Social Media For Business: Golden Rules
1) Don’t Be Course, Crude, or Use Slang. You might think it’s cool, but it is not. Do not forget that social media lives forever, and anything you post including comments and likes, could potentially come back to bite you several years down the road.
Even though certain words or viewpoints do not irritate or offend you, they might offend your potential customers. Better safe than sorry. And incidentally, this applies to things others might post on your profiles, etc. So, it is wise to constantly monitor your Facebook profile, as an example, even though you are not directly using it for business, just to be sure everything there is to your standards.
Remember, first impressions, including those of you online, count!
2) Don’t Be Negative. This means do not say anything bad about anyone else, or anything negative about something someone else posts. If you don’t like a post, best thing to do is just ignore it… unless of course, it refers to you or your business. Then, yes, this is the exception. Respond, but do it professionally. And never bad mouth a competitor.
3) Don’t “Buy” Likes, Friends, Followers, Connections, etc. Why? To put it simply, because the people you “buy” in this way are not really interested in your products and or services, so they are worthless to your business and money flushed down the drain.
If you are using social media for business, what counts is not how many followers you have, 200 or 2000, but the quality of those followers. Are they potential and/or current customers? I know people are quick to judge if they look at your page and see only 200 followers, but if all 200 of those people are avid repeat customers, and speak well of your business, then Yay!
There are too many businesses that are taken in by the “come on” of “I can get you 500 followers” instantly. All I can say is don’t go there.
4) Don’t Ask People To Reshare your Posts. This is just plain grovelling. If you post content of value, people will naturally share it, retweet it, etc. So, give away your best for free. If it is good, people will automatically want to share it. And you will become known for the valuable content you create and post.
This does not mean you cannot include share buttons on your blog article pages. These buttons are just making it easy and convenient for people to share the valuable content you have provided.
5) Do Ask For Testimonials/Reviews. There is nothing wrong with asking people, if they like what you do and your products and/or services, to write one or two sentences recommending your business. Often times people have the intention of doing this, but get busy and forget. How often do you eat at a spectacular restaurant, intend to write a good review on Yelp, and never get to it? Rather than blast the bad, it is always better to build up the good. Do this yourself, and remind others to do this for you, if they are so inclined.
6) Do Provide Value. The majority of your posts on social media should be interesting valuable content that is of interest and use to your potential customers. Posting on social media is not about selling. It is about establishing yourself as an expert in your field and a valuable resource for information, and staying top of your customer’s mind, and driving traffic to your website and business.
If you constantly sell, sell, sell, people will ignore everything that you post, just as they do to the poor telemarketer that calls at dinner time - it is a nuisance, regardless of the deal offered. Don’t be this person.
Most of these Do’s and Don’ts seem like they are intuitive and everyone should understand them. However, in the craziness of trying to run your business plus market and use social media, sometimes shortcuts are attractive and it is easy not to pay detailed attention to the business persona and culture your are extending online. My final words of wisdom are have fun but Be Careful!
For More Articles On Getting Started With Social Media - A Published Series
Getting Started with Social Media Part 1: How To Choose The Right Platform
Getting Started with Social Media Part 2: 7 Steps To Drive Leads
Getting Started with Social Media Part 3: Sales Campaigns
Tags: Social Media, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, google+,
Filed Under: Social Media, Online Visibility, Marketing Tips