Edge Music Network aims to build its audience through an effective social media strategy. It plans to utilize Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as its main channels to target its Generation X demographic. The strategy involves creating consistent branding across channels, using visual content such as photos and videos to engage audiences, and monitoring performance through analytics to improve outreach. Edge will also work to regularly interact with followers to strengthen relationships and provide quality content.

1. Edge Music Network Social Media Strategy
A basic social media strategy that will give Edge the ability to build, engage, and monitor an
audience.
Social media is an important tool for businesses to use in order to stand out amongst all
of the noise in the digital world. By creating visually captivating content, Edge Music Network
can expect positive brand enhancement by utilizing various social media channels. Most
importantly, utilizing social media will allow Edge to better reach their target audience.
Social media gives companies the advantage of organic marketing, making it one of the
most cost effective means of enhancing the awareness of a brand. According to Brian Vogel of
Fanmail, social media is the voice and personality of the brand, and is an outlet to be used to
compel audiences. Social media is not only expressive, but a means of engaging with an
audience. According to Social Media Today, engaging with an audience creates brand trust and
strengthens relationships with adamant users. People want to hear back from a brand, and
social media is the most effective means of directly reaching the audience due to its immediacy
and accessibility.
In order to create the most effective content and reach out to a target audience, we
suggest that Edge utilize a social media strategy that will accomplish:
1. Implement the use of content calendars to monitor social media performance.
2. Channel progress through analytics
3. Take advantage of effective content to grow audience.
The following sections will include an audience overview, an audit of Edge’s current
social media channels, and specialized and general strategies for implementation.

2. Audience and Social Media:
Pew Research Center has reported that as of January 2014, 74% of online users have a
presence on social media. Among this 74% is the target demographic of Edge Music Network:
Generation X (Individuals born from 1965-1980). Pew reports that 86% of Generation X is online
daily, and 78.7% are streaming or downloading videos and overall, 71% of online adults use
video sharing sites such as Vimeo or Youtube.
Pew reports that 42% of online adults use multiple
networking sites, but Facebook is the dominant
platform of choice. eMarketer reports 65.6% of Gen
X have used Facebook in the past month and as of
2013, 71% of overall online adults use Facebook.
Media Bistro reports that since 2013, Twitter now
has 204 million active users, growing 48% from 2012
to 2013. It is estimated by eMarketer that 19.5% of Gen X’s tweets will reach all audience by
2017.
Based on these numbers, it is suggested that Edge utilize Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube
as their main social media channels to best target their demographic as well as create reach t
other audiences.
Edge Social Media Audit:

3. An audit of Edge’s Facebook and Twitter was completed on October 8th, 2014 in order to
target and resolve issues. Edge currently utilizes Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest,
Instagram, and Google+. These channels are not currently available on the Edge website. Brian
Vogel of Fanmail suggests using Twitter and Facebook as the main social media channels of
branding because they are heavily populated.
Twitter: Edge inconsistently posts Tweets.
Posts are sporadic from August to September,
with an increase in Tweets from September 16th
to September 30th to promote IndieGoGo. Edge
repeatedly asks followers to retweet their posts
daily. When a follower retweets or if an
individual follows Edge, Edge reciprocates by thanking them, which is unnecessary in most
situations.
Edge uses 2-3 hashtags per tweet. Hashtags do not
give context to the purpose of the tweet and are
not necessarily relevant to Edge’s message. Edge
does not select hashtags that are trending and
could potentially boost reach to an audience.
According to Mashable, Edge’s misuse of hashtags
can be considered spam and will hurt the credibility of the business.
Edge’s Twitter feed hardly includes any visual content. All posts are geared toward gaining
retweets from followers, do not engage followers, and are not relevant to Edge’s brand. Edge

