The Six Golden Rules of Social Media Marketing
In the hard-and-fast world of social media, it can be tempting to post the first thing that comes to mind – how many celebrities could I cite as an example? Good brand management through social media requires significantly more thought and planning. Consider the Golden Rules of social media marketing. Ask yourself these questions:
Are you letting your brand speak for itself?
Facebook and Twitter have a very personal feel and can bring your brand to life. If your business were posting its own status update, what would it say about itself? Does your post reflect the voice of your company? If your company’s brand identity is fun and casual, your audience is likely to enjoy that (tasteful) joke or quirky infographic. But if your company takes its image very seriously, think carefully about using humor and graphics. Deviating from your brand image can feel very disconcerting to customers.
Are you always selling something?
Don’t always be selling something. It’s a huge turnoff to followers. Social media is the place to build customer relations and brand identity, not to beat people over the head with your products/services. Don’t let your page be like the telemarketer who always calls at dinner time.
Did you proofread – and proofread again?
Do not, under any circumstances, allow that misuse of “your” onto your page. Even the most honest mistakes can make your page look careless or sloppy, and customers will notice. Consult an online resource or get a second opinion if you’re uncertain about grammar, spelling, etc.
When was the last time your posted?
Instead of bombarding customers with posts just to stay at the top of their feed, restrict yourself to a few high-quality and engaging posts – these are more likely to get shares and retweets to nonfollowers. But then again, don’t let your Facebook page or Twitter feed go silent for days/weeks/months either. If you don’t update it, delete it.
Is it concise?
Shorter is sweeter.
Are you inviting response?
Talk with your audience, not at them. Encourage them to engage with your company by voicing their opinion, voting, sharing stories, and asking questions (which you promptly answer). Even criticism should be permitted, so that you can properly address it and learn from it – and so customer can see you reacting positively to their comments. This builds brand loyalty and turns followers into customers.
Brand identity is the voice, the personality, and the face of your company. Social media is the place to bring these things to life.