SOCIAL MEDIA DO'S & DON'TS
The ever-changing world affects not only social media users, but also businesses attempting to establish a digital presence. Businesses have used social media for everything from advertising to lead generation to conversions, to even hiring and growing teams.
Let's start by acknowledging that if your social media strategy has become static, that's ok. With a dozen Do's and Don'ts, you can get back on track, and we'll help you get closer to your goals.
Do’s
1. Do: Define your target market
As a social media marketer, the most crucial thing you can do is develop a clear grasp of your target demographic. All aspects of your social media strategy are influenced by your target audience. Don't be scared to become really detailed when defining your target demographic. Begin with broad groups such as millennials or single fathers. Then you can get much finer detail.
2. Do: Post regularly
The big question is: how frequently should you interact with your online community? This will vary based on your company, industry, and platform at least once or twice a week is a decent rule of thumb. This keeps new information in front of our clients' eyes while freeing up their time.
3. Do: Be engaging
Strong social media engagement is a sign that a modern brand with an online presence is making an impression in the market. It's not just about seeming popular; it's also about building real relationships with current and potential customers, which will help your business grow. Every social media platform needs activity and interaction to provide a favourable brand experience.
4. Do: Keep your messaging consistent
Your brand's voice should be consistent with its broader objectives, such as the image it portrays and the demands of your target audience. There's nothing wrong with a little comedy in a post, but the idea is to do so only when it's necessary and to keep your messaging consistent.
5. Do: Keep your branding consistent
What you share becomes a reflection of yourself and your company. Stay aware of the image you're creating as a result of the content you post while being proud of who you are and what you represent as a company.
6. Do: Use compelling imagery
Content is continuously pouring through our day-to-day lives in today's social media-heavy society. Because the human brain processes images at such a rapid rate, pictures are the ideal way to communicate in today's fast-paced environment. As a result, captivating imagery is more vital than ever before, and it's the ideal addition to any post. In fact, social media posts with a photo are ten times more likely to get engagement.
Don’ts
1. Don’t: Over post
We could sit here all day telling you how frequently you should and shouldn't publish to your brand's social media accounts. As frequently as you can regularly post quality content is the short response. The lengthy answer is that you should be posting high-quality, consistent material on a level that your audience can relate to.
2. Don’t: Overly use #hashtags
Including relevant hashtags in your posts, links it to all other posts on the same topic and using the same hashtag. It's a simple method to organise and be able to search content across social media platforms. However, don't transform every word in a post into a hashtag, and don't use hashtags that aren't connected to your message. Hashtags, when utilised appropriately, can help you gain more online visibility and followers. It appears spammy and is ineffectual when used in excess.
3. Don’t: Make spelling and grammar mistakes
It's not the end of the world if you make a grammar or spelling mistake once in a while, but don't make it a habit. Preparing your social media updates in a document or spreadsheet with spell check will help you prevent some mistakes. You might even have a co-worker proofread your content before sharing it.
4. Don’t: Always sell
You're in business to generate money, but the majority of your social media posts shouldn't be about that. Remember the 80/20 rule here: The majority of the information you post or share should be amusing or educational, with only 20% of your social media communication relating directly to the products or services you offer.
5. Don’t: Ignore comments and questions
It's good to provide useful content, but that's not all social media has to offer. It's also important to interact with your fans. If you see a comment or question on Twitter that you can respond to? Send a kind response to the person. Are you looking for some recommendations? Inquire among your Facebook friends. Have you been mentioned, tagged, retweeted, or had your post shared? Give them a like and a comment!
6. Don’t: Recycle old content
Put yourself in your followers' shoes. Would you like to receive the same message from the same people or pages every day? Taking the same social media post and sharing it again and again on the same networks is both lazy and shows poor taste. Get imaginative with your delivery if you wish to revisit past content. Instead of reposting the same exact message, try rewording it or using a new image.
We realise that was a lot to take in, but we hope you now have a better knowledge of some of the most critical social media marketing do's and don'ts. The do's and don'ts of social media etiquette for business owners will continue to alter as the social media landscape evolves. Keeping up with current best practises and adopting them into your social media plan helps keep your marketing efforts fresh and your company in the public eye.