Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media: Your company, and it’s online presence.

 

In the age of cyberspace, social media has become the ultimate tool of communication with you and your audience. If you are a business owner, and you are not on social media, then you are not doing modern business efficiently! Social media in this day and age allows people to create an online community and share content.

Gone are the days where one had to drive an hour away to meet up with a group with mutual interests. Now, all it takes are few key words on a search bar, and BOOM! Bob’s your uncle! In the world of business, this lightspeed communication allows one to increase the size of their target market, and quickly build rapport with potential clients! You don’t want to be that shady guy in a trench coat on the corner selling wrist watches, when you can project a more inviting image with the use of social media!

With that, here are some do’s and don’ts for your social media followers to help you build your relationships.

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Many take for granted the simple action of commenting on a post on social media. Using this very simple form of engagement shows that your social media is more than just another channel for advertising your business, but that there is a human behind the screen. A simple “thank you” on a good review goes a long way! Personalizing these comments also helps to solidify with your customer base that you are listening to their comments and concerns. By commenting a personalized message, you invite customers to see a more human side of your business that isn’t there to just sell things to them, but also to build a relationship with them.

By building a relationship with your customers, you increase the likelihood of a purchase. We are reminded of the eternal 80/20 rule. 20% of your customers will provide you with 80% of your revenues. This 20% is your repeat customers; those that have built a relationship of trust in your company,are the bread and butter of your bottom line. So comment, and build relationships. Sure, a good product can sell itself, but a good relationship can sell the world.

Do: Comment on posts

This one is my favorite one. Give your employees an opportunity to converse with your customers. Let your customers get to know your employees through spotlights on social media! Maybe an about me post, or Q&A session so that your customers can really get a handle on who your business consists of.

When you hire employees, you want them to exemplify your business, and the environment your business operates in. By giving you and your employees a platform to speak with customers on social media, you not only build a relationship between the customers and the business, but also a relationship between the customers and the people providing them service. Contrary to popular belief, everyone is in the service industry!

 

Do: Spotlight your Employees

You ever heard the old adage, “Two heads are better than one”? Ecclesiastes, 4:9-12.

No one can carry the weight of the world upon their shoulders. So find people with like minds and shared interests! Collaborate with one another on how you can both succeed! This may be a collaborative video, blog post, podcast, event, or anything! Not everyone that operates in the same industry as you is your enemy. They may be your competition, but not your enemy.

Take for example a small event venue, like us. If a small venue collaborates with a large Hotel, with venue space, a beautiful joint partnership can appear. Hotels have a lot of resources and are very large so they have a lot of demand, while a small venue does not. So when a hotel is perhaps completely booked out, through collaboration, they can refer those that are interested in small venues to their friends, and only focus on the large events. This is very similar to comparative advantage. A large event will generate more revenue, and can fully utilize large space, while a small venue will generate more revenue with a smaller scale event. So by collaborating together, the small venue can send all large events to the bigger venue, and vice versa.

Do: Invite collaboration

Like all dragons, you must confront them to save the kingdom!

Bad reviews should be far and few with your company, but they will happen. When they do happen on your social media, address them. Ignoring bad reviews implies that you are guilty. Even if it was a slight mistake on your part, be sure to say that, and try to rectify that mistake. Everyone is human, so mistakes will happen, and those will affect your company. Since it is social media, bad news will always travel faster than good news, and they can fester if not treated immediately. Acknowledge the complaint, attempt to fix it if possible, and then move on. Turning losses into wins, or at least attempting to turn losses into wins can only benefit you in the long run.

So there’s 3 tips for utilizing social media. Try putting these into practice and let us know how it affects your company in the comments below!

Now for the Don’ts!

 

Don’t: Ignore bad reviews

“Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.” – Thanos.

As he says, there should be balance in your social media postings. Do some research and find the times where your social media posts have the most engagements, and then post during those times! If you have already shared something once, don’t go sharing it multiple times within the same day. Your followers will become exhausted from the flood of information; especially if it is redundant. Take some time to look at your own personal social media.

Everyone has that one friend that does nothing but share memes all day. Though it is fun and amusing, you don’t really feel like engaging much do you? You probably download it if you got a chuckle out of it, and then continue scrolling. It is the same concept with your business. You don’t want to overshare because your followers will eventually start to scroll past you, not to mention things like Facebook’s new algorithms will start decreasing your reach if you do this; so beware!

Don’t: Overshare

Often times we become so wrapped up with making a sale that we tend to over promise things to potential clients. Whether that be a large discount to the point we make a loss, or providing extra services that we don’t necessarily have available. This is the same on social media, and perhaps even worse. By over promising on social media, you put out there to the world that you are capable to doing things that may or may not be possible for your company.

Social media is like a giant sign board for your company that more than just your local community can see. It is a global communication tool. Telling the world you can do something must mean you can actually do it. So if you are not prepared to honor a 40% discount to over 7 billion people on the planet, DO NOT put it out there. You must operate realistically within your means, especially on social media because it is easily accessible to large amounts of people.

 

Don’t: Promise anything you cannot deliver

So that’s 6 things you should and should not do on social media. Social media is a global tool that allows your business to reach customers that would not normally be reached within your community. This creates a bridge of demand that you may not have access to otherwise. By utilizing social media to its furthest extent, you create brand awareness and relationship rapport. With the age of the internet, everyone’s digital footprint can be found whether they utilize it or not. So make the best use of social media, and build a persona that allows you to communicate properly with your “friends”!

What things do you do and don’t do on social media? What things do you feel you should do more often, or less of? Sound off in the comments below, and let us know your thoughts!