Social media encompasses a wide range of platforms and apps and allows its users to create and share content with the public. Being free, simple and convenient makes social media one of the most commonly used platforms by businesses to promote brands, market services and products.

It is, however, easy to get side-tracked or carried away with bad jokes, and untimely scheduling which can leave brands in an extremely uncomfortable position. Scrambling to remove the post, and posting apologies can often leave staff working around the clock to save face.

You might recall when US Air Force tweeted about hearing Laurel/Yanny rather than the noise of A10 bombs dropping. Or Miele’s International Women’s Day misfire in reinforcing the 1950s housewife stereotype. #boyohboy let’s not get caught out ourselves. The following hints and tips on content creation and communication will help in avoiding the blunders made in the past.

1. Consider your audience

Think target market. Who are you communicating to, what will appeal to them, and structure your content accordingly. If your average member is a 35-year-old female that only drinks wine, then inundating this member with details of beer specials will not serve you, it will annoy her and have her looking elsewhere for a venue that she knows offers specials on wine.

2. Bring value and relevance

Engage your audience and add value by providing relevant content. The quality and relevancy of what you put out can increase your following, engagement and lead to higher traffic through your front doors from both locals and travellers.

3. Be responsible for what you write

Your club and your staff need to take responsibility for what they write and exercise good judgement and common sense. Make sure the club has a social media policy and that all who have access to the club’s social media accounts are aware and adhere to the policy.

4. Engage with others

You want to be ‘followed’ on social media and one of the best ways to do this is to engage with others. ‘Like’ and post content from clubs, people in your industry, and share posts that are relevant to your audience. Have conversations with your audience, respond to their comments and posts. The more people you engage with, the more people will engage with you and be interested in what you’re doing next!

5. Grow your ‘following’

Engaging with others is one way as mentioned above, but every single day we’re noticing new trends in how to grow your following organically. Publishing stories, reels and videos is trending right now. Utilise these tools to attract attention and engagement:

• Try adding available stickers (polls, quizzes, questions)
• #Hashtags are beneficial as users discover content by searching certain hashtags and scrolling through related posts for a particular tag. You can use up to 30 hashtags, use these 30 hashtags 30 times and then try new ones – make sure they are relevant and specific.
• Use Geotags – as with hashtags, if you tag a city or location, people following these will discover your content.
• Use IGTV to reuse and, repurpose if you like, your popular video content. Greatest opportunity here is to show off your best footage and engage your audience.
• Experiment with paid posts to promote your brand, events, special offers etc

6. Exercise good judgment 
Share your opinion sure but do refrain from comments that may be interpreted as derogatory, misleading or demeaning. With the internet already being full of opinions, be careful of what you are saying and make sure you are not breaking confidentiality in any way.

7. Respect copyrights and fair use

This point is universally known but always be sure to give respective people proper credit for their work, and make sure you have the right to use something before you post or share it.

8. Remember to protect confidential information

Once you hit send on a post, remember that there is a chance it will be in the world forever. Forever seen by anyone and everyone and can never fully be removed. So be sure to share information you would be happy for anyone to see.

I have learnt these tips over time and find them useful to remember each time I post or share. They are certainly not the be all and end all of tips, but I hope they help you like they help me every day. Obtain a copy of your club or organisations social media policy and incorporate the above tips into your plan. If you’re interested to learn more, there are many short courses in social media offered online.