If you’ve been following me around on Instagram and Facebook this week, you might think that I’ve spent the week partying it up at Disney’s Yacht Club Resort.

 I danced with Lilo by the water: 

I ate a pretzel shaped like Mickey Mouse:

 Aaaaaand I ate some more: 

That’s the story I decided to share because had I posted pictures of what was actually going on (i.e. me complaining that I have a headache, taking notes while listening to speakers, cyber-stalking people and companies), I wouldn’t have gotten any love on those pictures.

Social media is tricky and you need to know your audience (and I do, you Disney freaks). That is why I’ve spent the week at the Ragan Social Media Conference for PR, Marketing and Corporate Communications at Disney World (longest name ever).

And here are my takeaways (feel free to steal them for your own personal and professional gain):

• What makes great content? It is customer-driven, it authentically showcases your brand, it feels honest and conversational.
• There are four inputs to consider to put out great content:
  • Content strategy input: Who is your target customer? What do they want? What are they social media usage behaviors?
  • Landscape perspective: Get perspective on what others (your competitors) are doing to inform your approach.
  • Brand fit: Strike the right balance between driving business priorities and being authentic within social. What are your key messages?
  • Performance data: Social media usage, etc.
• We learned:
  • Sometimes your phone is all you need to produce a video. You’re seeing it now with mobile journalism. All you need is a tripod, a mic and an editing app like ProCam or Filmic Pro. 
  • Never film a vertical video. This YouTube video has haunted my dreams since college and now it’ll be a reminder for you.
  • The best videos are short, simple, visually interesting and gives the viewer something they can’t live without. It is only okay to post a long video if your content is emotional (like this tearjerker). No one wants to see talking heads being held hostage in a board room.
  • Tell your own story, be your own publisher. There are so many free distribution channels and reporters now tap into social media for stories since technology has removed many cost barriers.
  • Don’t be self-serving with your posts. One of the cool things that Southwest Airlines does is scour user-generated content on social media to find stories and turn them into full-blown campaigns with videos, social posts and this generates media coverage for the airline. Here are two examples: uno y dos.
  • Live streaming is not going away (well, maybe on Meerkat, but I am team Periscope).
  • Most importantly: Be concise, be conversational, be creative and be compelling.

There’s obviously tons more that I left out, but this blog post will probably be my least popular one since I’m not complaining about something or sharing a funny story about me tripping. Follow along on Twitter for more: #RaganDisney. 

Any fun plans for the weekend? 

xx