Social Media Savvy

For those of you looking to build your own Facebook presence, my advice would be to treat it like any other marketing effort by remaining professional and consistent. To make the most of your professional presence in the social media world follow these simple tips:

• Don’t post pictures or material that could harm the reputation of your business.  Avoid posting anything that may be controversial or offensive on your business’ Facebook page. If any of your co-workers, employees, customers, or clients can view your personal Facebook page it is important that you monitor the content published on your personal page very closely as well. As a general rule of thumb for both my professional and personal pages, I don’t publish anything that wouldn’t make my mother proud.
• Encourage customer feedback and interaction by posting product pictures and offerings on a regular basis. People love visuals! The more pictures you can provide your customers or clients of the products or services you offer, the bigger response you’ll receive. By informing your customers of new product availability, you’ve given them a reason to walk through your door.
• Use the mass e-mail feature like a newsletter to let your clients know what your business has been up to. Whether you do this on a monthly or bi-monthly basis, consistency is key to keeping your customers or clients informed about your business. Whether you detail new product offerings, inform them of new milestones reached, or let them know about upcoming sales or promotions your customers will appreciate hearing from you on a regular basis.
•  Find out what your customers really want by posting a new discussion. The discussion application is a great way to spark a conversation that will engage the interest of your customers. Use this as a tool to find out what they would like to see in your store or what new services they would like you to start providing.
• Gain customer testimonies to help your business grow. Getting customers to give a positive testimony about their experience with your business will give you a ‘one-up’ on those businesses that have little customer feedback available. Facebook provides a ‘review’ application that can make it easy to give your customers or clients the ability to start speaking out on your behalf.