Social media has grown exponentially over the past few years and can be an excellent way to promote your business. Most social media pages are free, relatively easy to use, and effective at increasing sales, therefore making them an entrepreneurs dream. Smart entrepreneurs understand the value that social media can offer their business and see it as one of the greatest assets available to them. In order to properly utilize social media, it is important to understand the basics of social media etiquette. The following are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to using social media to promote your business.
Do’s
- Do know your target audience
Before you set up a social media page, such as Instagram or Twitter, it is important to understand who it is you are trying to reach. You cannot just post whatever you feel like on your businesses social media pages and hope the posts reach your ideal customers. First you need to narrow down who it is you are trying to reach and then make sure that you are posting content that relates to them.
- Do monitor your social media pages daily
Make sure you are checking your social media pages at least once a day, if not more. This ensures that you will catch any positive or negative feedback and comments. You want to make sure that you are the first person to see anything negative (or positive) that is being said about your business. By being first to respond to customer allows you to address any issues or concerns your customers may be having. Being proactive with your social media creates a positive brand image for your business because it lets your customers know you are paying attention to their questions and concerns.
- Do understand what you are posting, before you post it
Ensure that your message is the same across all social media platforms that you plan on using. You want to be sure you have a clear understanding of your business, brand identity, and what image you want to portray on social media before you start posting.
- Do post frequently
You want to make sure your business has a presence on whatever social media platform you are planning to use. You want to be posting enough to capture your customer’s attention BUT not over posting. A social media schedule can help greatly with this. It can be as simple as planning out what to post each day, or as complex as planning your whole month’s social media posts in advance.
Facebook, for example, allows you to schedule posts under the publishing tools section on your businesses Facebook page. All you have to do is create the post and figure out the date and time you wish you to have the post published.
Don’ts
- Don’t ignore your online audience
Wither it is good or bad, don’t ignore feedback from your customers. Be aware of what is being said about your business and don’t disappear from social media when someone says something negative about your business. Never delete a post or review from a customer. Proactive business owners understand that not everything said on social media will be positive and they work with the customers in order to deal with and fix the negative.
- Don’t expect results instantly
Like anything else in life, you get what you put in when it comes to your businesses social media pages. It takes time, hard-work, and dedication to build a social media following so don’t expect result’s overnight.
- Don’t forget about spelling and grammar
Poor spelling and grammar can be a turnoff for customers and gives your business an unprofessional image. The last thing a customer wants to see from a business is a social media post full of spelling and grammatical errors. Make sure you double check each and every sentence before posting on social media to ensure proper grammar and spelling.
- Don’t expect to use social media as your ONLY marketing tool/strategy
Social media can be a business owner’s best friend but don’t expect to have thousands of customers just from using social media alone. A social media platform is often built off the back of other marketing tools such as print or radio ads, websites, billboards, or posters. A new business cannot depend on social media by itself to get the word out about their products or services. Make sure that your marketing strategy isn’t solely based on your businesses social media page, but is well rounded to include other marketing platforms as well.