Social Media Do’s and Do Not’s for Business: Being Social on Social

Why do you go on social media? To stalk your friends, catch up on your news, message your siblings? If you’re like us, the majority of your interactions on social media fall into one of these categories – learning, reconnecting, communicating. The essence of social media is the social side of it. And, as simple as that sounds, it can be very easy for companies to slip up with their social media do’s and do not’s for business by forgetting that one key to success: being social.

Ahead, we’ve outlined the best social media do’s and do not’s for business. But, if you’re looking for the Reader’s Digest version, all of the tips revolve around one crucial tip: Be social on social.

 

Social Media Do’s and Do Not’s for Business

1. Do: Be the one that people want to talk to.

How do you make this happen? Talk about interesting things! You know how your swashbuckling uncle always told the best ghost stories? Be your swashbuckling uncle!

2. Do Not: Talk about yourself over and over and over and over…

We all have that one friend, the one who is nice enough, but it terribly selfish in the greatest sense of the word – only concerned with his or her self. Your followers won’t want to stick around on social media, either, if you talk on and on about your company.

3. Do: Provide value.

Referring to #2, there’s no reason you can’t talk about yourself and your blog posts and your products and your employees…but talking about them must provide value to your listeners. Every piece of content you produce should provide value, but especially when you’re talking about your own company.

4. Do Not: Use jargon.

You want people to know what you’re talking about, don’t you?

5. Do: Ask questions.

Asking questions of your audience leads to the most illustrious form of social media: interaction! Give your followers and fans a chance to respond, and then you should respond again. Then, maybe they’ll respond again, to which you can respond…Notice a trend? Don’t let a conversation die out! Keep interacting. Do it in a timely manner, too. You know how people don’t like awkward silence in real life? Long silences don’t work very well on social, either.

6. Do Not: Be overly familiar.

Because that’s awkward for everyone. Shoving your product in someone’s face, asking for personal information and getting too excited on the first interaction is like moving to second base on the date. Whoaaaaa. Slow down there, cowboy. 

7. Do: Use the 80/20 rule.

Post curated content 80% of the time (content that you didn’t create). Post your own content 20% of the time (blog posts, landing pages, service pages, etc.). Following this rule will help you not to break Rule #2.

 

Which of these tips of Social Media Do’s and Do Not’s for Business will you find the hardest the put into action? We’re here to help, if you’d like it. We’re located in Delafield, Wisconsin. Stop in or shoot us an email at [email protected].