Spring Cleaning Your Social Media

Ah, Spring – the flowers are blooming, and birds are chirping. Spring cleaning is traditionally when we are busy decluttering and organizing our home. It’s time to add one more item to the Spring-cleaning list -- your sisterhood’s social media. When you don’t clean up your social media pages, the dust bunnies will come out in full force. But, if you put a little polish on them, your sisterhood or district pages will shine in the eyes of your followers.

Here are six Spring cleaning tips to get your social media in shape:

UPDATE YOUR INFORMATION

Let’s start with the basics. Since social media helps to attract new members and engage existing ones, then the number one priority is to ensure that the ABOUT section is up to date. Be sure all the fields are filled out so that you have complete and accurate information. Next, consider your cover photo and profile picture: Is it current or is it from 10 years ago? Does the ABOUT/BIO section have a current phone number and email address? Have you included the @address so people can find your page easily? (e.g., WRJ is @wrj1913). Do people know who to contact with questions? Be sure to update your mission statement in the DESCRIPTION section to reflect the group you are in today.

CREATE A CONTENT CALENDAR

Creating a social media content calendar is the easiest way to continue and increase engagement with your group. A content calendar includes pre-determined days that you will be posting. For example, every Monday are posts of upcoming events. If your group doesn’t have anything happening right now, consider posting an upcoming WRJ event that can be found on Yammer in the Online Programming group. Wednesdays could consist of sharing relevant articles. Some important accounts to follow for articles are ReformJudaism.org, the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, and of course, Women of Reform Judaism. Fridays would be nice to share a Shabbat Shalom message. Sprinkle in postings of member highlights and current events, and you have yourself a content calendar!

REVIEW THE TIMING OF POSTS

It’s not enough to only post on social media; we need to be mindful of timing when our items go out. According to Google Analytics, posts get the most traction in news feeds Monday through Friday, between 8:00-10:00 am and again from 5:00-7:00 pm. It defeats the purpose if we’re posting when no one is browsing on their phone to see it. 

CREATE YOUR ‘ALGORITHM ALLIES’ TEAM

Did you know that if a Facebook/Instagram post doesn’t get a LIKE or SHARE in the first 30 seconds to one minute, it will fall off the news feed of your followers? Create the ‘Algorithm Allies’, a group consisting of 3 to 4 members who are alerted before each posting. Their responsibility is to LIKE, COMMENT, and/or SHARE immediately when the post goes live, thereby, creating traction and visibility for your posts. A wonderful way to engage members in your leadership is to invite them to become an Algorithm Ally!

REVIEW AND DEBRIEF

Review, Review, Review. Both annually and monthly, it’s important to review which posts do well and which do not. Are your posts asking open-ended questions to invite engagement with your group like ‘what’s your favorite hamantaschen?’ Notice what time of day and which day has the most successful statistics. By gathering these tidbits, your leadership can create a new strategy and try again.

APPOINT A SOCIAL MEDIA CHAIR

Maybe social media isn’t your thing. That’s okay! There are plenty of women who are fully engaged in social media. If you don’t already have one, it’s time to appoint a Social Media Chair. This is a wonderful way to connect and engage someone who is not already part of your group! Your Chair’s sole responsibility is to post events, share relevant articles and weekly content. Your chair should try for at least three posts a week. This can be achieved by simply sharing/reposting WRJ’s weekly content or hopefully, adding your own group’s monthly happenings. Your Social Media Chair should take the time each month to send out personal invitations to ‘LIKE/FOLLOW’ the group as well.

Spring cleaning doesn’t always have to be a chore. Just like a nicely organized closet, an organized social media plan should give you a sense of relief and encouragement for a bright future.

Jenn Daley is the current Marketing & Communications Chair for WRJ. She is the immediate past president of WRJ Southwest District and a past president of Gates of Prayer Sisterhood in Metairie LA and Beth Shalom Sisterhood in Arlington TX. Professionally, she is the Director of Grants, Marketing & Communications for the Jewish Endowment Foundation of Louisiana.