Social media has transformed the way we communicate with one another. It brings people together and allows them to share their life with others. From a business perspective, social media provides an opportunity for businesses to find and connect with existing and prospective customers. Considering the costs of marketing, when done right social media marketing is a highly cost-effective way to increase brand awareness and build consumer trust. Here are five social media etiquette tips that can help you make the most out of your business’s pages.
Be ready to respond
Social media is not a one-sided platform. It is meant to facilitate two-way dialogue. Don’t alienate your business by ignoring the comments made by visitors. Encourage comments by asking open-ended questions and responding promptly to comments. And never ignore a negative review. Be respectful in any responses made at all times.
Be human
So much about business today is automated. Don’t let your social media page run via automation. Respond to inquiries, comments, direct messages and reviews with the heart of a human. The personal touch will help you connect with visitors and build trust. It is okay to have an automated response to let people know when they can expect to hear from you. But be sure to respond to any messages as quickly as possible.
Share knowledge
Social media is a marketing tool, but it is not meant to be used exclusively for promotional purposes. A surefire way to get consumers to tune your messages out is by only talking about your business.
Businesses should use social media as a way to help their fans and followers live better lives. Whatever service your company offers, there are countless ways you can share accurate and relevant information from other sources. There is a lot of excellent information out there. Help your fans and followers find it. Your job is to expand their knowledge of things relevant to your industry. Sharing information through content marketing from a variety of sources will help you achieve this.
Be trustworthy
It can be frustrating to find a great piece of information or a statistic, but not know if it is accurate. Anyone can share just about anything online, which makes people skeptical about the things they read. This is especially true in cases where the information benefits the business which posted it. Be ready to back up your posts by citing your source or, better yet, linking back to the page from which you found the information.
Quantity, quality and who to follow
Social media is not about quantity. It is about quality. Having thousands of followers is nice, but if they aren’t actively engaging with your posts, how are they helping your business grow? It is better to have a smaller number of fans and followers who read your posts than to have fans who don’t.
Social media is here to stay. If you are going to utilize social media as a marketing tool for the betterment of your business, be sure to follow these common sense rules. They can make a significant impact on the success of your business and your followers.