If you’ve been following our blog, you’ve been conditioned and trained on how to maintain and grow your social media outlets.
Now I’m telling you to give it up… Yes, you heard right. Give your social media account to someone else – but just for a day. This is a new trend in the digital marketing world called “account takeover.”
An account takeover is when a social media outlet is handed over to a person followers would find of interest to showcase what a typical day for them is like.
These pictures are taken from a Capital One credit card’s “What’s in your wallet?” campaign. The company gave the Instagram keys over to some chosen celebrities to post pictures of interesting artifacts in their wallet – showing the sentimental, not the functional things.
You’re probably thinking, “Pfft! Well, how in the world am I going to get a celebrity to takeover my small business’ social media page?!” I’m here to tell you, account takeovers aren’t just for big companies and organizations. It has a place in the world of small business as well.
Why account takeovers?
Through account takeovers, it switches up your everyday, typical content you share on your social media. It’s something new and exciting your followers haven’t seen from you yet, therefore (hopefully!) increasing engagement with them.
Takeovers are also a great way build up your brand in a genuine way (as mentioned back in our Chewbacca post) and reach new audiences through your “celebrity’s” followers.
How do I find someone to “takeover” my account?
Look no further than right in your own building! You have a plethora of opportunities to highlight “a day in the life of…” It could be the small business owner who takes over the account for the day. Just snap a few photos of what happens on a day-to-day basis from behind the scenes.
An alternative to the owner account takeover is an employee. Let them show all the details of their day at work. Let them show how they start the day at the business by getting things in order, working with customers throughout the day, or closing up shop. Show what it’s like to work in that small business and why they love their job. Remember, it doesn’t have to be extravagant or perfect. Be genuine and have fun.
Pro-tip: make sure to get the customer’s permission if you take a picture and plan to post it!
Another unique perspective to have takeover your account would be from a mascot or business pet. Being from a small town, many businesses had pets that were adopted and hung around the building. Tell the audience what is going on in the store from your four-legged friend’s perspective. This definitely worked for me (the millennial), seeing as I’m actually friends with a “Napa Battery Cat” on my personal Facebook page. Animals make everything better, right?
On the other side of the spectrum, you could host an account takeover by your customers. Start by promoting an event to get people into the store. Once you’ve got them in the building, go engage in conversations with them. See what they’re buying today or what their plans are with your product. Let them tell their story of what they’re doing and why they came to your business for help. Again, make sure you get their permission to post pictures.
As I usually do in my blog posts, some things to note –
- Do not go into this quickly or blindly. As with anything, take time to plan out all the details and create some brand objectives for this campaign. Have goals for your takeover and plan clear expectations (specific numbers are great!) It’s essential that you fully think through this process before diving in head first.
- One of the most beneficial parts of account takeovers is during the promotion. Before the takeover occurs, get your followers excited, create a hashtag and cross-promote it on your social media.
- Don’t forget to evaluate your results! Some areas you could track include: total increase of followers to social channel post-takeover, total of hashtag mentions, total business leads generated, funds raised (if you’re doing this to raise money for a certain cause), etc.
Like trying anything new, it can difficult and scary to give up your social media accounts (aka practically your baby that you’ve worked so hard to raise), but I assure you – this can beneficial and fun for your small business. So get to planning and let that social media be taken over!