When your company is joining forces with another business, it’s easy to get caught up in all the moving parts. From the changes in company structure to the endless meetings, there are so many things to think about that figuring out how to handle your social media presence may be the last thing on your mind. But don’t shirk off your social duties! While you may think managing your social media channels isn’t a priority during the acquisition, think again. Your social media presence is still the online face of your business. How you handle the announcement can affect the relationship you’ve built with your following.
From transferring ownership of a page to merging social media accounts, here are suggestions for each channel for a smooth acquisition on social media:
Come Up With A Plan
One of the most critical aspects of an acquisition is ensuring everyone is on the same page. Come up with a clear plan for how both companies will be handling the transition on their respective social media. For example, announcements should be shared at the same time, and the content that goes up should be thoroughly brand-consistent on both sides. It’s also key to set a clear date for when the transition will happen on social media—while there may be two brands represented on social media, at the end of the acquisition, there will need to be one channel to represent the merged businesses. It’s important to choose which channels will be kept and which ones will be retired. Be proactive and plan out campaigns to help move followers and fans towards the channels that the brand is choosing to move forward with!
Share The Big News
Joining forces with another company is big news and warrants a big announcement! Plan for both brands’ social media channels to share the official news of the merger on the same day and time. Showing a united front between both businesses only makes the companies look stronger as a whole. It’s also a good idea to agree on the exact wording of the joint announcement since there are two different brand voices involved. Once the announcement is made across the various social media channels, prepare to answer responses from followers. Many will have questions about what changes they should be expecting, so get ready for some serious engagement!
Execute A Smooth Transition
Time to officially transition on social media? You can pave the way by preparing ahead of time. Handle the logistics of transferring ownership of each social media channel—each of these has its own set of instructions for shutting down accounts, granting management access, and merging profiles, so do your research and figure out the best solutions for your merging brands. For example, Facebook may allow you to merge pages, but LinkedIn will never merge company pages as it would tamper with their users’ work histories. Grant access to the new social media manager, shut down the accounts that need to be shut down, and aim your focus back on building your growing communities from here.
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