And The 7-Step Roadmap To Help You Get Started

2020 had been an eventful year for everyone all around the world. From facing an environmental crisis, BLM protests, societal distress and not to mention the global pandemic, humanity faced a lot of pressing issues and concerns that made us rethink our values and how we live our lives.

We became more conscious.

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Consciousness, in simple terms, means having awareness or knowledge about ourselves and what’s happening around us. With the presence of social media and the internet, we were able to stay in the pulse of news from all over the world even if we were stuck at home. Especially when we were stuck at home.

Spending less time outdoors made us dig deep into ourselves. What do I believe in? What can I do? What shall I educate myself on? These are only a few questions that most of us faced.

As a result, we wanted to connect with people and brands that aligned with our own values. For example, people demanded their favourite brands to use their platform to give voice to the BLM movement. Transparency, authenticity and impact were at the forefront of communications.

The community changed. Rather, the community reconnected with their own internal compass. As more and more people are becoming more conscious about the clothes they wear, the food they eat or what they say online, they are also expecting brands to be conscious about how they do things.

Looking at how social media plays a huge role in a brand or business, it’s no question that social media should be approached consciously, too.

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What does “conscious social media” mean?

Conscious Social Media means being aware of who your community is, what defines them and what they need in order to provide a solution or address their pain point. It means mindfully setting intentions that serve your community and align with your business goals. By doing so, you then carefully map out a strategy that will help you achieve said intentions or goals.

Decision makers can be conscious about their supply chain, hiring process and operations but it’s about time for social media to be approached consciously.

They need and want to know that the brands they support align with their own values. It makes them feel good knowing they support brands who are advocating for the same ideas as they do. Your community is requiring you to be conscious and the first thing they will look into is your social media.

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Where do we begin?

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1 - Get to know your brand

What do you stand for? What pain point are you solving? What impact do you want to have? Do you exist simply for making profit or do you have a purpose?

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2 - Get to know your community

Identify their interests, the brands they follow, the advocacies they support, their lifestyle, their needs and wants… basically, get to know them by heart.

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3 - Build an intentional social media strategy

How do you want to impact your community? When they think of your brand or look at your posts and conversations with them, how would you like them to feel? What would you like them to think? What’s your vision for your brand? Does it align with what you community needs?

Set intentions and goals that align with your community and business and carefully design a strategy or roadmap that will take you there. In anything and everything that you decide, do things ON purpose WITH purpose.

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4 - Create honest content

Honest content means content that stays true to what you believe in as a brand. It shows your passion and dedication in providing value to your community. Honest content embodies your brand — its philosophy, personality and value.

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5 - Engage authentically

Each connection you make online must be meaningful.

People connect with people. People crave authenticity. If you want a strong, engaged and supportive community, it’s time to be real. Remember, no bot or AI can ever replace the value and impact of a human’s personal touch.

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6 - Make use of insights and analytics

Part of being aware is constantly gaining knowledge. Analytics is a powerful tool for you to understand what is or isn’t resonating with your community. Identify the right metrics to measure and monitor its performance closely on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Use these data to revisit and rehash your strategy.

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7 - Be adaptable

Social media is always changing. New features are being added every few months and new platforms will continuously pop up.

Additionally, people (and the entire world), are constantly changing, too. Change is inevitable. You have to accept that it is so and be able to adapt.

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We’re already using social media consciously. What’s next?

Let me be clear in saying that conscious social media does not necessarily mean that you are required to make a statement about each and every issue. It’s about being aware of the concerns of the world, knowing where you stand and being prepared so that when someone asks you about your stance on a specific issue, you know how to respond on the onset.

However, you may also choose to use your social media and brand as a platform to voice out related issues and advocacies. These are called impact conversations.

Creating impact conversations means you are bringing relevant issues in front of your community so that you can help give context, provide information, spark discussions, bring forth or come up with solutions and drive action.

Whether you choose to use your social media to make an impact or not, conscious social media means constantly educating yourself with what’s going on with the world and only using trusted & verified sources of information. It’s about being transparent of your conscious efforts, not because you’re bragging about it but because it’s what your community wants to hear from you.

How conscious is your social media?

Conscious social media is not just a trend. It’s a paradigm shift that we all can’t ignore and it’s time for brands to keep up with the times. So let me ask you this, how conscious is your social media?

Download our 7-Step Roadmap To Conscious Social Media here.