Social media is essential to business. Did you know that over 90% of corporations are now using it as a key aspect of their marketing policies? It is a catalyst that drives web traffic, increases brand awareness, and brings hot leads to your sales funnel.
Is your business maximizing its opportunities via social media? Great social media practices will improve all aspects of your business, while slip-ups could ruin you. Below are some best social media practices for the corporate setting.
Be relatable
The larger your company, the harder it is for customers to relate. From an outside perspective, a large corporation often feels like a giant entity — a depersonalized system without feelings. It’s often hard for clients and leads to understand there are real people working behind the doors.
That’s all the more reasons why large corporations need to be relatable and approachable. People want to feel like there is a real human being behind their social media presence. They crave real and human interactions, and social media provides the space for these interactions to take place.
Lay down the welcome mat
A corporation needs to show its customers that they care about them by engaging directly with their consumer base. Think of a social media presence as a approachable human face — a person that can answer questions and engage in chatty banter.
Different platforms
Social media is no longer only for youngsters. Statistics show that people from all ages and demographics are increasingly using social media for news and information. To catch all these varying demographics cast a wide net using multiple social media platforms. Instagram and Youtube are geared to millenials, whereas Facebook and Twitter are increasingly becoming more Boomer friendly. LinkedIn is attracting professionals from all age brackets. The point is, diversify to reach more people.
Don’t over-market
Social media is all about human interactions. Make sure your company is engaging on a personal level and not spamming with a whole bunch of ad related content. The key is to make your interactions feel like engagement and not merely as ploys to make a sale. Try building brand awareness without being pushy. Customers want to be treated as people, not just numbers in your revenue stream.
Listen
Social media users are more apt to tell you how they really feel using these platforms; much more so than other forms of communication like phone or face-to-face. Listen to what they are saying. Social media gives you direct access into the thought processes of your consumers. If they suggest improvements, listen. You don’t have to act on everything, but use these insights to your advantage.
Recruitment
It’s easy to understand social media platforms in terms of marketing, but it can deliver much more. Have you thought of it in terms of talent recruitment? Smart young talent is increasingly turning towards social media to land a job. This is where they learn about your brand’s culture and innovations. If you don’t have a strong presence, young talent will move towards companies that do.
Use analytics tools
With social media, it’s sometimes difficult to translate the data. How many people are you reaching? Are people actually clicking? Is there true engagement? Analytics tools can help you center all of this data in one convenient place. They are excellent for tracking:
- Direct sales
- Website conversions
- Social sentiment
- Email subscriptions
- Event registrations
Video is the future
In this fast-paced digital world, video is quickly becoming king. Consumers are looking for easy to digest content that doesn’t take up a lot of their time. A ten minute written article can easily be made into a 30 second video. This doesn’t mean you should do away with written content, just make sure you have a plan to implement video into your social media strategy too.
Over the last few years corporations have come on board with implementing social media marketing strategies. With more people from all age groups spending more time online, social media is a marketing sector your company can’t ignore. The above were a number of strategies to make sure you are getting the most out of your online presence.