You are currently viewing Do This (Not That) When Using Social Media for Business

Do This (Not That) When Using Social Media for Business

Let’s get right to the point: Using social media for business is not the same as using it for your personal life. Too often, we see the line between the two get blurred.

Sure, there are many things—like reacting to posts, engaging with content and sharing content yourself—that are common to both. And we do recommend sharing some personal content to your business pages. However, the type of content that may be appropriate for your personal page is not always appropriate for your business page.

Here are a few examples of what to do vs. not to do when using social media for business.

Do: Post in support of other local businesses.

Support your fellow business neighbors! Give someone a shoutout on your business page, and maybe they will return the favor.

Don’t: Badmouth the competition.  

Talking trash on social media is not a good look for anyone—especially for your business! Keep it classy by avoiding publicly badmouthing the competition (or any other local business, for that matter).

Do: Post about important life events.

Did you or someone on your staff get engaged/married? Had a baby? These significant life events are the types of content that followers love to see from local businesses, if you feel comfortable sharing it.

Don’t: Post about your new boyfriend or girlfriend.

Life milestones are great to share to your business page, but only to a point. For example, don’t post that you and your boyfriend just made it official—save it for your personal page! (Or to text to your friends).

Do: Share positive things happening in your business.

Did your business or a staff member recently earn an accreditation or certification? Are you expanding your brick-and-mortar store or service offerings? These are all positive things that are great to share when using social media for business.

Don’t: Brag.

No one likes a bragger! Confidence is great, but be wary of crossing the line into bragging on your business’ social posts.

Do: Interact on social media the same way you would talk to a customer over the phone or in person.

Talk to customers on social media with the same formality and friendliness as you would in person, over the phone or in an email.

Don’t: Use slang, bad grammar, incorrect punctuation or come across as rude in your responses.

See point above. Just because you’re on social media doesn’t give you an excuse to let all of your manners go out the window!

Do: Post pictures showing faces of yourself and employees.

It’s a proven fact. Posts with faces (of you, your staff, your clients/customers, etc.) get more engagement than those without. People like to see other people!

Don’t: Post inappropriate pictures of yourself and employees.

Sure, that car selfie after an amazing haircut might be fine for your personal page, but let’s keep it there! As for other “inappropriate” content, we don’t need to explain it to you.

Do: Post about causes you care about.

Is there a non-profit your business supports? Volunteer work your staff has done in the community? Statistics show that consumers gravitate toward brands that show their support for causes they are passionate about.

Don’t: Get too overly-political or polarizing.

That being said, we suggest keeping politics out of your business content. Anything that could be polarizing to your followers should be left on the personal side.

Do: Share and interact with content from customers who are talking about you.

Did someone check-in at your business or tag your business page in a post? Take this as an opportunity to interact with them! Share a post in which your business is tagged back to your page, or comment on a check-in, for example.

Don’t: Ignore customer content.

Social media is a two-way street! Don’t miss the opportunity to interact with other users (aka, your customer base).

Do: Respond to all social media reviews.

We believe best practice is to acknowledge all reviews you receive on social media, good or bad. Read more about how we suggest handling a negative review on social media.

Don’t: Start a fight on your review page.

As the blog we linked above suggests, instead of publicly arguing with a negative review in the comments for all to see, invite the reviewer to take the conversation offline instead.

Summary

Using social media for business is a must for connecting with your current and future clientele! Follow this list of dos and don’ts to optimize your brand’s social media strategy.

McNutt & Partners is a full-service advertising and digital marketing agency. Contact us today for your marketing needs! Call 334-521-1010, or visit our contact page.

Leave a Reply