Dos & Don’ts’s of Social Media for Business

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The Social media wave have taken every human traditions out of their boxes.  Human Social behaviour whether we like it or not our world have experience a paradigm shift so it behoves even business leaders to learn the do’s and don’ts of social media.

Our interactions, whether through a post, or sharing a video or a tweet; there are rules of social engagement. However the lines between what is acceptable and not acceptable can become blurred this is true in personal behaviour but it is especially a concern with businesses because one wrong post or tweets can become very costly.

Even though you are in more relaxed environment bear in mind your professionalism and business etiquette, connect with your target group but don’t cross the line into professional misconduct.

Today’s the celebrities will say, “No press is bad press” but in business undesirable attention will cost you your reputation and a loss of valuable business.

Before jumping into the foray in the social media arena here are some dos and don’ts that will help you stay on the right track.

1. Never mix business with pleasure, personal persuasion remember the main objective of your campaign, you are there to make a connection in a personal way but this is on the behalf of your business. Your mission or objective is of a business nature this must remain at the central focus of your social efforts. So if it does not relate to your business or the industry, you should not post it on your business account.
2. Spend time to become familiar on how to use the Social Networking site: Learn the systems that you’ve signed into. Familiarize yourself to avoid rookie mistakes that places the companies into a negative light.

i.e.  Say it hashtags, better than no hashtags at all, #News is better than News

• Post images and video in addition to standard text post. The old saying a picture is worth a thousand words, the internet and videos goes hand in hand it no surprise videos are most likely to go viral than a standard text.

1. Manage your comments inbox, remember when someone have taken time out to comment to your, make sure you respond in a timely manner. Your objective is to make business connections, never underestimate where it may lead.

Solicit friends and associates offline to like or follow your business profile. Get them to engage in discussions and post to site. It will encourage others to do the same. It is also good for you to follow and like your post from your personal profile.

1. Solicit friends and associates offline to like or follow your business profile. Get them to engage in discussions and post to site. It will encourage others to do the same. It is also good for you to follow and like your post from your personal profile.
2. Watch out for grammatical errors & Misspelled,   Your words are important but your grammar can change the meaning of your post. Use spell check but pay attention as spell checker can select the incorrect words of spelling. You’ll appear to be a lousy speller or poorly educated.

• Use contest and giveaways and polls to encourage …This is a good way to support your post. This encourages participation, keep in mind your contest you set the rules so you can request video feedback as well as regular text feedback.
• Having a Personable but authoritative manner Show your follower that you are in control, remember the objective is to connect with you or your employees on a personal level, but since your followers are looking to you for directions, be that one who exercises control and not frivolously spout off at the mouth. Don’t be afraid to be personable but also have that professionalism when it is required.

 

1. Form Alliances with Businesses …Pay particular attention to those business with your social media group, establish a relationship with these business. You can be find synergises amongst yourself and may mutually benefit for each other.
2. Use the Research tools to help your business. Pay particular attention to what happens within your groups, examine the things that are working, but also don’t forget to have a good look at the things which does not work, use all available resources to build you knowledge base and develop a more strategic and analytical model of the social media system you use.
3. Don’t become post happy and make you audience develop post blindness. Keep you objective in mind, your post should be meaningful sand adds value

• Don’t play the follow exchange, you don’t have to follow and like every individual who or follow your business. Keep in mind your business objective and they must fit within your business ideals and values.
• Don’t ignore the facts, use the research tools available to measure feedback and participation, use this information to your advantage make adjustments, and face the facts direct your Business will benefit strongly.
• Don’t purge out your old Blogs, make sure you do not get into the habit of removing your older blogs, you can always repurpose these into more relevant and current information.

1. Don’t remove the human factor, today of automated software everything and your post can be made automatically, make sure you pay attention to this factor and never totally remove the human element.

• Don’t encourage foolish and nonsensical comments, often comments from unwanted spammers will show in your comment inbox, be careful not to follow these up, they are an absolute waste of time and more importantly they really do add any value to the conversation. IGNORE these completely.
• Don’t go on a sign up frenzy, never get into the habit of doing meaningless activities, whenever you sign up for a social media account have a clear plan how to leverage this system. Do get into the viral frenzy and sign up because other are doing the same.
• Don’t be afraid of unfavorable comments, Often most people shy away from negative criticism but this is your opportunity to deal with the problem direct, this shows courage honesty and leadership.
• Don’t become discourage of low engagement, never allow the lack of overwhelming success discourage your endeavor, continue even when things are not their best, this demonstrates a determined leader, it stands out, the key is you never know who might be taking note of your actions, believe in your efforts that they pay off in the long run.

1. Don’t share personal or sensitive information, any information that is proprietary information should not be broadcast on social media. This is the same rules within a personal setting and the same thing applies for business.