Social media is a force to be reckoned with. After all, anything with the power to connect China to South Carolina in a matter of seconds should be taken seriously. It stands to reason that something that wields such power and influence (and happens to be completely free) should be used by each and every business owner out there, right?
Of course it should, but only if it’s done right. So, pull up a chair and take note of these simple-to-follow do’s and don’ts for managing your business’ social media presence.
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1. Do Complete All Aspects of Your Social Media Profiles
Social media business profiles that are only partially completed are hard to take seriously because honestly, my thought is this; if you couldn’t take the time to fill in the “About Me” section of your profile, how much time are you going to take creating and/or managing the product I obtain from you? This is why I recommend taking a little extra time to polish the diamond that is your social media presence until it’s nice and shiny. Use your logo or a business-friendly photo of yourself for your profile picture and make sure each of your social media profiles represents you as a business owner because as the great Will Rogers once said “You never get a second chance to make a great first impression!”
2. Don’t Confuse Your Clients with Multiple Profiles on the Same Network
This is a biggie in my book. While it’s a good business strategy to have a presence on all social media platforms, your business and professional profiles should be kept completely separate. The best way to do this is to be consistent with the types of content you share via your business profile so your clients know which account to follow. Don’t post pictures of your weekend at the lake on your business page (unless you’re in the watercraft industry, of course) and don’t constantly flaunt and/or promote your business on your personal page. It’s not only annoying to those of us looking at it, it’s also confusing to your new customers and/or followers.
3. Do Interact With Your Audience
Getting your business’ name out there is nice, but it’s not all social media has to offer. Interacting with your followers is also key. See a question or comment on Twitter that you can answer? Send the person a friendly reply! Looking for recommendations? Ask your Facebook audience. Did you write a helpful, industry-specific post on your blog? Share it with your LinkedIn network. Build connections online just like you would in person and I promise you’ll never regret it!
4. Don’t Fixate on the Numbers
It’s painfully easy to get caught up in the numbers game, but don’t. This is where I suggest you apply the “quality not quantity” mentality, because while having lots of Facebook fans and Twitter followers can be good, your success with social media really depends on the quality of said relationships. If you have 1,000 Twitter followers that are all spam accounts or people that don’t interact with your tweets you’re not benefiting from your social media efforts anyway, so just focus on writing quality content and gaining quality followers and I guarantee the rest will work itself out!
5. Do Be Visual
Photos and videos can drastically boost your social media engagement. Tweets that feature images earn 150% more retweets, are favorited 89% more, and lead to 18% more clicks. If your industry relies heavily on visuals (like real estate or interior design), I strongly consider adding social media platforms based on visual engagement, like Pinterest and Instagram, to your marketing arsenal because peeps love pictures!
6. Don’t Overshare
A successful social media presence should abide by the Goldilocks principle; the frequency in which you post shouldn’t be too much or too little, but just right. Constant posting has a negative effect that can lead to quick unfollows and unsubscribes. With Twitter, you can tweet a half dozen times per day and be fine. On Facebook, aim for one to two posts a day, and the same goes for LinkedIn. The key is to be aware of your posting schedule. Use platform analytics to decide what works best for your audience. Your goal should always be optimal reach and minimal follower aggravation.
7. Do Entertain and Inform More Than You Sell
Though you’re in business to make money, that shouldn’t be the main focus of your social media posts. Keep the 80/20 rule in mind here: 80% of the content you post or share should be entertaining or informative, while no more than 20% of your social media communication should directly relate to the goods or services you provide.
8. #Don’t #Abuse #Hashtags
Adding an appropriate hashtag (or two) connects your post to all other posts on that topic and it’s an extremely convenient way to categorize and subsequently search tweets and Facebook posts. That being said, please don’t turn every word in your post into a hashtag. That’s just abuse, and no one likes to be assaulted via Twitter on a lovely Tuesday afternoon.
9. Do Avoid Poor Grammar and Spelling
Few things reduce your credibility as quickly as grammar mistakes and spelling errors. If you feel like your chances of making these types of mistakes are high, you can prep your social media updates in a document or spreadsheet in order to do a quick check before you hit “share.”
10. Don’t Be Spammy
It’s important to clear out spam from your own followers, as well as monitor your own actions and how they might be perceived by others. For example, not every Twitter follower is a flesh-and-blood person, so you should take time every couple of months to weed them out. So, how will you know if they’re fake? If they’re following 20,000 people but only have 12 followers, chances are it’s a fabricated profile. On the other hand, don’t join 20 LinkedIn groups just to post the same self-promotional message in all of them. That’s just rude, and no one likes rude people.
There you have them, the 10 do’s and don’ts of managing your business presence on social media. We hope you found them helpful! Do you have any questions or any great tips you’d like to add? Feel free to comment or e-mail us!
Hi Katie,
I love your suggestion about not focusing on the numbers. Sometimes less can be more!
Thanks for sharing these great tips.
Thanks so much Donna, I’m glad you enjoyed! And you are so right on the “less is more” bit!
Great advice! Sometimes I see people using hashtags on facebook, is that recommended?
Thanks Sarah! And yes, we recommend using hashtags with Facebook, as it now has the same hashtag search capability that Twitter has 🙂
Great stuff, Katie and I will be using more graphics with Twitter!!! Thank you.
Thank you Beth, I’m glad you took something away from it!
Interesting post. Will be following you as I try to get handle on my social media sites.
Great post! I couldn’t agree more with these tactics and strategies. Social media is a fantastic platform and there is vast space to connect with your tribe. Thank you, sharing!