By Kellie Dietrich
If you’re confused about how to maximize your company’s social media accounts, Communication Solutions Group is here to help! Follow these tips to help you get started, balance professionalism and fun, utilize content and interact with followers.
DO generate a social media plan that makes sense for you.
Start with your business’ objectives for using social media and what you hope to accomplish. Do you want to increase brand visibility, gain members or customers, or build relationships?
Discover what social platforms are right for your posts and which ones your audience is using.
- Facebook is great for sharing almost all content including links to articles and blogs, photos and videos.
- Instagram is popular among younger audiences for sharing photos and videos.
- Twitter is best for short business updates and news.
- LinkedIn is another great place for company news as well as sharing your expertise on topics and posting job openings.
Create guidelines for how often you want to post per week.
DON’T post without a plan.
No plan = no followers.
Don’t sign up for 10+ social sites. Focus on the ones where your target market is!
DO establish social media metrics.
Track click-through rates on social media sites. Running targeted ads and boosting posts can also help you reach specific people and meet your business’ goals.
DON’T forget to use the analytic tools available to you for free.
Utilize the free analytic tools so you know what posts are increasing engagement and helping meet business objectives
DO target your media coverage and re-purpose articles.
Target local media with press releases. Once the story is covered, share the link on your social media accounts to repurpose the news coverage.
DON’T become yesterday’s news.
Don’t miss out on opportunities to link to your website or social media pages.
DO stand out as a thought leader.
Inspiration is all around you – view everything from a social media lens and see if there is opportunity for a blog post, article, video or photo.
Link content from your website to generate leads. You can also link posts from other social media channels such as posting an Instagram link on Facebook to increase social media presence and increase customer interaction.
DON’T hold back on sharing your expertise.
Share your knowledge through blogs on LinkedIn articles.
DO use original photos.
Original photos that are unique to your company are always superior to stock photos.
Written content will capture your audience’s attention more when accompanied by images and visuals.
DON’T use copyrighted photos.
Using free photo sites or buying stock photos can help when you’re in a pinch and need photos fast. They also avoid running into any legal trouble.
DO be careful with outside content.
If there is breaking or relevant news in your industry, feel free so share outsourced articles on Facebook or Twitter, but make sure the source is credible and trustworthy. False information and rumors can spread fast since anyone can post online or create a website.
DON’T post without fact checking.
Info should be backed up by research and various sources to avoid spreading fake news.
Avoid posting blogs and opinion pieces from outside sources.
DO interact and engage your followers.
Respond to social media followers in a timely manner by answering questions, sharing posts they’ve tagged your business in and letting them know they are appreciated. Valued customers are repeat customers!
Show support on social media to other local companies and they will likely do the same for you.
To make it easier to find your business’ social media accounts and increase exposure, add your business’ social links in your email signature
DON’T use boring language or constantly repeat yourself.
Valuable content is key to keeping followers. Boring posts, being repetitive or posting too much can lead to unfollows. Quality over quantity!
Keep your tone conversational and informative. Social media is supposed to be fun so the language used should capture followers’ attention.
Keep comments open on posts to increase interaction with followers.
DO avoid conflict. Take it offline.
Manage social media pages professionally and keep responses polite.
Enact a policy to follow such as deleting vulgar or discriminatory comments.
DON’T fight!
Do not engage in petty social media arguments no matter how infuriating a comment may be. Followers will develop a bad impression if they see your business arguing online.
DO learn and adapt.
Have fun with social media! Make sure posts are unique and it doesn’t sound like the last few posts your page shared.
DON’T stress out over your social media. It’s a work in progress!
There is no exact science to social media and it keeps evolving every day, so there’s no way to accurately predict how posts will perform.
Stay true to your company and values, and the audience will follow!