How to Run a Social Media Takeover
A social media takeover is one of the most effective ways to energize your feed, and influencer collaborations make it even more powerful. Essentially, you let a guest temporarily run your account, bringing fresh content and a new perspective your audience can’t resist.
Big brands and creators have used takeovers to host Instagram Stories, TikTok Lives, Reddit AMA’s, and Twitter chats that rack up serious engagement. Fans love social takeovers because they feel spontaneous, authentic, and just a little unpredictable. Ready to make your next takeover unforgettable? We’ll show you how to do it right, avoid the pitfalls, and get results that matter.
Why Should You Do a Social Media Takeover?
A social media takeover isn’t just a fun experiment. It’s a smart strategy to boost reach by tapping into someone’s like-minded audience. It also lets you borrow credibility from influencers or partners, giving your brand an instant trust boost. On top of that, takeovers are an excellent way to share content that makes your brand feel more human and relatable.
8 Steps for a Successful Social Media Takeover
Whether it’s a TikTok takeover or an Instagram takeover, planning them takes more than just handing over your account. In the following eight steps, we’ll walk you through everything from picking the right guest to measuring the results. These steps will help your next takeovers run smoothly and leave your audience wanting more.
Step 1: Define Your Goals
Before you consider handing over your account, take a step back and figure out what it is that you want to achieve. Are you looking to grow followers, spark engagement, or boost brand awareness? Having clear goals lets you plan content strategically and gives you a way to measure success after the takeover ends. While just winging it may sound like fun, it rarely moves the needle.
Step 2: Pick the Right Guest Host
Choosing the right person to run your takeover can make or break the whole thing. Whether it’s an influencer collaboration, an industry expert, or even a fellow team member, you want someone who naturally aligns with your brand voice and who can engage with your followers authentically.
Here are some red flags to watch out for when choosing a takeover host:
🚩Mismatching brand values: If a host’s style, messaging, or past content clashes with your brand, it’s best to steer clear.
🚩Low engagement or inactive followers: While a host may have tons of followers, it’s the interactions that matter most. Avoid hosts with a low follower-to-interaction ratio.
🚩History of controversy: The PR of your brand is something you don’t want to play with. Stay away from anything or anyone that could spark unnecessary drama or backlash.
🚩Lack of creativity or initiative: Bringing on a host who can’t bring fresh ideas may cause your content to feel flat. You want a social media takeover to feel new and exciting. It should feel like a breath of fresh air for your followers.
Step 3: Choose the Right Social Platform
Not every platform is equal, and picking the right one can make a huge difference in your social media takeover’s success. Are your followers scrolling Instagram Stories, watching a TikTok takeover, or engaging on LinkedIn?
Focus on where your audience already spends their time. That’s where your content will get the most impact. Each platform has its own style, so tailor the content to fit the features of the channel you choose.
Step 4: Clearly Define the Ground Rules
Even the most creative takeovers need a little structure to succeed. Setting clear ground rules ensures your guest knows what’s allowed while still giving them creative spaces to shine. Be sure to cover the basics, such as brand guidelines, legal and safety considerations, and any other relevant information the host should be aware of. The goal is to balance creative freedom with structure, so your takeover feels authentic without putting your brand at risk.
Some key points to clarify upfront include:
- Content boundaries: Go over what is on-brand and what’s off-limits.
- Posting schedule: Clearly define when and how often content should be posted.
- Approval process: Share which posts need approval before being published.
- Crisis plan: Have steps in place if something unexpected happens.
Step 5: Promote the Social Media Takeover Before It Starts
Promotion and hype are half the battle when it comes to a successful takeover or any influencer collaboration. Teasers, countdowns, and “coming soon” posts get your followers excited and ensure they show up when the takeover starts. Don’t forget to cross-promote on your guest’s account too! It’s the perfect way to tap into their following and maximize your reach.
Step 6: Keep the Takeover Running Smoothly
Now it’s showtime! The social media takeover is live, and you want it to go off without a hitch. First, you need to hand off your account access securely so your guest host can post without any login troubles or accidental lockouts. Keep things running smoothly by having regular content check-ins, having tech backups ready, and ensuring there’s a quick plan if anything goes sideways.