4. has posted a video of a Yacht, a Vimeo of Elevate, a brain-boosting app, and continuously
tweets “I liked a @youtube video…” including a music video, which spamthe feed.
Facebook: Posts on Facebook demonstrate better consistency than Twitter, however,
Edge continues to beg Facebook friends to like and share their posts, and there are gaps
between posts from June 18th to August 8th, August 8-21st, and September 30th to October 14th.
Edge posted 2-3 times per day from September 16th through the 30th, however, Edge posted
six times on September 26th and 7 times on
September 30th, and did not post again until October
14th. Edge uses 2-3 hashtags per post. Edge still
demonstrates misuse by posting hashtags irrelevant
to their content and, according to Mashable, the
practice of using hashtags on Facebook has not
caught on since its inception in 2013. Some posts
included graphics, but were promotional and not
visually engaging. Vogel, Mashable, and Hootsuite suggest not being outwardly promotional
because followers are not receptive. Followers and Facebook friends are wary of “veiled
advertisements” and will unfriend or unfollow. Above all, users will find overly promotional
posts annoying. Mashable and Vogel suggest adopting a content strategy that appeals to the
emotions of a brand’s target demographic.
It is suggested that Edge Music Network adapt a social media strategy in order to build
audience. The following sections will include specialized strategies for Facebook, Twitter, and

5. Youtube in order to create effective content across the channels, and an overall strategy
including how to maintain consistency, how to monitor, and how to engage.
Specialized Strategies:
Each social media channel selected varies in the manner in which content is delivered.
Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube will be discussed individually in the strategy as follows.
Facebook: Since its inception in 2004, Facebook has become the most dominant social
media platform to date and it is crucial that Edge builds a presence on the channel. Hootsuite
and Media Bistro suggest utilizing visual content, as it is the most successful means of capturing
an audience.
Vogel suggests creating a boosted post campaign on Facebook. These boosted posts
would include photos, videos, or teasers and would be light in text. Vogel emphasizes that
boosted posts must contain creative imagery and suggests keeping the text light. With boosted
posts, Edge will be able to specify target geographies and demographic interests and select a
duration for how long the post will run. The cost of a boosted post varies by how broad of a
reach is desired, but for a reach of 2-6,000 people, a boosted post would cost $20. Reach does
not guarantee likes.
Twitter: Twitter differs vastly from Facebook due to its character limitations, real time
news feed that delivers immediate feedback, and use of hashtags to drive conversations about
various topics. As with Facebook, the use of visually stimulating content is the most effective
means of gaining an audience. Hootsuite suggests that a brand uploads a minimum of six

6. relevant photos and videos to a Twitter account to characterize the brand, and these select
photos and video will be easily accessible to followers without searching within the Edge
newsfeed.
One of the most effective means of engagement on Twitter is using Twitter Cards.
Twitter Cards allow a brand to attach
photos, videos, or media experiences to
drive traffic to a website by embedding
html on a webpage. When users retweet
the content, it will create a card that will
be visible to all of that specific users
followers.
Twitter Cards can be created in five steps
and can be easily accessed on Twitter’s
developer website. A brand would select a specific card type, add meta tags to their webpage,
get validator approval of their webpage from Twitter, tweet the card, and then analyze the
reach and response through Twitter Card Analytics. Twitter cards are free of charge. Edge could
also create brand awareness and engagement on Twitter by utilizing hashtags. Hashtags, as
defined by Mashable, are words of groups of words preceded by a pound sign that create
searchable links to a specific topic. Hashtags are used by brands to drive conversations, track
discussion topics, and organize content. Mashable suggests researching hashtags first and only
utilizing them if they’re relevant to content being posted. One to three hashtags per post is an
acceptable range.

