How to take over a social community you did not build

Most social media managers never build the community they run. They inherit it. In this episode of Content Amplified, Van Raynor, Director of Social Media and Influencer Marketing at Americares, walks through what to do in the first weeks after you take over a page someone else built. He starts with the snapshot: average reach, the campaigns your predecessor ran, growth rate, attrition rate, and whether the page has really been used as a broadcast channel, a customer support channel, or a sales channel. Then he compares that reality against the KPIs you were handed and decides whether they are feasible or need adjusting. Van also shares the "vegetables and desserts" framework he was taught, where vegetables are the posts you have to hit (donate now, sales messages, major updates) and desserts are the vibe posts that build the brand. He explains why a community fed ice cream for years will ask where the ice cream went the day you serve broccoli, and why the organic team at Americares runs campaign sprints instead of posting daily. If you have just walked into a community you did not build, this is your first-month plan.

About Van

Van Raynor is the Director of Social Media and Influencer Marketing at Americares, a global health and disaster relief organization, where he has worked for about three years. Most of his career has been spent in nonprofit and arts marketing, including a stretch of PSA work and a short stint in finance. He is based in Manhattan, where he works with his dog Navy asleep under the desk. Van believes every social community is on a diet of content, and that changing it takes a gradual shift, a real plan, and a willingness to test and learn.

Show Notes

• Connect with Van on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/vanraynor/
• Van's website: https://vanraynor.com