Don’t forget to encourage real-time engagement! Polls, Q&As, and live streams are the glue that keeps your audience hooked!
Step 7: Conclude Your Social Media Takeover Like a Pro
Just because the takeover is over doesn’t mean the work is done. Wrap things up by thanking both your guest host and your audience. Share highlight reels or a “best-of” recap to keep the buzz alive even after the event has ended.
Don’t sleep on the power of repurposing your content! Turn stories, clips, and posts into future content for your feed, blog, or even ad campaigns. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.
Step 8: Measure the Impact
A takeover isn’t truly successful until you know what it accomplished. Once the dust settles, take the time to look at the numbers and see how things stacked up against your goals. Tracking the proper metrics gives you insight into what worked, what didn’t, and how to make your next takeover even better.
Here are a few key metrics to measure:
- Engagement metrics: Check views, likes, comments, shares, and saves to see how the audience interacted.
- Audience growth: Track new followers gained during and after the takeover.
- Goal alignment: Compare results to the objectives you set in step 1.
5 Common Mistakes to Avoid
From picking the wrong host to forgetting to test the tech, there are a handful of slip-ups that can derail your takeover and leave your followers less than impressed. Fortunately, they’re totally avoidable once you know what to look out for. Below, we’ll walk through the most common mistakes!
1. Not Prepping Your Guest
Handing someone the keys to your social account without a game plan is a recipe for disaster. If your guest doesn’t know your brand voice, goals, or audience, the social media takeover can feel off-brand. A quick briefing goes a long way. Set expectations, share guidelines, and give them the tools to shine while keeping things aligned with your brand.
2. Ignoring Brand Alignment
Just because a potential host is popular online, it doesn’t mean they’re the right fit for your brand. If their style, humor, or values clash with yours, the takeover can feel forced. You want a host who naturally meshes with your brand’s personality so the influencer collaboration feels authentic, not awkward.
3. Going Radio Silent During the Event
A takeover isn’t the time to set it and forget it. If you hand over your account and disappear, you may miss questions, have tech hiccups, or be M.I.A. during moments that need quick support. During the event, stay present, check in with your guest, and keep an eye on the feed to ensure your takeover feels lively and interactive.
4. Forgetting to Test the Tech
Wi-Fi fails, logins glitch, and phones die. Test access, connections, and implement backup plans ahead of time. Otherwise, you could end up with a takeover that never gets off the ground. A quick run-through before the big day helps you catch minor issues before they turn into big headaches.
5. Overloading the Audience
More content doesn’t always mean better content. Flooding your followers’ feeds with nonstop posts can feel spammy and overwhelming. Instead, focus on quality over quantity. A few well-timed, engaging updates will keep your followers hooked without making them hit the turn off notifications button.
Why Social Media Takeovers Are Worth the Effort
Although running a successful social media takeover takes planning, coordination, and trust, the payoff has the potential to be huge. Influencer collaborations bring fresh energy to your feed, give your followers something new to interact with, and help your brand feel more approachable. Beyond the short-term buzz, they can also open doors to long-term growth and stronger relationships.
Here’s what makes them worth it:
- Humanizing your brand: Show the people and personalities behind the logo.
- Building long-term partnerships: Use takeovers to spark influencer collaborations that go beyond a single event.
- Reaching new audiences without paid ads: Tap into your host’s following and expand your reach organically.
- Creating FOMO moments: Limited-time content makes your audience feel like they need to tune in now.
- Strengthening community trust: A familiar, trusted guest host can boost credibility and deepen audience loyalty.
Make Every Takeover Count With Metricool
Make sure your next takeover is a success with Metricool. Schedule your social posts in advance, track real-time analytics, and generate detailed metric reports to see exactly what’s working. Measuring success has never been easier! With Metricool, you can turn every social media takeover into a repeatable strategy that drives growth and proves the ROI of your efforts!