7. Media Bistro suggests brands creating hashtags in order to spark conversation and
awareness of their brand. Media Bistro explains creating a hashtag in four steps. First, the
brand must brainstorm a list of short, creative, potential hashtags. The brand must then
research the hashtag to assure it is not already in use. This can be accomplished by using a
Twitter search. Once the hashtag has been created, encourage users on every existing brand
channel to use the hashtag. Once the hashtag has begun to accrue users, monitor the hashtag
to follow trends and engage with users frequently. Creating a hashtag would give Edge’s brand
feedback, a means of engagement to followers, and would increase Edge’s reach.
Youtube: Since 2011, Youtube has generated over three billion views a day and 71% of
online adults watch video on the site, according to Pew. In order to stand out on Youtube,
Vogel and NR Media Biz suggest using video types such as teasers and interactive videos with
annotations. Youtube videos will not only make a statement on the channel alone, but videos
created for Youtube will be posted to Facebook and Twitter as regular content.
Teasers are highly engaging forms of video that could be utilized by Edge. For Edge,
teasers could come in the form of a sneak peek of unreleased music, a preview of select new
merchandise, or a behind the scenes look at an upcoming event. Vogel suggests using teasers
because they exhibit tremendous power and keeps user engaged with your content in order to
discover what the teaser is about. Social Media Examiner also suggests posting behind the
scenes videos in order to update users on events and product launches. Behind the scenes
videos are personalized and keep people excited about a launch.

8. Interactive videos with added annotations are a means of engaging users through video.
According to the Youtube Creator Playbook for Brands by Google, annotations are clickable
overlays that can be added to video. Annotations can be used to allow users to directly
subscribe to the channel, navigate to other relevant videos on the channel, send viewers
directly to the main webpage, Facebook, and Twitter, a direct link to purchase merchandise on
the Edge webpage, and drive engagement by encouraging comments. Annotations do not
disrupt the video and are an effective means of creating awareness while staying engaged.
Social Media Strategy:
Consistency: It is highly important that all channels utilized by Edge are consistent with
one another. Vogel, Media Bistro, and Hootsuite emphasize that profile pictures, cover photos,
about sections, frequency of posts, content and the personality of the brand must be conveyed
consistently to assure that users understand the messages and purpose of Edge Music Network.
Profile pictures and cover photos: Hootsuite suggests that all channels use the same
profile picture to assure that users recognize the brand. Profile pictures, as well as cover photos
must capture the personality of the brand. Hootsuite suggests utilizing cover photos and profile
pictures to promote events and products correlated with Edge’s brand. These photos must be
high resolution. Media Bistro suggests uploading
Facebook profile pictures at 180x180px and cover
photos at 849x313px, and any text used on a cover
photo should be positioned in the upper right hand
corner, suggests Hootsuite. Media Bistro suggests 400x400px sizing for profile pictures and

9. 1500x500px for cover photos on Twitter. If photos are being edited, Hootsuite states that filters
must be consistent on all photos across channels and suggests selecting two to three.
About Sections and Keywords: The about sections of social media channels determine
the search results of a brand. Hootsuite emphasizes selecting precise, descriptive, and relevant
keywords for about sections. For Twitter, Hootsuite suggests brainstorming five terms to be
used in the description. These five keywords will optimize search engine results and encourages
visitors to the Twitter page. Hootsuite also states that the first 140 characters in a Facebook
about section are what is brought up in a search. It is important that the same keywords are
used in the Facebook about section and the first 140
characters are creative and directly explain what Edge
Music Network is. For Youtube, it is also suggested that
keywords are consistent with those selected for
Facebook and Twitter.
Linking Channels: Currently, Edge does not include buttons to social media channels on
the main page of their website or individual platforms. In order to inform users of all of Edge’s
channels, it suggested that Edge embed buttons on their website that link to the Facebook,
Twitter, and Youtube pages. These buttons can also be embedded to the individual channels
and will increase traffic to the various channels. Specialized buttons that allow users to retweet,
follow, share, and subscribe are also available. Buttons HTML codes are available on Facebook,
Twitter, and Youtube’s developer pages.
Posting: In order to build audience, Edge must consistently post across all channels. Vogel
suggests posting two to three times a day as a starting point and building the frequency as

