Social Media Takeovers: Exploring Examples and Unlocking Benefits

Inviting a guest to temporarily manage your social accounts is a good analogy for a social media takeover. This person may be well-known and respected, such as an influencer, celebrity, or ardent supporter of your business. They take over sharing material on your behalf, engaging with your audience, and providing new insights.

These mergers are not just for fun; they are strategic moves to build anticipation, promote campaigns or events, and connect with your target demographics. Collaborating with these knowledgeable, creative, and massively popular influencers allows brands to expand their reach, raise awareness, foster engagement, and monetize their online activities. It is like inviting a special guest DJ to your party; they will offer their unique style and stir up the crowd!

Before we check out some cool social media takeover examples, let's chat about why this marketing trick rocks.

When other people takeover the brand's networking accounts, it injects the accounts with new energy, ideas, and perspectives. Just like that, your feed will get a burst of color, those who follow you will be treated to something fresh and interesting, and the routine of viewing the same old postings will be broken.

The followers of the person whose social account you are hosting, such as a guest blogger, tend to float along with them. Your brand will be seen by more individuals, including those who were previously unaware of it.

Choosing well-known content creators to do the takeover can make your brand seem more legitimate and trustworthy. People tend to trust influencers they like, so if they're on board with your brand, others will be too.

Digital takeover can create buzz and get people involved. It's like throwing a party where everyone wants to join in. This boosts interaction and helps build a fun community around your brand.

By keeping an eye on how the takeover is going, you can learn a lot about what your viewers and followers like and how they behave online. This info is pure gold – it helps you make your future marketing stuff even better!

When it comes to digital takeover, there are lots of ways to advertise your brand. You can run contests, give away stuff, have people review your products, or post sponsored content. The type of ad that works best for you depends on what you want to achieve with your influencer marketing plan.

Now, let's check out some real-life examples to see how different campaigns can pay off:

Full Psycle, a fitness company, let one of their instructors, Peach, take over their Instagram Stories. Peach showed what goes on behind the scenes of her day, delivering cycling bikes to people's homes and teaching a virtual class. It was a great way to keep the community active during quarantine.

Sephora, a popular beauty store, teamed up with makeup artist and creator Nikkie de Jager, also known as NikkieTutorials. Nikkie took over Sephora's Instagram and shared her favorite makeup products and tips. This helped Sephora reach Nikkie's big fan base, boosting their brand visibility and interactions.

Fashion influencer Aimee Song took over Revolve's Instagram for a day and ran a giveaway. Fans could win a shopping spree on Revolve's website. During the takeover, Aimee shared her favorite outfits and style tips and chatted with followers in live Q&A sessions. The giveaway got Aimee's followers excited and drew attention to Revolve as a trendy fashion spot.

Here are some easy steps to help you nail your social media takeover:

A takeover is a great time, but it should not stand alone in your marketing plan. Use the SMART framework to collaborate with your influencer on goal-setting:

• Clear: State your goals with precision.
  
• Measurable: Determine a way to monitor your progress.
  
• Achievable: Do not put yourself in a position where you are sure to be disappointed; instead, aim for the manageable.
  
• Relevant: Check if the acquisition is in line with your long-term company objectives.
  
• Time-Bound: Establish due dates to prevent slacking.
  

After you have established your objectives, choose the most appropriate social site to launch your takeover. Consider where your target demographic spends the most time online since various platforms provide unique opportunities for content creation.

A solid plan is key to a successful takeover. Make sure you and your influencer are on the same page about what's expected. And don't forget to share your brand's social style guide – it'll help keep things consistent.

But remember, let your influencer's personality shine through. The point of a takeover is to provide your audience with new and engaging content.

Teaming up with influencers can really boost your takeover's success. Start by making a list of potential collaborators. Check out who's already talking about your brand – they might be perfect for the job.

Once you've got some contenders, dig into their stats. Sure, follower count matters, but so does their engagement rate, past collaborations, and the kind of content they share. You want someone who's authentic and has a real connection with their followers.

• Pre-delivered content:
  This is when influencers create content and share it with you before it goes live. It gives you time to check it out, make any tweaks, and make sure it fits your campaign goals. It's safe, but it means no live interactions between the influencer and your audience.

• Limited permissions:
  Sometimes, giving partial access to your social media accounts works best. Many platforms let you grant collaborators limited access to manage and publish content.

• Password handover:
  Yep, it's a bit risky, but sometimes you gotta hand over the keys. If you use a password manager, you can securely send login details without emailing them. Once the takeover's done, you can change the password and revoke their access.

Sure your audience is excited to tune in is all about developing enthusiasm. Ask your influencer to use certain social platforms to provide hints about the takeover before, during, and after the event, depending on your plan. And when they do, have them include your hashtag or tag you.

Your work will not end until the takeover is completed. What metrics do you use to evaluate your success?

Take a look at your social media profile both before and after. Have you seen the increase in followers that you were hoping for? Was there an increase in reactions to your posts? Did the influencer's posts resonate with your audience?

This is a crucial stage to complete, particularly if you intend to do additional takeover down the road. To improve your strategy for the future, you must first determine what did and did not work. A smart tactic for marketers looking to connect with customers in new ways is to takeover social networking. They alleviate part of the burden of content generation while providing your followers with a glimpse inside your business from the customer's point of view.