2. Make strategic social partnerships
Building authentic partnerships with social influencers is a great way to grow an audience and give more social currency to a brand, according to speakers. Snap Kitchen partnered with the popular Whole30 diet program, which aligned with the brand's health-focused menu. Snap allowed one of the Whole30 founders to take over the brand’s Instagram for a day, and during that takeover the chain gained 1,700 followers.
An emphasis on social partnerships may be the next big thing in social media, according to Elizabeth Pigg, a social media expert at Edelman, a firm that has worked with clients such as Darden Restaurants, the parent of Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse and Yard House. It leads to quality content over quantity, she said.
Pigg gave the example of brands working with established media partners, like Tasty on Buzzfeed, to create bespoke content from a publisher that already has a captive audience and is known for high quality.