“Thou shalt be familiar with Social Media Etiquette”
Social media, the new-age marketing mantra, has fast engulfed the business ideologies of many a modern entrepreneurs. The trends set are in line with the recent approaches to branding and advertising. One thumb rule, however, does not change. And that is – “Customer was, is, and will always remain the BOSS!”. Big and small brands are actively exercising new techniques furnished by this whole new world of interactive marketing to win more hearts. While social media is a global window to connect to a larger audience, it can equally tarnish the brand reputation if not channelized in the right way.
Symbolically put, mistakes leading to a blemished brand image are nothing short of sins! We move on to explain how to avoid some grave mistakes commonly found on Social Media sites.
Sin 1: Thou shalt be familiar with Social Media Etiquette
Often, in business, what seems like a small goof-up may be magnified into a big disaster. Social media marketing can win accolades for your business if you pitch effectively. A very fundamental policy that does the trick is to follow the Social Media Etiquette.
Often, in business, what seems like a small goof-up may be magnified into a big disaster. Social media marketing can win accolades for your business if you pitch effectively. A very fundamental policy that does the trick is to follow the Social Media Etiquette.
The 4 basic Social Media Etiquettes are:
- Transparency
- Authenticity
- Sincerity of communication
- Proactive Engagement with users
Personal identity is of utmost significance on networking sites as the social media involves a lot of interaction. Hence the norms of conduct expected here is somewhat similar to a face-to-face conversation. According to McKinsey report, two-thirds of the overall purchasing decisions are influenced by word of mouth. These interactions are mostly taking place on the Web through social media networking. Friends’ opinion has more weight than advertisements.
In such a scenario, it is not only very important to identify new trends, but also to build relationships. The benefit of social media is that you get both, provided you essentially follow some ground rules to maintain healthy social ties. Social media is a platform where a lot interesting information are swapped within a community or a group and smaller businesses can benefit a lot through it. Seeking the social media way, they can target audiences and prompt them into building strong connections with enhanced loyalty. However, there’s a word of caution. If used inappropriately, these mediums can do the adverse. It is vital to follow certain norms of user interaction.
Some pointers that will help you effectively utilize social media for business are:
- Polite behavior is a requisite here, as it controls your brand image projected to the online community. People representing your business on the social media must be proactive and should be capable of handling critical business situations.
- For a healthy social media interaction, it is necessary to have representatives who can hold on to honesty, transparency and authenticity.
- Listen to what your customer has to say. Engagement in conversation is one of the essentials in social media networking.
- Conversations on social media sites are similar to a real-life face-to-face interaction. So they are best when kept real rather than using formal language.
- Post meaningful content. Be careful about the content that you provide on social media sites. Good and relevant posts, tweets or any other content prop up your brand image.
- Act on users’ suggestions. Don’t just stop at interactions. Leverage the power of social media and do an extensive research among users for FREE. User suggestions can be a useful way to bring about improvements in your products & services.
Resource:
Know more about the innovative and inventive world of Social Media and the wonders it can do to your business. Download an entire chapter of Sales 3.0 – The New Contact Sport How To Use And Leverage Social Media Marketing For Small Business Sales Success by Doug Dvorak – CEO Digital Marketing Group & Milind Mody – CEO eBrandz.
About the Author:
I am actively involved in social media marketing and also write for the same. The book – “Sales 3.0 – The New Contact Sport How To Use And Leverage Social Media Marketing For Small Business Sales Success” has helped me get a detailed insight about the growing need of social media in today’s net-savvy world. This book is a must-read for people who want to win business and build concrete network through social media.
Doug Dvorak helps companies and professionals achieve results through customized, creative and non-traditional sales training systems that are “one size fits one” and developed to the unique business needs and “sales pain points” of each client. He is available to speak on these topics.
For more information visit http://www.salescoach.us or call 847-359-6969
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