Every company needs to invest time, effort and money on social media engagement. Whoever feels that social media is free and using it doesn’t cost money has not yet strategized and professionalized its presence. From social media marketing to offering customer service, a company needs to make a substantial investment, however small that amount may be.
Social media engagement is not a onetime exercise. It is not rocket science but it isn’t a cakewalk either. Most companies go wrong with their social media strategy and that’s because they make some avoidable mistakes. Here are some dos and don’ts of social media engagement that should help you to come up with an effective strategy.
1) Content is the Foundation.
Content is key to any kind of approach whether it is promotional or purely informational. Coming up with relevant content and presenting it in the right context is the key. Most people randomly post or share content and that is wrong. Relevant content shared or presented well which is contextual will always have a better impact. Even content repurposing has to be contextual and relevant. Random copy paste jobs and trying to induce viral sharing would not help.
2) Customer Service is Integral to Social Media Engagement.
No customer wants to be bombarded with promotional content all the time. The users must be listened to and they must also be offered all kinds of help. However, customer service on social media must be exactly the same as it is offline. There shouldn’t be anything additional as that would instill inconsistency. Also, customer service must be kept completely segregated from marketing on social media.
3) Incorporate a Form of Video Marketing.
Video marketing has certainly empowered small to medium businesses that cannot invest in commercials and have them aired during primetime shows. But video marketing has to be well defined. Videos need to be short, interesting and should not be produced by amateurs. No one is interested in checking out your self-made videos unless there is something really unique or different. Also, videos shouldn’t always be about your products or services. There needs to be a larger picture.
4) Social Media Advertising is Double Edge Sword.
Use it well and your sales will soar. Use it unwisely and you will lose the loyalty of whatever following you have. People don’t stay hooked to social media to be targets of ads but they love ads that are of value. Whether it saves them money or introduces them to something they want, ads need to be useful and not a pure sales script.
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