Oreo tweeted to fans “you can still dunk in the dark.” In this case, their quick response to the current event spread rapidly throughout social media and scored them thousands of retweets.
But if you look at a few more examples of companies who tried to use social media to get involved in current events, you’ll see how important it is think about:
Subject matter. If the current event is violent, sensitive or unsettling in nature, you should decide if it’s worth posting about. You don’t want viewers to feel like you’re taking advantage of an event they’re upset about to promote your business.
Controversy. You don’t want to quickly respond to a current event without examining how controversial the issue is. If your tweet or post appears to be taking a side—even if you didn’t intend for that—certain readers may be offended, and your real time marketing effort could backfire.
However, if you’re considerate about the situation or it’s an inoffensive event like the Super Bowl blackout, quick responses to current events can help increase engagement.
Be Positive and Constructive
If you’re going to write an article about a current event, whether it’s worldwide or industry-related, it won’t be successful if you don’t come up with any solutions.
Not many readers want to continue reading about the negative aspects of the economy or your industry. You don’t have to embellish—be honest about dark, low points. But your article should move in a direction that makes readers positive and hopeful. Clarity Way’s blog does this well. When drug addiction rehab and alcohol addiction recovery produce the core group of your clients, it’s important to maintain a positive tone and appear supportive and understanding. Honesty is part of their service, but they make sure to lend a comforting hand in the darkest times.
Discuss ways the event affects readers, and if you can come up with practical solutions they can relate to, your content will be highly successful.
To engage readers in comments and on social media, you don’t want to seem like you’re complaining or ranting. You want to write about current events in a positive, constructive light.
Avoid Using Complex Concepts
You should write about the current event in a way that makes sense to every reader. Even if the event is typically written about using complex concepts, readers will get bored if they have to read that.
To attract the most viewers and to increase engagement, don’t distance yourself from readers by using industry jargon.
If readers can connect with the content, they’ll be more likely to share it or respond to it. To employ this tactic, take some notes from PHCC, the Plumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association for America. They support over 3,500 local plumbing organizations like SECCO heating services and Mr. Rooter Oneida. PHCC uses polls that change on their homepage in order to actively engage their members, as well as garner important data so that they may provide more for their loyal members down the road.
If you do it thoughtfully, writing about current events can improve your social media presence and increase support for your brand or business. Stay informed and on top of the news; readers will appreciate being able to look to you as a positive source.
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