Let's Throw a Party

Social media can be compared to throwing a party. Don’t worry, I didn’t believe it at first either when I read that sentence. However, a book called, “Social Media Marketing” by Jason McDonald explains how throwing a party and social media go hand in hand. A party is about showing up, enjoying what the party has to offer and then leaving. Social media is about logging on to a platform, enjoying what the platform has to offer and then logging off. In that context, they’re almost the same exact thing.

Throwing a party and attending a party are two completely different concepts. Throwing a party requires a greater amount of effort than just showing up to a party does. For example, if you are the host of a party you must send out invitations, provide entertainment and host the party until everyone leaves. As you might’ve guessed, it is the same ordeal when on social media. The invitations refer to promotion; identify a target audience and create tactics to make them “show up” to your profile or page. The entertainment can be related to the content of your information on your social media platforms. What content can you provide to make people want to be on your page or profile? Lastly, hosting a party correlates to managing social media. It is important to constantly be analyzing your content and updating it to interact with users.

When you go to a party, it usually feels like the person hosting didn’t put a lot of effort in to the party. The hosts just invited people, provided a few snacks maybe and just get to hang out until everyone leaves. The is known as the element of illusion. Hosting a party is harder than it appears to be, which if you’ve ever thrown one you would know. There is an incredible amount of strategy, planning and hard work that goes in to planning and throwing a party. The same goes for managing and marketing social media. Campaigns, posts, hashtags, etc., all seem effortless. The reality of social media is things take strategic tactics to promote and grow.

Whether it’s throwing a party for people to attend or managing a social media account for people to visit, both require similar work. It’s important to stay positive and remember the big picture. Marketing a party or a social media platform are big commitments that require your full attention. Once you identify goals, the hard work mostly becomes promotion, entertainment and enjoying the result.