Don’t kill public perception before you’ve even started. Learn the best ways to position yourself and engage on social media.
You’ve just started your business, and decided to go on various social media platforms to promote and market it. Great! Hold on a second, though—you could be on the verge of messing the whole thing up. Instead of gaining exposure, you could be labeled as “another annoying/useless/cupcake startup.”
We can all see the high number of startups on social media platforms—but how are they doing? Are the owners using a good approach? Is it really helping them grow, or are they just following the trend of being on social media?
Here are few scenarios and solutions for avoiding hatred of your business on social media:
You Don’t Have a Plan: This is a very common mistake. Hopping on social media without a plan is wrong—very wrong. As a business owner, you always plan your financials, marketing etc., and social media is no different. You need to set goals and lay out a strategy of how to achieve them; design your tactics; and measure the effectiveness of your overall plan. At the end of the day, you’ll need to adjust it according to today’s dynamic business environment.
You Ignore People on Social Media: You’ve just started your business, you’re under pressure, and you have little time to respond to your followers. Think again! Customers hate being ignored. It’s all about building your reputation and relationship with customers. By ignoring them, you could set off the bomb of a very bad “word of mouth” experience. Imagine a customer with a lot of active followers on Twitter talking about how you’ve ignored him. The least you can do is acknowledge your customers’ questions or complaints.
You Share/Post Too Much or Too Little: Let’s face it: customers get annoyed when a business posts too much. Personally, I hate it. On the other hand, if your business isn’t posting on social media, why are you even there? There is no right answer to how frequently a business should be posting on social media platforms. Think of several perspectives, and test the frequency of your posts. This should include things like: type of business, audience, type of content, and/or type of messages you’d like to deliver. Start somewhere, and see how customers respond to your posts. If you are losing followers, you can be sure you’re not doing a good job!
You Act Like a Robot or Zombie: Seriously, I hate nothing more than automated tweets on Twitter! I believe if you can’t even put in the effort to type your tweets—or most of them—you are not authentic. On the other hand, it’s important to let social media be fun. Enjoy your conversations with your customers. Don’t be so serious or too professional in your engagement. Watch your language, and avoid insulting anyone. Pay attention to what you say.
Your Grammar Sucks: “Please” beings with a P, not a B, and their is different from there. The last thing you want is bad grammar, spelling mistakes, or even writing to as 2. Proofread your posts, read them again before you click, and pay equal attention to your Arabic posts.
One last piece of advice: try to post general information about the business you are in. For instance, if you are selling technology-related products, update your audience with the latest trends and innovations in technology; it says a lot about you.
