If you’re wondering how to stand out in a crowded marketing landscape, Zoetica Media founder Kami Huyse has a simple yet foolproof way to build buzz for your brand. First introduced a few years ago, the B.E.E.S. framework is the go-to system she uses in her own work and recently shared with her audience in a livestream. 🐝
The B.E.E.S Framework
The framework’s name is inspired by bees’ innate behavior. “Bees are interesting creatures because they are out in the world going from flower to flower to flower, but every night they come back into the hive and they bring all of that pollen that they're collecting,” she says. “Social media is a little bit like the flowers. We go out and we touch on the different flowers and we talk to different people, and we are bringing them back to our hive.”
The framework’s four core parts are:
1. Build – Developing a cohesive content strategy across platforms.
2. Eavesdrop – Engaging in deep analytics and social listening tools to gather insights.
3. Echo – Creating content that best resonates with each community on the platform.
4. Socialize – Fostering active and authentic interaction through comments, DMs, and live sessions.
Build Your Central Platform (“The Hive”)
With the growth of social media, there’s a tendency for people to discount the importance of having their own online “hive.” That’s a big mistake, Kami argues.
“I've heard so many people say… I don't need a blog, I don't need anything like that, I can do all of it out there on social media. The problem is if you're only using social media and you don't have some kind of hive, some kind of owned hive, you are putting yourself in a very perilous position.”
Having your own hive is a must. It serves as the core of your social media strategy and is where your primary content is generated. This can be a website, a blog, or a robust content management system. Take advantage of modern platforms like Medium, Substack, LinkedIn Newsletters, and/or custom CMS with SEO optimizations as well.
“Some people are building communities where you go and you can create and hang out with people in your own community that you built. I know that I have a community like that I've built, an in-person community that's an owned thing, I guess you could say. Social Media Breakfast of Houston, we just celebrated 15 years.” she shares.
“The point is that we have a place that we go, that we can connect with each other on a regular basis. And that can be a number of places. So, you may be a brand, and if you're a brand you want them to come to your website.”
Add Social Media Channel Outposts to Your Central Platform
Next, add in social media channels to support interconnection and ensure seamless navigation between your platform and those channels.
Main channels that support engagement and content distribution are platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok (especially for short-form video content), LinkedIn (for professional networking), and emerging ones like Mastodon and BeReal.
You can also use tools like Linktree or custom landing pages to integrate and interlink all social media profiles and content platforms.
Eavesdrop on Your Dream Customers
It’s not enough to just build your central platform and set up your social media outposts, though. You also need to listen to your customers.
“Your dream customers are very important… [and] they will tell you exactly what they need, but you have to go out and listen,” Kami says. “We need to go out into the communities of dream customers that we're trying to attract, and while we are there we need to take notes.”
“So instead of going into a community and selling your stuff which, honestly, is really annoying because somebody else has built that community and you're coming in and you're trying to sell your stuff, why not go into that community and try to help out?” she asks. “But more than that even that, just kind of participate, listen, write things down if you hear people complaining about the same thing over and over and over again, and you have the capability of solving that problem, instead of jumping in like, ‘I can solve that problem, blah blah blah blah blah,’ write down what they say, write down what they're talking about, and then on your platform you can use the words of your dream clients to attract those clients.”
Take advantage of opportunities to have in-person conversations with your existing or dream customers. Make use of analytics and social listening tools like Brandwatch and Sprout Social as well. Today you can adapt content strategies quickly by using AI-powered tools to analyze sentiment and trends in real-time.
Echo What You Hear
The next step involves echoing what you hear from the community and your dream customers.
“After you've learned what they care about, what they need, then you need to echo. Echo what you hear and create the thing that they say that they want,” she explains.
In other words, creating content that maintains your brand voice while simultaneously resonating with and ensuring that such content is community-specific to each platform.
Socialize to Build Community
“Socializing is so important,” says Kami. Focus on creating active and authentic interaction with others through comments, DMs and live sessions. Take advantage of new capabilities like chatbots to answer questions quickly and offer 24/7 engagement, but make sure to balance automated responses with genuine human interactions to foster deeper connections. You can also create dedicated spaces for community interactions on Facebook Groups, Discord servers, and other places.
The goal is to foster a sense of belonging and loyalty through regular, value-driven interactions and exclusive content. By connecting people “with your brand [you’ll] create something that actually will get them to continue to come to you and work with you.”
Focus on Core Principles
You’ll want to regularly review and update social media strategies based on analytics and feedback, and embrace new features and tools as they become available. But remember that while platforms and tools may change, the core principles of building a strong, interconnected social media presence remain timeless. By adapting these evergreen strategies to today's environment, you can continue to build buzz and foster meaningful community engagement around your brand.
Watch Kami’s full livestream for more details on the B.E.E.S. framework.