The power of a social media takeover

What exactly is a social media takeover and what can it do for our brand? All this and more in this article by none other than… well it’s still me, sorry.

What exactly is a social media takeover and what can it do for our brand? All this and more in this article by none other than... well it's still me, sorry.

How appropriate, an Israeli talking about a takeover

Yeah, well, that’s what they call it, a social media takeover, so get over it.

Besides, who best to talk about it, no?

What are you talking about, Shay?

Remember when you were watching all your favorite actors on TV and then suddenly Reality TV came around and said “No, now you’re gonna watch your friends make asses of themselves on our TV shows, so that you’ll want to watch TV more.”

So a social media takeover is more or less the same thing: instead of getting your social media content from your usual social media manager, creating and curating content for you, you will now get to see one of your favorite YouTuber, Instagrammer or Snapchatter on a totally different channel, talking about some brand or other, as if it’s been their favorite brand for years.

Or perhaps you’re following your favorite YouTuber, Instagrammer or Snapchatter on YouTube, Instagram or Snapchat, and suddenly they say: “Yo, dudes and dudettes, listen up Yo! This sh*t is lit! For the next few days I’m gonna be coming at you from [insert brand name here]’s channel, so follow [brand’s social media channel] and I’ll see you guys on the other side.”

But why do they do that, Shay, why?

Basically, any influencer who tells his followers to check anything out is more than enough to boost that something’s fame upwards.

Now imagine that the same influencer tells his followers that he will be temporarily creating content only through a specific channel. Both the brand’s followers and the influencer’s followers will be curious about what the brand and the influencer will be producing together.

Add some promotion into the mix, like a new product or some other exciting news, and you, my friend, got yourself a social media channel blow-up.

What exactly is a social media takeover all about?

That’s a great question, because “more followers” isn’t always a satisfying answer.

While having the influencer get our page’s follower count a boost is a neat trick, they can unfollow the page just at the same speed as soon as the takeover is… well, over.

Moreover, just as a brand’s elected spokesperson, like someone very high up the ranks or even a movie star chosen to endorse your product, the success of the campaign could be extremely temporary and have a very uncertain effect. Some might hate the person chosen and that could hurt your brand as much as it could help it.

You really need to plan the whole social media takeover shindig out to the detail: from the choice of the influencer, to what he will do or say, and how long it will last.

Author: Shay Stibelman

Digital marketing consultant in Milan, Italy. Born in Israel, raised in Germany by Russian parents. I help small and medium businesses get their digital marketing game on point. Perfect their website, landing pages, funnel marketing and social media strategies, in order to increase ROI and optimize that ever elusive marketing budget.