There’s never a better time to take a step back and refresh your thinking than at the start of a new year. This approach can be applied to all aspects of life and business – including your social media presence.

 

At HAN Communications, we work with a number of clients that are keen to ensure they’re hitting the right mark when it comes to representing their business on social media.

A big part of this is often centred around marketing teams getting senior staff within their organisations to buy-in to the idea of social media – which isn’t always easy.

However, getting senior management to embrace social media on an individual level will ensure there is a face behind the corporate ‘brand’, whilst reaping a number of business benefits too.

While some business leaders may warmly embrace social media and know what to do with it, others might view it with a sense of unease – particularly if they don’t know a great deal about using platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn to promote themselves or their brand.

The best approach for those people within your organisation who need to gain confidence and feel comfortable developing conversations online, is to make sure that they’re getting the basics right.

For that reason, we’ve gone back to basics and have pulled together a short list of social media top tips which are ideal for those organisations or individuals who are considering taking the leap into the social media pond into 2019…

  1. Optimise your profile – once you’ve set up your account include as much relevant information about yourself and your business as possible, and be sure to choose a professional photo.
  2. Identify like-minded people and organisations – spend some time searching for people and businesses that are relevant to you, your business and your role.
  3. Start connecting – this is pretty self-explanatory, once you find like-minded people, follow them!
  4. Listen – you don’t need to start posting constantly as soon as you’re up and running. Dedicate some time to listen to what others are saying. Listen and learn.
  5. Think about your audience – consider a few key questions, such as what interests my audience? What channels do they use? What can I offer them? What can I talk about that will stimulate a response from them?
  6. Start talking – when you feel ready and you have something to say, say it! Or join in a conversation with others. But don’t be too controversial – remember that you are representing your brand.
  7. Target influencers – don’t be afraid to connect with key influencers and join in conversations with them. Just because they have millions of followers doesn’t mean you can’t get involved.
  8. Credit others – if you see a post that strikes a chord with you, then like, retweet and share. It’s a great way to build relationships and that person may do the same for you further on down the line.
  9. Conversation is key – remember that social media is about conversation, don’t just broadcast sales or promotional messages.
  10. Quality over quantity – it’s easy to assume that posting regularly is the best way to build your online presence but quality content is better than a constant stream of irrelevant posts.
  11. Be consistent – keep up the conversation instead of dipping in and out every couple of months. Try to dedicate 5 – 10 minutes each working day to see what’s happening on your feeds and join in.
  12. Final thought of the day…if you’re ever in doubt, leave it out! If you ever question whether you should post something, whether it could be deemed controversial or not in-keeping with your organisation’s brand, then leave it out!

If your business requires advice, training or support on its social media strategy or management, we’d be happy to help. For more information, get in touch.

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