Social media can be a huge boon for your business. In fact, given the increasingly digital nature of the world, it can be an outright detriment to your brand if you don’t have it. Before you start tweeting, however, you’ll want to know the “do”s and “don’ts” of corporate-based social media accounts.
Do Know Target Your Intended Audience
If you haven’t done demographic research into your target market, now is the time to do so. People from different walks of life have their own preferences for ads, apps, reels, hashtags, and even social media platforms themselves. There’s no use in advertising your doughnut business to the fitness gurus of Instagram, but the bakers of Facebook might love your stuff on #DoughnutFridays.
Don’t Mix the Personal and Professional
Always have separate social media accounts for your business. You can advertise them on your personal accounts, but your official business accounts should be self-contained worlds on their own. The reasons are myriad, including a more professional appearance and the ability to target business-related algorithms that aren’t confused by your personal content. Some platforms like Tumblr make it easy to have multiple accounts by allowing you to toggle between them without having to log in and out every time.
Do Answer Comments and Questions
One of the biggest benefits of social media is being able to directly engage with your customers. When they want to know if your outdoor fabrics can be shipped worldwide, you can answer “yes” right away before you lose the sale to inertia. When they’re experiencing technical issues with your site, you can keep them informed of every step of progress in getting it back online. This open line of communication is so much easier than going through a middleman.
Don’t Be Overly Informal
You might have seen brands going viral for joking comments left to customers on their social media accounts. While there’s nothing wrong with being casual every so often, you don’t want it to define your image. Most of your customers aren’t tech-savvy young people egging on your silliness. You’ll still need to be a reputable and reliable authority for the rest of the world.
Do Follow the Conventions of the Platform
Every social media site has its own customs, which is why such unique and individual communities can arise from them. It’s worth the effort to research their differences and utilize them for the most effective online marketing. On TikTok, for example, it’s customary to include captions along with spoken words. On Reddit, most users use proper capitalization and punctuation. Knowing these details can help you integrate your brand like a local.
Don’t Become Overly Obsessed With Trends
Staying relevant on social media often means staying in the loop with the latest trends. However, you don’t want to become a “flash in the pan” account without any long-term staying power. A good business resource is an evergreen one that can be accessed and understood at any time, including in the future. You don’t want tomorrow’s customers to be mystified by posts that you made today.
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