10. events heavy periods of communication occur. However, Social Media Today suggests a
maximum of one to two posts per day on Facebook due to the newsfeed difference from
Twitter.
Vogel and Hootsuite suggest creating a content calendar that organizes when Edge will
post content, what Edge will post, and the frequency of posts by day. A content calendar will
assure a variation in content so that Edge is not constantly posting the same material,
maintains continuity, and plans posts for specific events and product releases. It is suggest that
content calendars are completed for up to three months as a starting point. Some examples of
usable content calendar templates are available through paid Hootsuite services, or free with
Coschedule.
In order to assure users are viewing content, Edge should consider the best and worst
times to post. Media Bistro suggests posting on Facebook daily from 1pm-4pm, and
Wednesdays at 3pm. The worst times to post are weekends before 8am and after 8pm. For
Twitter, Media Bistro suggests posting Monday-Thursday from 9am-3pm. The worst times are
every day after 8pm and on Fridays after 3pm. For Youtube, Reel SEO suggests posting on
weekdays from 8am-1pm and 2pm-6pm. Edge may also follow the same guidelines for Twitter
and Facebook when posting to Youtube.
It is emphasized by Vogel and Hootsuite that Edge post visually captivating content.
Vogel suggests posting photos of album covers, group shots of various bands, live
performances, candid photos, behind the scenes photo or video of musicians or Edge Music
Network, and interviews with famous musicians. Vogel states that the content must be
sharable. Updates including only text are considered ineffective and users are likely not to

11. share or retweet. It is suggested that Edge utilize the Youtube channel to share various videos
on Twitter and Facebook to gain likes, shares, retweets and favorites as well as drive traffic to
the Youtube channel. It is also suggested that most of the content be linkable to the Edge
website to build content and drive traffic.
Social Media Monitoring: Maintaining social media channels require strict planning,
constant engagement, and frequent researching and monitoring. Hootsuite and Vogel suggest
hiring a minimum of two people to manage all social media accounts to maintain consistency
and engagement. By hiring a team, it is assured that all social media channels will be properly
monitored with analytics to determine feedback and reach.
Facebook and Twitter offer free analytics tools that Edge can utilize to monitor the
channels individually. With the use of the Facebook insights tab, Edge would be able to look at
each post individually to determine its effects on the target audience. This feature shows who
liked the post, who unliked the post, who liked or unliked the page, and who hit the post. This
allows Edge to gauge positive and negative feedback to determine which content is the most
effective.
Twitter includes a lists feature. Hootsuite suggests adding active followers to a private
list, as well as a separate list for competition. This will allow Edge to monitor its users and
privately monitor competition without following their sites. The use of hashtags may also be
utilized as a form of analytics to monitor the types of conversations correlated with Edge’s
brand. Twitter also offers analytics for Twitter Cards, which functions similar to Facebook’s
Insight Tab. Twitter Card analytics allow a brand to monitor the success and reach of a Twitter
Card.

12. Engagement: Using social media to build audience is not localized to content. Brands
must constantly engage with users to assure issues are solved quickly, questions are answered,
to validate that the brand is listening to
its followers, and simply because people
want to hear back. The Huffington Post
emphasizes responding to comments and
tweets, positive or negative, to build
relationships with users. Jason Falls of
Social Media Explorer states “Even
though the social media relationships are
often superficial, they often lead to top of mind awareness. Whenever customers are ready to
purchase what you sell, you’re the best option they have because you’re their friend.”
Forbes also suggests engaging with followers through contests, giveaways, and games. This
assures that users are constantly active and giving away prizes gives winning users recognition
for participating. Edge could also utilize Q&A sessions on Facebook or Twitter to receive
feedback on what users would like from the brand. Questions could be about content,
merchandise, music, or events.
Forbes and the Youtube Creator Playbook for Brands suggests guest blogging or making
guest appearances in videos to create brand awareness and improve credibility. This will also
encourage followers of other sites to join the site being featured and makes connections to
similar brands.