Social media has carved out its niche in business, and now that people and companies are there, they’re trying to learn how to properly use it.

I’ve compiled a list of ten do’s and don’ts of social media best practices for business.

 

Do’s

1) Use Social Media as a Window

Social media gives businesses a great opportunity for people and customers to connect with them on a different emotional level. Don’t be afraid to use social media as a channel to show your company’s personality or culture. You can post pictures of company parties, service projects, NCAA tournament brackets, competitions, etc. Any chance that you can make your company more human via social media, take it.

2) Post Regularly

An unwritten rule of social media is be consistent. As a marketer, you learn a lot about generating and maintaining TOMA (Top of Mind Awareness). Posting regularly will help maintain TOMA with your customers and fan base and will help build your credibility as a good source of information in your industry (assuming you’re posting great content).

Opinions vary on how often “regularly” is, but I think a good balance would be once an hour on Twitter and once per day on Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and others.

3) Make Social Media a Habit

Along the lines of posting regularly, whoever manages your social media profiles should make checking social media as much as a habit as checking your email (Tweet this). You should be checking your social media profiles twice per day, minimum; I recommend checking it in the morning when you get in, then later in the day as you’re preparing to leave.

4) Stay Classy

Whenever there is negative or conversation on a particular topic or even around your brand, companies MUST take the high road and stay positive. Don’t use social media to belittle others or your competition; if you do, it will only end badly for you.

5) Track Your Successes

Successes can be defined hundreds of ways, and your definition of “success” should be tied to your company’s social media goals and plan. Whether it be number of fans, retweets, or engagement levels, make sure you’re recording it.

 

SEE ALSO: 3 Things You MUST Identify Before Getting Started On Social Media

 

Don’ts

1) Be “That Guy”

You know when you go to a party and there’s always that one person that everyone knows is there, but no one knows why they’re there or who invited them; then the next day you’re driving down the road you see them and you say, “Hey, that’s THAT GUY!”.

You never want to be “That guy” (Tweet this).

Don’t be “that guy” who is rude (post derogatory/offensive content) , loud (post way too frequently), or arrogant (only talk about yourself).

2) Ignore the Chatter

Whether you believe it or not, the reality is that people are talking about your brand, and chances are, they’re doing it on social media. When people tweet at you or write/comment on your Facebook wall, the worst thing you can do is ignore them. You don’t need an elaborate response, a simple “like” of their comment/post or “favorite” of their tweet can suffice.

3) Be Mr. Know-It-All

Your company doesn’t sell everything that’s ever been made, so don’t post about everything as if you’re expert. I don’t follow ESPN to get updates on politics and I don’t like Procter & Gamble’s page to hear their opinion on Kim Cardashian.

Know your audience and stay within your niche and what you know best (Tweet this).

4) Beg

Contrary to the opinion of some social media experts, I have the belief that it’s a social media faux pas to ask your Twitter followers to go and “Like” your Facebook page or visa-versa. Here’s an idea, if you want more people to share your posts and tweets, then create more shareable content!!! (Tweet this)

5) Be an Egghead

Being an egg-head is a figurative term for not having a fully filled-out profile (i.e. Twitter users with no profile picture). Again, this is boils down to if you’re going to be in social media, be fully-invested in doing so and commit to it.

Your company’s social media pages are in fact secondary websites. You wouldn’t leave your primary website under construction or incomplete with missing text and/or broken images, and you shouldn’t accept any less from your social media platforms. More often than not, consumers will see your social media pages long before they ever visit your website, so you don’t want to give them a bad first-impression.

Taking the time to make sure your page looks good and stands out will go a long way. Don’t be an egghead, just do it (Tweet this).

Have more suggestions that I missed? Let me know in the comments.

 

-Lance Brown