Social media: A tool which no business could do without

by Startacus Admin

Millions of people are reliant on social media sites for all sorts of things. They use it to connect with friends and family, to share their thoughts with the world at large and even to get news and views. Some savvy businesses have leapt onto the bandwagon and used social media to connect with their customers and everyone else, but how can it be done successfully?

Individuals and businesses should approach social media in different ways. While ordinary people should be able to use them purely for fun, businesses should approach Facebook, Twitter et al with a degree of care. If handled correctly, social media could provide a major boost to areas such as brand recognition, reputation, interaction with customers and sales.

Maintaining dialogue

A recent survey conducted on behalf of RandomStorm found that 23.6% of people would deem a company to be trustworthy if they had a good social following. Building one up is easier said than done, but by taking the following steps towards achieving that, you could soon feel the benefits:

• Try to respond promptly to any complaints or compliments. In doing so, you will be seen as attentive to the customers’ needs, reflecting positively on your business
• Be sure to mention any special offers on your feeds. This will help to ramp up interest from people curious about what you have to offer
• Try not to come across as too serious. Some brands try to inject a little humour into their feeds with things like memes or jokes, which can often win you some new followers if done in the right way.
• Post regularly. This is imperative, as it shows that your business is still going. Try not to be too intense, but one or two tweets or posts a day will be sufficient.

All of the above will give your business a good chance at succeeding in being social. However, it’s also important to think carefully before each post, as any faux-pas would undo all your good work, thereby damaging your brand almost instantly, no matter how much you apologise afterwards.

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Published on: 25th March 2014