The Do’s & Don’ts of Social Media For Small Businesses
Posted on 18th February 2022
As the world of business makes the move online and the majority of interaction with both other businesses and consumers seems to be done using the internet, marketing for small businesses is evolving. This includes running the likes of email campaigns, online marketing and posting regularly on social media.
Businesses can no longer get away with merely being faceless entities and instead need to be able to connect with their audience in a way which is personal and fulfilling. One of the most effective ways they can do this is by utilising social media, given that it opens up a direct line of communication between business and customer. Of course, where there are possibilities that come with social media, there are potential issues.
Social media is not a constant thing, it is forever evolving. Along with that evolution comes potential issues, as it can become a challenge to stay on top of different conventions and the best ways to act on different platforms. Not to mention different platforms tend to be used by different demographics so you will need to be aware of these when it comes to posting, bearing in mind who your target audience is.
If you are hoping to get into using social media as a means to promote your business, then you are in the right place. This article is going to break down some of the must-know do’s and don’ts when it comes to doing so.
DO: Ensure That You Have Fully Completed Your Social Media Pages and Updated Your Profiles
First impressions have always been incredibly important in business but never more so than now. As the internet is used more and more by consumers, they become aware that they quite literally have the entire world at their fingertips. With that, they are a lot less likely to stick around on your page if they do not think that it would be worth their time to do so. It means that when someone clicks onto your social media page, they need to be immediately met by something that they want to investigate further.
If you have an account that is only partially completed, then you are going to look a lot less professional as opposed to having a fully completed page. As such, you need to consider what message you want your business to communicate and ensure that this comes across on your social media page. You need to ensure your website does the same thing if you are providing links to it, again for the same reason. If you are struggling with putting this together then you may want to consider hiring a professional web design company.
DON’T: Be Too Needy
You want to ensure that you are maintaining a professional element to your business, you are not going to be doing this if you are coming across as needy with your interactions with followers. If you are posting content that says things such as “please retweet” or “please like” then you are going to be lowering the way people perceive you. They will no longer see a professional business that they will consider working with but are instead going to see a social media obsessive who is hungry for exposure. People are always looking for ways to clean up their timeline and so will likely just unfollow you if you post this kind of content.
DO: Separate Your Business Account and Your Personal Account
If you are trying to convey the thoughts of your business and the thoughts of yourself then this is simply a recipe for disaster. The best way to avoid this is by separating both your personal and your professional twitter accounts. This means you can have one reserved entirely for thoughts and opinions that are your own and then one for your business. Social media is a great way to network and it is going to be much easier for people to work with an account that clearly portrays a business as opposed to one that is an individual.
DON’T: Spam
This is similar to the above in that people are always looking for different ways to clear up their timelines and one of the best ways they could do this would be to unfollow any and all spammers. There is nothing worse than an account that is frequently posting about the same thing over and over again and as such, you should make it your top priority to stay away from this kind of behaviour.
DO: Take on Board Criticism and Handle it Well
People are incredibly honest on social media and as such, you are likely going to come across some form of criticism every now and then. When you do, you need to ensure that you are handling it well and taking on board anything and everything that is said. Look at the different criticism that you receive as a means to improve, not an opportunity for confrontation as this is completely counter-intuitive to how you want to run your business.
Do You Need Help with Your Business’ Social Media?
As stated above, it can be incredibly difficult staying on top of new trends within the realm of social media and it may be that you and your business need some help with coming to terms with how to use it. Not only will you need to have a good social media presence, but you also need to ensure that whatever link you provide to your site to generate conversion will take customers to an easy-to-use website.
it’seeze Horsham are a professional web design company who can assist here. They will provide you with help when it comes to setting up your business’ website and are then on hand for assistance after the fact, if you are struggling with linking your site on social media or find you want to make any additions. Thanks to the affordable website packages, you and your business can choose the one which is right for you. If you have any questions on how It’seeze Horsham will be able to help your business, then do not hesitate to get in touch.
Tagged as: Online Marketing
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