Social media is a universal tool to share news and increase awareness on anything from glow-in-the-dark laces to the US elections. When it comes to reaching, connecting and interacting with the EU’s influencers, there are certain social media steps to follow that are specially helpful to Brussels bubblers.

Here are 10 basic steps to get you started and on your way to captivating an EU audience.

1) It’s all about content, relevance and timing

Discussing what’s going on now and where it’s happening is very important. Make your posts/tweets are timely. Social media is about what's happening right now.

2) It’s not all about you

Stop going on about your holiday in Spain, or your new shoes, no one cares. Don't just promote yourself. You can tell people what you’re up to. But social media is more about facts, figures and cat pictures. A good balance is 70% (or more) for your audience and 30% (or less) self-promotional.

3) Test the water before you jump!

Find an angle, understand your audience and put yourself in their virtual shoes.

Ask yourself the following question: who are you talking to? Remember that some content/topics/languages are not interesting for your (potential) EU audience.

4) There’s a whole online community out there!

Use the social media community to your advantage. Add links to your posts/tweets, add your opinion to someone’s content, tag people in a post and start/join a discussion.

Just retweeting is great. Adding a personal comment and bringing added value on top of a retweet is better. Use the “add a comment” feature on Twitter.

5) Swallow your pride, ask for help!

Other social media users will be discussing your topic. Ask for a retweet/share in a public or private message!

On Twitter, asking for a retweet quadruples your chances of getting it.

6) Ready, aim, fire

Are you trying to meet or get the attention of an influencer? Direct tweets and direct messages are a great way to engage with them without spamming the rest of your followers.

Don’t try and get them to come to you, when it’s so easy to go straight to them.

7) Be brief and catchy

You have 140 characters. Don't feel like you have to use them all. On Twitter, less is more! The EU bubble is complicated enough, bring a simple approach. Hit a nerve.

8) Beware of trolls or monsters and lookout for superheroes

Some Brussels bubblers are Twitter legends. Get to know who they are and learn how to interact with (or avoid) them.

Troll

Monster

Superheroes





EU snarks, satirists & parody accounts

Source: Alice Stollmeyer

9) Look back, data is your friend

We aren't all experts in social media. But we all have access to simple tools that show what works and what doesn’t. Use them to see what writing style suits your audience and what hashtags work better than others.

Twitter Analytics - Facebook insights (to name a couple)

10) Don’t hide behind your screen

Events are a great place to meet and socialise with your online community. Live tweeting increases your stance on a topic or a policy. Be part of the debate.

The #EUTweetUp events are a good way to meet people in person.

Conclusion

There is no perfect recipe for attracting followers.

You will eventually come up with your own way of doing social media. There's not one way of doing it. Everyone can achieve results using different strategies.

Make sure you enjoy the experience.

This blog post was written by Freddie Martyn & Maxime Sattonnay.