If technology has been a defining factor for a generation of business owners, social media is helping to redefine how businesses communicate with customers and employees. While websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and more offer a number of opportunities for companies of all sizes regardless of industry, there are a few mistakes that can hamper the effectiveness of the company’s page. Owners, public relations specialists, or whoever is responsible for updating social media should be aware of the pitfalls and make every step possible to avoid them.
With billions of accounts active or present on social media, businesses can be difficult to find. For example, Anne Welsh Salon is constantly in competition with regular people of the same name. Since businesses want to make their social media pages easy for customers to find, using a great profile picture, links directly to the proper location, and specific instructions are all key ingredients. Standing out is the point of a business page and companies need to make sure customers can find them easily.
One of the biggest turn offs with regards to engagement on social media is a constant and consistent badgering of followers and fans with marketing announcements. While social media is a terrific location for advertising opportunities, posts of that type need to be offset by a number of updates and shares of a an informative or personal nature. After all, nobody wants to hear about the same sale ten times per day.
With all the technology and high quality cameras available to businesses today, there is little excuse for poor pictures in professional social media feeds. Since people tend to respond to visual images, pictures should always be a part of any social networking experience. However, those pictures should be tasteful, edited, and focused to avoid turning users off. Great pictures can quickly take on a life of their own on social media, and bad pictures can have the opposite effect.
Facebook, Twitter, and other social media websites are built around actively communicating with other users. Businesses need to be conscious about their updates and make sure that enough content is being posted to provide information to fans. In short, the page needs to be updated enough to be useful and insightful or users will generally start to disregard updates.
In the end, social media is designed to give businesses an audience. Since the ability of these websites to drive customer traffic and elevate communication can not really be debated, companies want to make sure the official accounts are kept current, have great images, and are not overly marketing focused. Social networking is a tool that should help companies get customers through the door and not force them to look elsewhere. Luckily, all of the common mistakes can be avoided by simple planning. Once the plan is deployed properly, every company can reap the rewards that social media provides.