With the rise in consumers turning to social media for opinions about companies, it’s is important that businesses are paying attention to their social media presence. The first thought of the business owner is always “where am I going to find the time for yet another task?” With a little upfront planning and some careful time management, you can get a lot of mileage out of your social media time. Check out these tips on creating an effective social media presence for your business.
Choose Your Networks Wisely
It’s tempting to start a new profile on every single new social media site that pops up. While it is a good idea to reserve the names for pages you may think you want to use in the future, it’s important to carefully select the networks you will invest the most time and energy. Typically there are about 2-3 social networks that will work best for any given business. For example, if you sell physical products, you should consider sites such as Pinterest and Instagram, which are highly visual and well-suited for products. If you sell your services or time, Twitter is a great place to strike up conversations and promote your expertise. Check out our previous blog for more on choosing the most effective platform for your audience.
Plan Your Presence
It’s important that you have a plan in place when you set off to start your social media presence online. It can harm your business if you begin posting with gusto and then drop off. Failing to be consistent reflects poorly on your brand and can cause problems in the future, particularly if people are trying to reach you through social media. No one likes being ignored. By spending a few minutes each month, you can plan the things you will talk about, which sites you will post them to and how you will position yourself. Then when it comes time to post your content, you’ve already done the heavy lifting!
Schedule
Another great way to build a presence of your business is to schedule posts. Preparing what you post in advance will ensure that you are sending out social media content regularly even if you find yourself in the middle of one of those extraordinarily busy weeks. Those busy times happen to all of us, but planning ahead and scheduling posts ensures you have social media content going out even during those busiest of weeks. Sites like buffer allow you to load up relevant articles and content for posting at a later date. HootSuite is a free tool that is great for scheduling out content you’ve created yourself, such as blog posts and tweets.
Check In!
If people are visiting you on social media networks and leaving feedback, it is important that you acknowledge them. Did someone review your business? Great! Make sure to thank them for their time in doing so. If they left negative feedback, use it as a way to improve your products and services. Also, make sure that you acknowledge the negative feedback. Responding to even negative comments can be an opportunity to repair a relationship or show a future customer how professional you are even in the face of adversity.
Adjust As You Go
You may discover that your audience loves a certain type of content. Or, you may find that a new and emerging social media site gets the best results for you. It’s important to watch for these trends and to adjust accordingly. The scope of media changes frequently, so it’s important to keep up with the industry changes.
If you need help managing your social presence, OnPoint Internet Marketing has a variety of options designed to help you make the most of your online presence.
If you liked this post be sure to read business social media posting.