It’s not too long ago we were hearing of brands racing to a million followers, and seeing their efforts focused on growing an enormous Facebook following on their corporate Page.  We must question if this the right approach for brands with a presence across hundreds of markets. It seems foolish to think that a post made in Halifax can be relevant to someone in Victoria, and in social media, where relevant content is king, this simply isn’t the case.

Brands on the leading edge of social media have already started to shift towards a local social engagement strategy, look no further than Walmart for proof of that. Engaging with fans on a local level helps brands create a more personal and relevant connection with their customers.

Think of it this way, Sally-Jane from Penticton, BC doesn’t go all the way to Toronto to buy a new patio set from Canadian Tire. Instead, she goes down the road to her local store on Railway Street and makes her purchase there. Sally-Jane is more likely to have an appetite for information specific to that location than to the brand as a whole.

Practicing a local engagement strategy offers brands the ability to share relevant promotions, deals and events with their customers, and inevitably leads to a deeper level of engagement. In most cases, brands going local can see up to 10% higher engagement. It isn’t that simple though, brands still need sound strategies to govern and align these local pages to overall communication strategies to get this level of engagement.

This type of strategy requires local managers or employees to be empowered to speak on behalf of your brand on a local level. I know this might seem like a prescription for disaster, but once the proper guidelines and training are in place, success is at your fingertips.  Maintaining an official social media policy and establishing rules of engagement are tools that will help set ground rules for your employees’ and will help build the social media sandbox they’re allowed to play in.

Using the right tool for the job will also help quell your uneasiness about letting your brand’s voice rest in the hands of local employees, and at Suitcase we use Expion to ease those uncertainties. It’s formed around a hub and spoke model where governance plays a big role. The hub is formed around a social media centre of excellence that as Jerimiah Owyang describes, facilitates resource sharing and cross-functional communications via the spokes to the eventual end consumer. Corporate can share their best content with local managers and local managers can share their best practices.

This tool also helps us set parameters and implement different layers of approvals to ensure that any message being pushed out in your social networks is appropriate and on-brand.

Letting go of your brand voice in the social space can be a chilling thought, but as more brands move onto Facebook, the ones providing relevant content to their followers are more likely to find success. So when you’re thinking of how you want your brand to interact in the social space, keep Sally-Jane in mind, and think if she’s willing come all the way down to your head office to buy the latest and greatest product you’re offering.

Category: Engagement Marketing, Facebook Marketing, Local Marketing, Social Media Marketing, Uncategorized