Before you dive into the magical world of social media, there are some important things to note in order to create a successful social presence. Here are some of the Dos and Don'ts for maintaining good business through social media.
Do:
- Have a plan
You may be excited to start posting all about your company but before anything, you must create a plan for your social accounts. Business through social media is more than just posting. By creating a good plan with not only achievable goals, but steps to achieve those goals, you will be on the road to becoming a social media superstar!
- Research your audience
Instagram has 500 million monthly active users. That may seem like a lot of potential audience, but that doesn't mean it’s the right audience. Make sure you break down whom you are trying to reach and their demographics so that you can focus your time and posts in the right areas. Some key questions to ask yourself: Who is my target audience? What social media platforms does my target audience use most? What types of posts does my target audience respond to best/most? Answering these questions will help you to direct your posts.
- Be professional
From memes to politics to everything in between, social media can be a fun place! As a business professional, however, it is important to remember that although you don't have to be a stick in the mud, you should always maintain a professional voice. You wouldn't see Target casually tweeting their opinions about a politician or making fun of the dress Meryl Streep wore at the Grammy's. Start by basing your posts on topics that have something to do with your company, and you’ll be on the right track.
- Render great customer service
Great customer service is key for any successful company. Customer loyalty is valuable and the best way to earn it is through great customer service. Many users will contact companies via their social media messages. You should always stay on top of these messages and respond accordingly.
- Maintain a uniform voice/message
Your values, voice, and company message should be uniform throughout your social media. Maintaining good synergy will ensure your customers won't question your brand. By staying consistent, your audience is more likely to remember you. For more on brand consistency, check out this blog post.
- Understand which platforms are best for you
Just as important as understanding which social media platforms are associated with your target audience, you should know which platforms are best for your company as well as which types of posts are appropriate for you company. A corporate law firm may have a large prospective audience on Instagram and YouTube, but these platforms may not be the most appropriate platforms to share their posts.
- Stay Current
Trends come and go through social media. You can use these trends to your advantage when posting on your social media. For example, the hit show House Hunters may be the influence behind the next social trend; this would be a good opportunity for companies in the real estate market to incorporate this trend in their posts to remain relevant to their audience.
Don't:
- Don't over post/ spam
It might be tempting to share all your content at once with your audience, but it’s a good idea to post strategically. Each post should be unique and well constructed with content that has a purpose. You will risk losing followers if you spam them with the same information over and over again.
- Don't under post
If your audience isn't seeing your brand, what's the point? If your audience is consistently seeing your brand on their feed, you will become memorable. You should be conscious about how often you post so that you can learn the frequency that is most effective for your company. With that being said, each platform will differ in the appropriate number of posts per day so it is best to come up with a schedule.
- Avoid being boring
According to Hubspot, Facebook posts with images see 2.3X more engagement than those without images. On Instagram, photos showing faces get 38% more Likes than photos not showing faces. Additionally, visual content is 40X more likely to get shared on social media than other types of content.
Personality is key to not only remaining relevant to your followers but also to sending your company message. If you continuously have the same personality/ voice in your posts, your followers will "get to know you" and understand your company better. Remember, social media reaches millions of new people every day so every post is virtually a first impression of your company to someone new. Every post should seem valuable to your followers so they continue to want to follow you.
- Don't focus on everyone
A good amount of the right audience is better than a lot of the wrong audience. It's okay to not follow a user back! As a business, you gain followers because people like your posts/company on their feed not necessarily because they are expecting a follow back.
- Don't neglect user generated content
Facebook continues to have the most engaged users -- 70% log on daily, including 43% who do so several times a day. 74% of people say they use Facebook for professional purposes, and 76% of people use their Facebook feed to find interesting content.
It's awesome when your followers care enough about your posts to comment and share! As social media marketers, that's the goal. The more people that share your post, the more reach you'll gain. You want your posts to start conversations amongst your audience. So if a happy follower loves what you posted, don't forget to reach out and thank them to show you appreciate their loyalty.