Avoid These Social Media Mistakes
Are you doing Social Media right, or are you wasting time and effort? For contractors, the answer to that question can be found by asking several others:
Do you have a Social Media strategy? If not, get one. That’s the first step in avoiding wasted opportunity. You want to determine what you’re trying to achieve, how to gauge your investments of time and money and what policies should guide your posts. This strategy will be the foundation for delivering an effective message and building relationships in social platforms.
How often are you posting? Be consistent, but don’t overdo. Once a day or a few times a week may be the right strategy for Facebook, for instance. On Twitter, posts tend to get swept up in the feed. It’s OK to re-share the same post later. Just don’t go AWOL. Nothing says “nobody’s home” like landing on a company’s Social Media profile that hasn’t been updated since 2013.
Do you have the right to share the content? Posting a helpful or interesting link is good content to share. But be sensitive about posting photos or naming customers in a post without their permission. Also, give credit where appropriate. In other words, don’t copy and paste someone else’s fabulous thought and pass it off as your own.
Are you writing like a human? Social Media is filled with polite, company voices that are ever so slightly lacking in personality. While you want to be careful about topics that could offend (off-color humor is in the eye – or ear – of the beholder), you don’t have to create content that sounds as if your legal advisor wrote your post. Along those lines, instead of hiding behind a blank company face, let your customers peek into the personalities of your team. Being transparent about who is posting helps create a stronger connection with team members.