Managing your social media accounts can be a time consuming process, Posting content, responding to customers, and building a following are just a few challenges faced by business owners trying to manage their own social media presence. While you won’t see results overnight, there are some social media best practices you can follow to help keep things on track.
INCREASE YOUR COMPANY’S SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWING AND MAKE MANAGEMENT EASIER BY ADHERING TO THESE 5 SOCIAL MEDIA BEST PRACTICES:
Use Social Links and Share Buttons
Give customers a simple way to connect with your company on social media. Place social links and share buttons in strategic locations like your email signature, website pages, and blog posts. Making it easy for customers to find your social media pages will help increase new likes and followers.
Post on Nights and Weekends
We’re all guilty of checking Facebook while we’re at work…you can admit it; I won’t judge you! But the majority of our time on social media is typically outside of business hours. Your customers are no exception! By posting in the evening and on weekends you’re more likely to reach your customers. It also helps your company stand out from brands who typically post only on weekdays.
Set a Schedule
Are you posting content regularly? Perhaps too often? Each social network is different, and therefore requires a different post schedule to effectively reach your target audience. Set a social media schedule, and stick with it! Post content at regular intervals to guarantee you stay relevant. Also, be careful to avoid posting too frequently and potentially losing followers.
Twitter users are typically fine with seeing many posts throughout the day. Facebook, on the other hand, should be limited to one or two posts daily. Monitor the engagement of your posts, and adjust your posting frequency, to maximize the effectiveness of your social media efforts.
Identify Opportunities for Social Selling
Social selling isn’t a replacement for effective advertising, and may not always lead to a direct conversion. The goal of social selling is to tactfully place your brand where it could benefit both you and the consumer.
For example, I often see friends or colleagues on Facebook asking for recommendations for web design agencies. Instead of dropping a shameless plug for Refined Impact, I’ll typically offer tips on vetting web designers. I’ll explain what questions they should ask and what they should watch out for. It establishes me as an expert in my industry, builds trust, and adds value for the consumer.
Share Knowledge and Valuable Content
Similar to the way you would add value to your posts through social selling, sharing knowledge is the key to building a devoted social media fan base. Show your followers that you’re a reliable source of information regarding your industry, and help them to learn more about your products or services along the way. If you have a blog, sharing those posts through social media is very effective at driving traffic to your website.
While this isn’t a comprehensive guide, these 5 social media best practices should help you improve the way you interact with customers and build your fan base over time. Have more tips? Let me know in the comments!
