Last time out I introduced the subject of using social networking to help your business. Below I offer a few tips on how to make the most social media.
- Create separate accounts for your business and private connections. While your friends may be interested in the success of your company, your clients may not necessarily be interested in your personal life.
- Make sure you fill out your online profile completely. Remember, this is your introduction to new followers. Always put your contact details in a prominent position, so if someone needs them they are easily available.
- Create valuable content, not just plain company news. Do research in your area of business and post relevant news and articles from the industry. Also, be sure to ask for opinions. The best social networking always engages your users to interact with your page.
- Use rich media content, such as videos and photos. It will make your page more interesting, and convey your message better than just plain text.
- Do not ask strangers to follow you simply so you can try to sell them your products or services. It will disturb and annoy them, and you can quickly lose trust and credibility among your customer base.
- Never post any information online when you are tired, intoxicated, angry or upset. Remember that people will judge you by your comments. That also applies to your grammar and spelling. Read over everything when you’re done, and it’s always best to use word processing software to check your text before you post.
- Don’t send invitations to games, apps and other third-party pages to your followers. Not everyone has to like things you do, and some may treat it as spamming.
- Position yourself as an expert. Research conversations where you can give advice, and answer questions that other people are hoping to be answered.
- Make your website/blog the main source of information, and use social networking websites as promoting tools for it. That way you will have full control over the content and won’t lose anything if the social networks go down.
- Always link back to your website. Ultimately your target is to bring people there, not the social network.
- The most important thing you must always remember is that you are dealing with a live audience. In social networks, messages spread very quickly, and once posted there is no turning back, so the old saying ‘think twice before you speak’ should be reinterpreted as ‘think five times before you post’.
Marcin Kulik is the owner of MK Design Studio, a creative web design agency based in Malahide Co Dublin.
E-mail: m.kulik@mkdesign.ie Web: www.mkdesign.ie
