Week 2: A Conversation with Guest Speaker AJ Feuerman by Rodrigo Caravaca Bongiovani
By UCLA X469.21 Student Rodrigo Caravaca Bongiovani
For our second digital conversation for Best Practices in Social Media, we had the pleasure to hear from guest speaker AJ Feurman. AJ is an experienced publicist and social media strategist who specializes in independent films and other entertainment industry clients.
During the hour-and-a-half discussion, AJ shared her knowledge and experiences from past campaigns. We dived into the world of independent film distribution and discussed concepts and practices for developing social media strategies, including some interesting ideas involving influencers and events.
One of the key takeaways from AJ’s time is how she addressed the importance of putting the target audience first when developing a client’s digital strategy. A common mistake emerges when brands too overtly sales-driven on social media, which can make it hard to build and maintain an authentic and relevant connection with the audience.
At the end of the day, we need to think of our consumers — not by avoiding “salesy” messages— but also by engaging with the audience. Doing so helps us earn their trust and build a relationship. AJ’s recommendation is for online marketers think about themselves as the consumer and reflect on “what will lead me to follow this brand and want to buy something?”.
AJ also addressed the importance of maintaining a consistent presence on social media. By being consistent, we give people something to look forward to. A rather basic but essential task AJ performs when she begins a campaign is to create a social media style guide. Such a guide helps her organize all her content and brand it correctly. For independent films, this includes adding the logo and name of the movie on each piece of content. This ensures that the content and messaging match the style of the movie, and that the audience knows the name of the film.
She mentioned some other ideas to help create consistency, including setting up monthly themes, throwback days, and other recurring creative ideas. Sticking to the themes and staying true to voice and tone – whether the client is a brand or individual — is essential.
