I started writing an introduction for this post, but then I realized that we currently live in the age of social media! Everybody uses it, and a handful of us OWA members even manage our company's social media accounts. For some, it's a full-time job! Setting up an introduction to talk about the importance of social media is almost redundant, so let's get straight to it. For those monitoring your social media followers, some gains and losses are normal, but if you see a steady decrease in those numbers, these might be the reasons why.
Social media is a great tool to get in touch with your customers. Most of your followers like and follow your page because they do in fact want to know what you're up to and want to get more information about your business. However, too much self-promotion can annoy your followers and drive them away.
Every piece of content you put out there should provide some value to your followers. It should be helpful, entertaining and relevant. It can't always be about you. A good rule of thumb is the 20:80 Rule — only talk about yourself 20% of the time, and share other content 80% of the time. It's a good rule to follow, but you should also be flexible and base your strategy on what works for your brand. Find the right balance.
Interactions are what social media is all about, right? Engaging with your community and actively responding to questions and comments makes you personable and real. For those managing corporate pages, this can be tricky especially when you have to manage a bad comment. You don't want a full-on discussion on social media, but you don't necessary want to delete or hide that comment either. It's a chance to offer some transparency and address concerns that your customers may have. You can choose to make the discussion private by saying, "we've sent you a direct message and we'll be happy to discuss your issues!" It's good to show that you're making an effort to work on it instead of deleting or ignoring comments.
If you aren't receiving many interactions in your post, try initiating a conversation. Ask for thoughts, comments or experiences. Encourage engagement and get to know your followers a little better.
This one mainly applies to those managing corporate pages. If your usual communications are formal, social media is the place to show off a little personality and culture and have a little fun. There might be brand guidelines to follow when you share or post an image, but that doesn't mean that it can't show some personality. Consistent tone in your messaging is important, but no one is going to be interested in corporate speak all the time!
I tried keeping these tips general, but these tactics can vary depending on your brand. Play around with the frequency of your posts, posting times, and different content. See what gets you the best results and check in on your page analytics frequently to help you drive your social media strategy!
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