Social media and digital communication are here to stay, so there is no way to avoid promoting your brand and business online. Being present in the social networking community is essential to building more meaningful connections with your target audience, but the information on how businesses should interact on social media can be more guesswork than fact. It’s important to be careful with the way you communicate and share on social media but being too cautious to interact with your audience could leave your social pages flat and uninteresting. Users on social media can be unpredictable and even negative at times, so you need to know how to participate effectively with the customers you’re attempting to reach and position your brand for success.
“It’s important to be careful with the way you communicate and share on social media but being too cautious to interact with your audience could leave your social pages flat and uninteresting.”
Personalize your pages. Basic information about your company and services your offer should certainly be available on your social pages but users go to social media platforms for more than what they can find on your website. Consider featuring your employees on your pages with a picture and fun facts about them. Customers are more likely to make the step to contacting your business if they feel like they know more about the people who work there. Take your audience on a tour of the office via live video stream and introduce them to your workplace environment. There’s no better way to encourage them to come in for a visit. When you personalize your social media presence, you foster a trust between you and your customer base and increase the potential of them communicating back with you.
Post material that inspires a response. When selecting which content you will post, keep in mind you want to make an impression on those who see it. It’s important to have regular activity on all of your social pages but don’t fall into the rut of making a post because it’s been a while since your last. Select thought provoking material that solicits comments and reactions. Think about how your audience will react to the material and ask yourself if the tone of the post represents your brand in the most positive light. You want to make an impression on your audiences’ feed, make an effort to post material that will make them stop scrolling and start sharing, retweeting and commenting.
Don’t feed the trolls. Inviting your audience into a personal and interactive social media relationship will leave you vulnerable for negative comments. Sometimes unhappy customers will voice their concerns on your posts and at times users will make inflammatory comments for seemingly no reason at all. It’s important to keep your head in these situations because responding to these comments to tell your side of the story is usually the wrong approach. If the negative commenter is a previous customer, take the issue off social media and pick up the phone to have a private conversation. If calling them isn’t an option send them a private message and work through the problem without the risk of others chiming in and escalating the interaction. Your customer will appreciate the personal attention to their needs. If the commenter’s negative posts seem excessive or unfounded, you may be dealing with a troll. Don’t be afraid of using the option to block anyone attacking your pages with no grounds and it may be a good idea to seek legal help to deal with any persistent harassers.
Mind your P’s and Q’s. You want to exhibit an approachable business personality on social media, but basic manners still apply. Greet your page followers and express your gratitude when they reply to your posts. Your audience should feel appreciated and welcome in the community you’re creating. A little courtesy goes a long way, encourage users to continue visiting your pages with kind words and personable responses.