Social Media Content – How far are you willing to go?

The internet is a big place, and part of networking with like-minded people and businesses is taking advantage of various social media platforms. Social media has given people from every corner of the globe a chance to meet, engage, learn, and support each other. However, as a business, how you represent yourself online is critical to your brand.

Start with engaging content

Talking to people online is not as easy as you might think. In fact, it can be quite difficult for businesses to get their finger on the pulse of the daily ins and outs of social media engagement. Writing relevant posts for your readers is important, as well as the way you respond.

As you formulate your posts, think of the way this will impact your brand, and ask yourself these questions:

• Who are your readers?
• What are you trying to communicate?
• Are you telling your readers something new?

Got these answered? Good, let’s get started on a simple checklist that will guide you through the content process. Later we’ll talk about how depersonalization can be detrimental to your social media health.

Step-by-step content checklist

• Decide on the goal of your post – What goal are you trying to achieve?
• Check for relevancy – make sure your post is in the now, not last week.
• Consider the reader – your post should gear toward the audience you are reaching.
• Consider your business – your post should mirror your business goals and objectives.
• Develop a conversational tone – make it easy to read, friendly, and spirited.
• Write a compelling headline –draw in your followers and demand engagement.
• Lead with irresistible information – don’t lose your reader’s attention in the first line.
• Make every word count – especially on Twitter where characters are limited.

When social media goes bad

Purposeful social media can be a company’s best friend. It gives you the opportunity to show transparency in your business. However, how do you know when you’ve gone too far? The answer is simple. If at any time during your post development you have any reservation, don’t post it. Depersonalizing your content removes the human content; something we should all strive to give to our followers.

Signs that you’re headed toward disaster

• You personalize a post for a business with your own agenda.
• Lying about your business to gain more followers or engagement.
• Using unrelated events to promote your business.
• Posting inappropriate content during solemn events, national tragedies, etc.
• Total and complete lack of engagement, especially when your followers are asking questions.

At the end of the day, social media marketing is not overly complicated, but it is something that requires planning and nurturing. The modern consumer is out there looking for you. When you provide them with well thought out content that advocates your brand, you’re setting the stage for quality engagement and potential new clients or customers.