Social Media etiquette guide for businesses

Social Media etiquette guide for businesses:

Do you ever observe poor social media marketing and wonder “what was that person thinking”?! Well, being a social media marketer that occurrence happens frequently in my life (yes I like to go wild on Fridays).

My amigos, it’s your lucky day. Gone are the days of poor standards when it comes to social media because now, whenever you’re unsure, you can refer back to this amazing guide.

So let’s get straight to the social media etiquette guide for businesses:

1) Cut out the spam:

People hate, and I mean REALLY hate, to be spammed. Just think about how many times you’ve been spammed yourself and consider whether you found those situations to be “pleasant” or not.

Well, some of the ways you can cut out spam are:

• Don’t over post (posting too frequently).
• Stop with the automatic follow messages on Twitter, PLEASE!
• If you don’t know someone, don’t tag them in something

Every follower/like you acquire is another opportunity, please avoid driving them to insanity with spam…

2) Stop posting the same types of content:

With all of the tools at your disposal, why settle for posting the same type of content over and over again?

Too many times I’ve seen businesses use the same type of imagery with slightly different text and images…

If you’re stuck for ideas, here are a few to spark your inspiration:

• Share article links
• Images
• Videos
• GIFs
• Infographics
• Quotes
• Live videos (Periscope, Facebook Live)

Use a mix of the above, see what works and stop using stuff that doesn’t work…simples.

3) Aim to create value and not sales:

This one depends on your objectives for social media. From what I do know though, people don’t like being sold to, period.

Occasional sales oriented posts are acceptable, but spamming followers with these types of posts is not good.

Please keep promotional posts to a minimum (2 times a week MAX).

4) Be friendly:

To be honest, there’s nothing funnier than people getting mad on social media. When it happens I’m usually there with my popcorn in hand, waiting for the “offensive” comments to start rolling.

BUT – if you indulge in such negativity, it will make your brand seem more unapproachable, grumpy, miserable and just about everything else that can make you look terrible.

Next time someone annoys you on social media, just remember to “kill them with kindness”.

5) Don’t get too controversial:

Occasionally weighing in on controversial topics is actually a good thing (provided your views aren’t radical). It creates opportunity to attain some quality engagement for a little amount of effort.

Sometimes businesses go too far though…take the following example:

6) Know your bl**dy audience:

Last but not least on our social media etiquette guide for businesses, KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!

If your audience is 50+, you’re not going to be spending your time creating “dank memes” because your audience won’t relate or engage.

This information is easily accessible within your social media platform’s analytics, if you want a little more detail on Facebook’s insights click here. 

Hootsuite published a “think before you post” image which can be seen below, It’s a great rough guide to follow.

I know you’re having fun but, unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. Hope you enjoyed my Social Media etiquette guide for businesses. Don’t fret, I’ll be back next week with more great content. See you all in a week folks!