Social media isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. That’s fine - some folk like a good strong breakfast cuppa and others prefer a calming camomile.
There’s a lot of nonsense written and talked about when it comes to social media for business, but help is at hand. We’ve put together a list of 7 signs below that are intended to be helpful rather than a patronising telling-off!
1) You break the 80/20 rule every day
What’s this 80/20 rule all about then? Many experts believe that 80% of your social media output should be non-promotional, with the remaining 20% advertising your products/services in some way.
One thing is for sure, if you just broadcast sales messages all day long, you’re missing the point and only succeeding in hacking people off.
The 80/20 rule should be applied on a daily basis. Don’t save up all your self-promoting updates for a Friday!
2) You never follow people back
Hey, it’s not called anti-social media you know! Just kidding, but even if someone follows you and you think “they’re no use to me”, remember that they will know dozens, hundreds or perhaps even thousands of people - some of whom may be just who you’re looking for.
Having said that, don't just follow everyone back blindly - use your own judgement.
3) You take a machine gun approach
Imagine you’re at a party and someone you don’t know approaches you and just launches into their whole life story, never giving you a chance to speak. You would probably make sure you never ran into that person again.
If you have lots to say on social media, spread it out rather than just launching into a massive update frenzy all at once.
4) You think social media isn’t right for your business
If you can afford to ignore brand awareness, referrals, building relationships, finding suppliers and driving traffic and sales to your website, then social media isn’t for you my friend.
In almost every business sector, the people you’re looking to find are active on one or more social media platforms. You need to be there too with something useful to say.
5) You haven’t got a photo or profile information
Why would someone connect with you on social media if you haven’t taken the time to show or tell them who you are and what you do? Don’t just add any old photo and description either, take your time and get them right.
6) You never ask questions
As we’ve alluded to already, social media is a two-way street. Asking questions is a great way to get a conversation going, just as it is offline.
Stating facts and just sharing other people’s content is highly unlikely to spark any meaningful exchanges. Don’t be afraid to state your opinion and ask others for theirs.
7) You just follow people you know
Millions of social media users are out there looking to connect with like-minded people. With a bit of research you can build relevant lists of people and companies to engage with. Your Uncle Dave may be one of your Twitter followers and like tweeting about his pigeons, but is that who you’re really trying to connect with?
Don’t fall into the trap of just focusing on potential customers either - social media users could turn out to be reliable suppliers, business partners or even future employees.
