Don’t hide from social media!

Are you ready to get social? You better be. Sorry, not sorry, but if your business doesn’t have a presence on Facebook or Twitter, you don’t appear legitimate to the vast majority of potential customers. In order to get started, you need to develop a social media schedule that will please your current – and potential – audience.

Although users will hit up the Google search bar first when they are in need of your services, users will check social media to read (honest) reviews and get more of a sense of your business’s personality and culture.

In addition, social media allows you to directly interact with potential, current and past customers.

Great, you say, let’s get going! But, before you go posting without some type of plan, strategy and cogent thought, read this article. Because believe it or not, some people (not saying any names, mom) think that social media marketing can be, well, a bit annoying.

So, you’re in kind of a Catch 22 here. You have to be on social media, but you don’t want to annoy anyone. What to do? The answer starts with your social media schedule.

Follow these 3 steps to get started.

1. Be a person.

A human person with a person’s personality. Yes, you are ultimately marketing your company, but on social media—and more times than not—people want their money to help make a difference in the world.

So be relatable, tell folks why an investment in your product would improve life. Do you have a charity? Is your business family-run? Do you have it in your mission to help close the gender pay gap? Do you treat your employees like family?

Think of something that makes your company stand out or is part of a greater issue and tell folks about that. When you focus on human aspects when posting on social media, you immediately become relatable – very much the opposite of annoying.

After all, we are all here to just be good people and who wouldn’t rather do business with good people? #blessed

2. Whisper regularly rather than shouting once.

The single best thing you can do is create some interesting content that gets posted on a regular schedule rather than posting once and walking away.

To start out, sit down with your staff and choose between 10-15 blog post topics that you – or someone you know – could write about.

Even if you don’t consider yourself a writer, take a shot at it. Potential and current customers appreciate hearing directly from the folks behind the scenes at an organization.

Keep posting little kernels about your company. Tell stories. Let your customers comment and reply back. When you are consistent with your content, folks will start to notice.

3. If you have nothing to post about, don’t post.

There is nothing more annoying than an organization jumping into a conversation where they are not wanted nor needed. For a great example of this, check out Condescending Corporate Brands. This entity was created just to show everyone how clueless some organizations can be when interacting on social media.

Have you heard of National Hot Dog Day? Do you think it’s important? (spoiler alert, it’s not) From National Milkshake Day to National Kiss a Redhead Day, there’s always something new. But, just because these days exist, it does not mean you need to post something about it. Especially if it does not pertain to your business. I’ll only say this once: if you do, you will be annoying. Don’t be annoying.

Follow this time-tested rule of thumb: find pieces of knowledge you want to share, fun pictures from satisfied customers and some interesting blog posts. These are great ways to start a dialogue online.

If you’re ready to get social and set up a schedule that works for you, reach out and contact us today. We’ll get you started (and we promise to not annoy you).