Proven Tips for A&D Social Media Content Strategy
Historically there has been some resistance from the defense industry to embrace social media, but that’s no longer a factor. Social media is now an essential part of the aerospace marketer’s toolkit. A&D companies have made significant changes to their social media approach in the past few years. That said, doing it is one thing, but doing it right is another matter.
Effective social media marketing requires a strong content strategy which entails the content itself and where the content belongs. Below are some tips from our experience managing social media efforts for clients in the A&D category.
Tips for High-Impact Content
- Keep the time zone in mind. On average, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. gets the highest click-throughs on Facebook. The worst times are weekends before 8 a.m. and after 8 p.m.
- Be prepared to take advantage of real-time happenings, which we call “opportunistic content.” It doesn’t have to be fancy or over-produced, but it needs to be time-sensitive in order to effectively leverage the opportunity.
- Boost posts with targeting parameters to reach new, like-minded audiences.
- Create a separate content calendar for tradeshows. Live videos under 3 minutes perform the best at shows (thought leadership interviews, product demos, show floor, etc.) Edit longer videos into shorter clips to spread across the duration of the show.
- When it comes to tradeshow content, leverage SMEs. Share quotes or interview excerpts or footage. Content should highlight SME’s role in the event.
- Include video titles that contain keywords or tags that will be helpful for searching. Focus on the most applicable content to catch people’s attention.
Tips for Where Content Belongs
- Facebook: Showcase innovation, company news and events on this platform to current and potential customers, executives, etc.
- Instagram: Platform to post highly engaging original visual content as the demographic on Instagram is younger and very consumer/lifestyle focused.
- LinkedIn: Showcase thought leadership, promote events, feature executive speaking engagements, and bolster recruitment efforts (e.g., employee spotlight/testimonials, positions, job fairs, etc.). Target audience is current and future customers, current and future employees, and other industry influencers or organizations.
- Twitter: Mirror Facebook content, plus retweet timely industry articles from reputable outlets (e.g., Aviation Week, Defense News) and organizations (e.g., Navy League); act as a Q&A hub as appropriate.
Having a robust social media strategy with engaging content is essential, regardless of which industry you are in. While many A&D brands have a presence on social channels, there are many more ways to take advantage of what these platforms offer in terms of brand awareness, thought leadership, and even for generating sales.
Click here to see how GKV established and implemented a social media strategy for L3 Technologies that grew their community by 50K and increased engagement by 96% in the course of one year.
