Social media has provided businesses with a unique opportunity to promote their product/service, hone their brand image, and connect with their target market in a manner that has never been possible before. When used wisely, social media marketing not only helps businesses promote themselves, but also connect with their target market and boost their SEO.
It's not enough to have an account on the top five social media platforms and post to them every single day. To be truly effective, your social media marketing must be concise, carefully thought out, and contain high-quality, engaging content. In other words, taking the time to familiarize yourself with social media marketing do's and don'ts is important to your business's future.
Social Media Marketing Do's
Do Take the Time to Properly Fill Out Your Business's Profile
Every social media platform provides a place for your business's profile. Filling the section out is the first thing you should do after creating your business account. Make sure the profile includes a high-quality photo that represents an aspect of your business (many businesses opt to use their company logo), mention the industry you represent, and be sure to include a backlink to your homepage. When describing your business in the social media profile, make sure the words you use represent your brand image.
Do Use Social Media to Enhance Your Customer Service
Social media provides you with a unique chance to boost your reputation as a business that takes care of its customers. Simply make your social media accounts an extension of your customer service department. When someone poses a question on your business account, take the time to answer it. The same is true if there's a complaint or issue with an order. You'll be surprised by how many people not involved in the discussion notice and start talking about how well you treat your customers.
Do Feel Free to Repurpose Old Posts
There's nothing stating that once you've posted something, you can't use it again. Not only can you repost, but you can also recycle social media posts on the exact same platform, especially if it was something that garnered a great deal of engagement the first time you used it. Just make sure you space the recycled posts out and mix them up with new content.
Do Give shout-outs to key employees
When one of your employees has done a wonderful job or has received an accolade, social media is a great place to talk about it. Not only does this kind of post help broadcast that you're a warm, loving business that takes care of employees, it also encourages customer response, and helps show employees that they really are noticed and appreciated.
Social Media Marketing Don'ts
Don't Post Personal Information to Your Business Account
While experts do recommend updating your business's social media accounts with some cute personal anecdotes, that doesn't mean you want to post every single picture you take of your food, or complain about your kids, or update your vacation plans on your business account. Before hitting post, take a second to confirm which account you're updating.
Don't Focus All of Your Energy on One Social Media Platform
Some social media platforms work best for one type of industry while another works best for a different, but that doesn't mean you should only create a business account on the one that has the highest percentage of the people who make up your target market. By focusing all your social media marketing efforts on one platform, you're always going to miss some important customers. It's best to have multiple social media accounts and to update each one at least once a day.
Don't Limit Yourself to Strictly Promotional Posts
Today's consumer is very sensitive to spam. They quickly grow intolerant of businesses that only use their social media account to post about products and sales. The rule of thumb is that only 20% of your posts should be strictly promotional, while the other 80% should be geared towards engaging your customers in conversation. The trick is making sure you only post positive things about your business.
Don't Get into an Argument
It doesn't matter how careful you are when you update your business's social media accounts, there will come a time when you'll post something that someone objects to. The instinct is always to get into an argument with them which is never the answer. The best way to handle the situation is to take a deep breath and remain professional.
At Neon Rain, we're proud of how we've helped many businesses just like yours improve their connection with customers by using our services which include website design and development, and mobile application development. With Neon Rain in your corner, you'll see a marked improvement in your digital marketing efforts. Contact us to learn more about how we can improve your brand and help boost sales.