If you’re a business owner, you surely know that having a social media presence is an absolute necessity. The most common question when embarking on a social media journey is usually “How do I get more likes/retweets/favorites?” The misconception here is that as long as you have a Facebook or Twitter page and actively post on it, the followers will roll in. This is not usually the case; we’ve compiled a few key dos and don’ts that are easy to implement across multiple platforms, and will boost your following in no time.
Do Understand Your Audience: A key to a successful social media campaign is understanding your customer base, and then tailoring your content to them. Post content that engages them and that they can relate to – you’ll be sure to see more success.
Don’t Neglect Negative Comments: Ignoring negative comments makes it look like you have something to hide. Unhappy customers can usually be diffused with some personal attention, and in the process it will show that you truly care about them. (However, if you suspect you have a troll on your hands, you can easily block them from your page. Profanity and insults should never be tolerated.)
Do Be Transparent: When posting, be excited about your company and its products, and make sure to give it a voice. Allowing your customers to see into your company culture through social media will make you relatable and fun to follow.
Don’t Re-Use Messaging Across Platforms: Cross-platform posting may sound like a great time-saving solution, but in reality it will drive your engagement down dramatically. Facebook and Twitter are different animals and require different management approaches. Blindly pushing your Facebook posts onto Twitter makes it seem like an afterthought – not to mention antisocial, unauthentic, and sloppy! Followers want to see real content, and a shortened Tweet with a Facebook link at the end is bound to turn them off.
Do Try to be Timely: Engaging with your audience about current events is a great way to increase interactions. With Twitter especially, it’s important to make sure your content is at the top of the timeline. Scheduling posts using a platform is an effective way to do this; you could also give your social media team access to the accounts if an event is happening outside of business hours.
Don’t Forget To Measure: An important part of social media management is analytics. Facebook Insights allows you to see virtually everything you need to know about your followers and how they respond to your content. Twitter Analytics also provides a simple way to measure engagement. If you use a publishing platform like Hootsuite, Sprout Social, or Buffer those analytics will often be provided to you in a nice, neat package.
