The rise of social media to communicate with customers has been a fairly recent trend, so it makes sense if you aren’t sure how to maximize its potential. Getting people to interact and care about your company can be a hard problem to solve. However, no matter what size or what niche your company is in, you can encourage engagement, connection and improve the overall feel of your company on social media with just a few simple tips – starting today.
Show Those Insider Photos
Don’t be afraid to showcase a few of those behind-the-scene photos and biographies. Show your “softer” side and have photo albums of your work environment and maybe even employee bios with photos of them and their families. This highlight of the real world will remind people that you’re human and not just a brand, and people like being able to have warm feelings about a brand they like. These insider photos can show employees listening to their favorite music, playing their favorite game at lunch, or developing a product that your fans would be excited about.
Personalize Your Tweets
Using names and usernames in tweets is how you’ll get an individual to remember you, and if you have the time and aren’t collecting Twitter fans that quickly, this can be an easy and quick activity for you. When someone follows you, take a moment to look at their profile. Does it say that they like roller skating? Maybe you do, too. When you send your welcome tweet, include this kind of personalization; people will feel more welcome to your Twitter followers if you do. If you can’t manage to welcome everyone every time, sometimes sending a somewhat personalized tweet through an automated program is still better than no tweet, but doing it yourself is always best if you can.
Join LinkedIn and Facebook Groups
No matter what niche you’re in, there is a group on either LinkedIn or Facebook for you to join. These are usually small business owners like you that sell similar products in different areas. As an expert in your field, you can help answer questions and get others on track for success, which does not go unnoticed among professionals. As someone who may have some questions yourself, you can also inquire of others. If you give information out freely, you’re much more likely to get answers to your own questions, too.
Collaborative Boards on Pinterest
Keeping up with Pinterest can be very difficult, especially since you only appear on people’s feeds if you’re pinning often and with intent. However, while there’s no way around this, there is a way to pin a bit less often and still be seen – by starting collaborative boards. Other people can pin to collaborative boards, and if they’re owned by you, then that makes it easy to get more exposure as people start following those boards (your name is on it). Make sure that people are pinning high quality pins and that your board has a relevant audience and let them go. Pin to it yourself too sometimes, of course.
Social media can be very difficult to manage on your own, so when you can’t, don’t be afraid of hiring help to get everything in order. However, a little bit of personalization, group conversation, and showing the personal side to your company can go a long way.
