Best Social Media Marketing Practices for Businesses

Social media is the new marketing buzzword and has emerged as one of most powerful online marketing tools. With numerous social media sites coming up, it has become imminent for businesses to have a robust online presence and leverage the potential power of social media. Having said that, social media requires strategic planning and engagement through meaningful content. Millions of businesses are joining the multitude of platforms trying to beat competition and connect to their niche. This surging trend has also led various social media sites to constantly update their algorithms and interfaces to cater to a dynamic and ever evolving user base. Here we have tried to put together a few do’s and don’ts for social media that shall help businesses gain maximum.

DO’s

1. Strategize and Plan Content – Without an effective plan in place, all your efforts may go in vain and can even go on to have adverse effects. Let there not be random sharing of content. Plan well in advance what, when, with whom you would like to share and disseminate information about your brand. Also try to publish content that can be shared, this way your post can go viral and reach more people. It is also important to optimize your social media content so that it shows up in searches. Using visuals also helps greatly so create eye catching images to get attention.
2. Complete you profile – When you sign for any of the social media sites, try to create a complete profile that gives out maximum information about your brand or business. Important information like address, working hours, logo and other details ought to be shared on your profile. The more complete your profile, the higher it will rank in search engines.
3. Build relationships – While on social media, focus on building relationships with your niche. Try to be social and conversational in your approach. Try to reply to every comment or like, refer using people’s real names, add a personal touch, etc. You can use a combination of tools like your website, blog, networking sites, newsletters, etc. to encourage engagement and face to face interactions.
4. Be original and authentic – People like to read what is original and genuine. The content you share should not look promotional rather make it look more like important information. Whatever you post should be fun, entertaining and engaging. You can also attach value addition to your posts through deals, offers, contests, etc. Also remember to maintain the same voice across all platforms. Appear real!
5. Use Analytics – Make use of analytics to understand current trends and what your audience preferences are. Pay close attention to all the information revealed through analytics. Create and post content accordingly.
6. Maintain a professional image – Make sure that everything you post on social media adds up to your brand image. Keep your interactions and posts professional and separate from your personal profiles. If you are unable to manage and maintain multiple profiles on different networks, it is advisable to exist on few and focus on quality rather than quantity.

DON’Ts

1. Barrage your audiences with excessive posts – Social media is fast and you may need to post at timely intervals, may be a few times in a day but don’t overdo it. Too many posts are sure to turn off your audiences and they may simply choose to ignore what you post. It is important to maintain that balance to maintain audience interest and engagement.
2. Copy and paste – Maintain originality in your posts by using good language and correct spellings. Even if something is trending on the net and you are prompted to share it, try to add uniqueness to it in some way so that your niche reads what your post. Create content speaks about your brand and its exclusivity.
3. Standardize posts – If you are posting similar content over several social media sites, make sure that they are not identical. Add a twist or two to your content and tailor it according to that particular site. Also
4. Ignore responses – Interaction is what social media rests on. Take time to interact and respond to whatever your audience has to say, be it good or bad. Counter criticisms with positivity and promises to improve and make sure you look genuine in your approach. Also in case of praises and positive feedbacks, express humility and gratitude instead of being overconfident. Be human in your responses!
5. Be overtly promotional – Though social media sites are used as an important promotional tool and platform for advertising, don’t make it obvious to your target audience. Bombarding your content with hashtags, spams, promos, deals, offers, etc. can actually affect your business adversely. Being blatantly promotional is something that does not work well for social media!