5 Awesome Social Media Techniques for your Business – Keep it Personal and Consistent!

More and more businesses are starting to realize the importance and power of Social Media. SMO – Social Media Optimization and SMM – Social Media Marketing are ever increasingly becoming a part of the business plan. There are over 1.2 Billion Social Media users daily across the globe. It is a big sea of potential and the returns can be great. It is, however, a challenge to say the least to tap into the benefits of what Social Media has to offer. Being personal and consistent can help!

Here are 5 awesome techniques you can use to harness the power of Social Media and utilize the various platforms to drive users to your site and grow your business.

1-    Be Social, be yourself. I have witnessed numerous times how people fail to be a real person. They are some faceless admin person whose job is to only acknowledge and respond to concerns. Now with automated response technology to save time, the personal touch has been lost. The key word about Social Media is the social part. You have to have a presence that is personable, available and visible. Much like voicemail or automated receptionists, while it is a way to save time and money for business, it is also something that makes them become less human. Most people do not like automated systems, and would rather engage with a live person. Keep it real, keep it social and personal! 

2-    Engagement. This follows nicely after #1. Automated systems do not engage. They only acknowledge. If you want to truly gain a strong following to your brand and business, you need to be involved in the conversations and posts. Simply having an automated response to your customers concerns and comments will not do. I know for me when I see automated responses I cringe and think, ok is my response actually going to be seen by a real person? Sometimes I do not get a response at all which begs the question if automation really works. What if that person is on vacation?  

3-    Be Positive. If you think having a rant on Facebook or Twitter is the best way to engage your followers, think again. Studies show that no one enjoys negative comments. Regardless of the day you are having, no matter how frustrated you are, stay cool, stay calm, and keep it informative and positive. Never ever blog or post when you are upset. Much like writing emails, don’t do it when you are emotional. If you do, I would certainly have someone proof read them before you post.  

4-    Your Content. This is what you know, and what you want to share with the internet world. Content needs to be informative or entertaining. One of the two. It also needs to be original and creative. Don’t try and write a novel, make it concise and to the point. Nowadays, no one has time to read a 3 page blog. Quick and Quality information is key!  

5-    Consistency. This is a commonly overlooked technique. If you tweet or post less than once a week, I promise you that you will not gain followers. People want to see you on a regular basis, because hey you are awesome and have lots of great things to share! Just having Facebook or Twitter accounts is not enough. You need to be visible and active on the platforms regularly. Another thing is that you need to post or tweet consistently. If you are all over the map, like sometimes at midnight, maybe a few at 8am, then again at 9 pm, your followers will never know when you are posting/tweeting. Pick a time during the day that works for you and consistently stick with it.  

The above techniques work and will help you and your business. Keep with the personal and social strategy in your SMO plan and you will see the results.