Kindergarten Lessons Can Help Your Social Media Strategy

If you haven’t noticed yet, social media is no longer just a way to keep in touch with friends and share pictures of your dinner. It has now become a crucial part of every marketing strategy, and if you’re not on social media, well, you need to be. Creating a social media presence can seem like a daunting task, but the truth is, it really isn’t as complicated as it seems. In fact, many of the basic principles may seem very familiar.
It’s been just about twenty years since I put on my uniform and headed off to my first day of Kindergarten, but the lessons learned in those first years of school are lessons I still use in my everyday life. As luck may have it, these basic life lessons are very similar to the lessons we offer to companies who are new to the world of social media. Keep reading to find out how Kindergarten lessons can help your social media strategy.

Sharing is Caring

We all know having to share our favorite toys wasn’t always fun and often led to tears and a timeout. However, learning to share is a huge part of childhood and growing up. When it comes to social media, sharing is a crucial part of the success of any business on any platform. If you see something on social media that you like or relate to, hit that share button and let your followers see. Everyone on social media is trying to be seen, and when you help others get their message out, you start to build connections and will engage with people who will hopefully return the favor.
Besides sharing other people’s content, it is also very important to share content of your own. If you have created any blog posts, whitepapers, infographics, etc. it is important to share them on social media which will engage your followers and drive them to your website. It’s also beneficial to share interesting images that will draw people in and keep them wanting more.

Listen

When you’re five, listening isn’t always the easiest. However, it is an important life lesson as well as a crucial part of social media. If you don’t listen, you won’t succeed. By listening to your clients, employees, and others in your industry, you are able to gain valuable information about your own business and others in the industry. Listen to what people are saying about your product or service, and use that knowledge to understand what you’re doing right and what may need some work. Today, people go straight to social media to leave a review, good or bad. Take the time to listen to what they have to say, and reply to their reviews, whether they are negative or positive.

Everyone Loves Story Time

I don’t know about you, but my favorite part of the day in Kindergarten was when all the kids would crowd around the teacher and listen to a story filled with colorful characters in magical places. Although we aren’t sitting on the floor listening to a children’s book, as marketers, we are telling stories everyday. Marketing is about storytelling, and effectively using storytelling in your social media marketing efforts can be a great way to create a solid brand. Read more about storytelling in  one of our previous blogs.
Seth Godin once said “Marketing is no longer about the stuff that you make but about the stories you tell.” In today’s world, there is so much “stuff” for consumers to choose from, however, if they connect with a company or brand, they are going to be more likely to buy that product or use that service. People don’t want to follow a business or brand that posts boring content, but if you have an interesting story to tell, you will keep your followers engaged and build strong connections.

Play Nice With Others

As kids, we learned the golden rule – treat others as you would like to be treated. More than likely, you parents and teachers had to remind you of that over the years. It was hard as children, and it can still be hard to bite your tongue when you feel as if you aren’t being treated nicely. On social media, people are bold. Many will say things they would never say to a person face-to-face, and there may be times your business or brand is the subject of their negative comment or review.
It is very important to remain calm, and be nice to everyone on social media, even if they are not returning the favor. In a world of screenshots, nothing is ever really deleted, so if you lose your cool and snap on social media, people won’t forget. It is often best to not immediately reply to a negative comment, but to instead take the conversation offline where you can talk to the person and find a solution.

If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try Again

When we were young, we were constantly learning new things, and being reminded that we may not be perfect at everything on the first try. We had to keep in mind that failing is OK, and to just keep trying. The same goes for marketing. Like with any type of marketing, everything is not always going to work. One strategy may not be right for your business, but there are a million other things you can try that may be a better fit. Social media is all about trial and error, and what works for one company may not work for you. It is important to remember to take note of what doesn’t work and what does, so you can create a strategy that will bring you the most engagement and success.
All these lessons (and many more!) that we learned at a very young age helped us learn and grow into the adults we are today. While our Kindergarten teacher didn’t teach us how to measure the reach of an instagram post or run an ad campaign on facebook, the lessons they did teach us are the basics for success on whichever social media platform you may choose. If you’re new to social media, or have been doing it for years, keep these tips in mind and don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be!

About the Author

Cailyn_Chrystal_ProfileCailyn Chrystal is a Project Manager at 898 Marketing.  Cailyn develops strategies and manages implementation of content through social media channels for 898 Marketing and it’s clients, as well as optimization strategies for websites and content. Cailyn is a native of Youngstown, Ohio, and a graduate of Duquesne University where she earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing Communications.