Social media is all about connecting people in online conversations based on shared interests. Although social media platforms were not created with the aim of selling products, by growing a base of connections and interacting with them online, companies have discovered a way to manage their brands, communicate with customers and market themselves.
Many of Flow’s clients have entrusted their social media management to our skilled team of social media gurus. We draft content strategies to grow brand awareness and market a range of diverse organisations.
To maintain social media engagement, it is imperative to regularly post fresh, relevant content. If you fail to do so, people quickly become bored with your updates and are quite likely to unfollow or ignore you.
You also don’t want to bombard them with loads of poorly chosen information, which is guaranteed to result in an irritated audience and likely to do some damage to your brand and reputation.
Rather opt for a middle path and post regular, juicy content that followers will find value in.
In the world of social media there are many lessons to be learned. Rather than finding out the hard way, Flow’s team of experts share their personal top three social media no-nos with you:
Stuart Buchanan:
- Leaving social media to the intern. Sure, the young people in your company are most au fait with using the technology, but you still need strategic input
- Jumping on every bandwagon. Trends come and go at an alarming rate. If you sell insurance, you really don’t need to crack a funny joke or share a timeous meme that is linked to every single trending topic. Brands can learn from knowing when not to join the conversation
- Being cutting or condescending. Everyone knows there’s a human behind brand accounts, so when responding to messages, speak like a human. Ignore the trolls, but definitely don’t ignore a genuine complaint or suggestion
Lethabo-Thabo Royds:
- Not engaging with your fans and followers. Obviously you should be putting out great content, but you also need to engage with the people who are engaging with you
- Taking ages to respond. It’s important to acknowledge the fan or follower who has communicated with you and to respond to their query or complaint as quickly as possible. If you don’t have an answer, acknowledge the query or complaint and tell them you will get back to them soon, then make sure you do
- Not familiarising yourself with the social media platforms you are using. Choose your social media platforms wisely. Make sure you understand each platform, what it does and how your business could benefit from being on it before you create a profile. Once you’ve created the profile, use it often
Kolosa Vuso:
- Incorrect grammar and punctuation. You want to appear professional if you are using social media for your business. Take some time to make sure each post makes sense and is grammatically correct
- Posting something that was meant for your personal account. This can happen to anyone; you can never be too careful. If you are managing different accounts from your mobile, you need to triple-check
- Using emojis (emoticons). Some people might differ, but I wouldn't advise using these on business-related platforms. They’re amazing for personal use, but for your business to be taken seriously, maybe not
When taking a look at your social media requirements, consider getting a communications expert to handle your social media accounts for you. Better still, why not get Flow to do it?