Social media is playing an increasingly important role in marketing as businesses have the opportunity to build a unique relationship with their target market. Using these platforms is important because they help increase brand awareness. Although with so many different accounts, it can be a bit overwhelming. Prior to this, businesses only needed a social media account to remain relevant. Due to the increase in relevance, many companies have chosen to appoint a social media marketing agency to assist strategy and approaches for maximum impact. Posting and engaging regularly on these sites requires a lot of attention and just for starters, it can be a bit heavier than anticipated. To help keep your business organized with social media, these 10 rules will serve as a guide for posting and engaging you in an orderly manner:
Take some time at the beginning of the week to outline your posts. Decide what kind or type of posts you want to make each day and write it down. Create a list or social media calendar to keep track of your thoughts. Post related news, industry trends, or fun facts to keep your profile diverse. If you know that the holidays are about to come (such as Mother's Day), which are relevant to your audience, give the whole office a shout out to your moms for showing the fun and friendly side of your business. It is important to plan these positions ahead of time as some ideas may take more effort than others, but remember to be flexible as well!
The word "dialogue" comes from the Latin word "communis", which is also the root of the word "community". Communication and community are essential to the daily tasks of social media managers as it helps you build a loyal audience. The key to the golden rule of dialogue is to communicate with your audience, not your audience. Communicate transparently, and honestly with every post and response on social media. Over time, doing so will build trust with your audience. They will see you as a source of respected information and guidance. Today you can work on communication, one thing is to give voice to your audience and let them share their opinions openly.
Are you posting content on different platforms? For example, Instagram is the only one spoken in your marketing wheel. Instead of posting on one channel, share content on various social channels. But, make sure it is an update for that network. What plays well on LinkedIn does not provide the same response on Facebook. Keep your message on point for the audience with whom you are speaking.
Include themes in your social media schedule. It helps your content make a complete story and establishes you as an authority on these areas. Explain that there is a gala related to the industry, integrate small facts about this incident in your social post. If your company has philanthropy and is dear to its heart, then dedicate the post for a month to spread awareness about your cause. This theme will give your followers a better understanding of what to expect from you on social media. They will help you gain new followers who are interested in your content.
Building and nurturing relationships are one of the rules for social media managers that are often easier than the actions taken. For many brands, providing an epic customer experience on social media is a top priority. Customers have used the company's social media channels for customer service. And those numbers are only projected to increase as social media has become more and more attuned to our lives. Two great ways to build and nurture and respond to relationships on social media. Listening always comes first. And after that try and answer every question, comment, and concern that your audience finds real and empirically. It shows that there is a real person behind your brand that will help nurture relationships over time.
Sometimes your business cannot spend hours on every post for each platform. If so, then you will need to choose one or two profiles that really want to focus on you. Think about what you want to achieve with your use of social media and which platform will best support that goal. Make your choices based on what objectives you want to reach.
Your other social media accounts are still important, despite which you focused your attention. Remember to show these pages for some love as well as weekly, if not on a daily basis. You can always recycle content from other pages or post about industry news. The point is to stay engaged and relevant, as every little bit helps to increase your brand awareness.
Engagement is, as a best practice, true for all platforms. Show your audience that you are active by commenting, liking, sharing, and reacting to other status and posts on your pages. By doing this, you will increase your visibility and connect with your followers. Engagement on social media is fun and does not take long. Take a break from other responsibilities and say hello to some of your new followers by liking their respective posts or tagging them and just saying thanks.
One thing we social media managers and marketers often forget is that after all it is said and done, yet it is social media. Behind every metric and conversion is a real person who uses social media for information and entertainment. Our job as marketers is to deliver on that with each piece of content and it can be great to take a moment to reflect on how you are performing. A pattern of emotional and entertaining stories emerges. This is important to keep in mind as we develop content, create posts, and interact with audiences on social media.
When you have taken a bunch of classes and tried new food, talk to your employees about what they think. What did they think was interesting? What do they think consumers will find interesting? There is a place where all thoughts go. It can be online, or if you prefer something more old school- try an inspiration board. Add photos and quotes that you like and are relevant to your industry. Ask your employees to write their thoughts. Ask any social media marketing agency and they will say that brainstorming is a big part of their day. And this is the best part about social media.