Last week we looked at why you need social media for business. Today we look at the key principles of social media according to Japies Swanepoel of Interactive Concepts.
Conversation. Let’s talk. Social media should be precisely that – social. Use social media to interact with your clients or potential clients. Find out what interests them. Or even what makes them mad about your organization and work on those things.
Strategy. This is the social media strategy. Every organization which intends to have social media should have a social media strategy that feeds into the overall strategy. What is social media supposed to achieve for your organization. Who are the audiences? Who are you targeting? What are you using the social media for, information, customer support, sales etc?
Policy. Who can say what on social media on behalf of the organization. What are the communication policies surrounding using social media. Can anybody talk about the organization? Is there an official spokesperson/s for the organization on social media? Are there guidelines for employees who work for the organization on what they can or cannot say about the organization on their own personal social media platforms?
Respond. Social media should respond to issues raised. How fast is the response? How do you respond?
Current. If you choose to have social media it should be updated. It is a shame to see a Facebook page that has not been updated in 2 or 3 years. You should not have social media for the sake of saying you have it if it is not current.
Relevant. Your social media should be relevant to the audiences it is meant for. Having quotes all the time that have nothing to do with your business do not help. The content on your social media platforms should draw your audience in.
Photos. Use photos to make your content on social media more appealing.
Original. There is no point in having social media if all you are going to do is retweet all the great comments about your organization. There are companies who are guilty of not even putting out content but all they do is retweet. Have original content that appeals to the target audience. If not you might as well not have a presence online.
Consistent. Be consistent in output. Keep putting up fresh and relevant content on social media.
