How You Can Keep an Active and Engaging Social Media Account

When giving your business an online presence, the question isn’t whether you should use social media but how you should use it. Just having accounts on various social media platforms isn’t enough. You need to keep them updated regularly with compelling posts that will help you to attract and secure an audience. With so many businesses competing for attention around the globe, you have to be putting your best foot forward. These tips will help you have the best possible social media presence.

Finding a Voice

Even though it’s mostly words on a screen, social media accounts still have a “voice.” Depending on your intentions, they can be light-hearted, serious, or a mix of different feelings. Whatever you choose for your business’ personality, it needs to be consistent. Think about what qualities you want your social media accounts to reflect and remember them every time you post. If you need to, write them down and refer to them until they become second nature. The best social media accounts are ones that are able to gain the trust of followers chiefly through their careful and consistent phrasing.

Always Respond

Social media allows for expedited communication between businesses and customers. While that can make communication more convenient, it can also mean that you have to come to terms with receiving negative reviews. Even if you’re receiving overwhelmingly positive reviews, it can still be tough to receiving negative ones. When you receive a negative review that isn’t just someone trying to rile you up, take time the time to consider and respond to it. Show the reviewer that you’ve listened and want to remedy the situation. It’s important to respond to negative reviews, as it can show that you’re not above criticism. Of course, there are better ways to respond to positive reviews than just saying “thanks!” and moving on. Address people by name (when possible) and leave unique messages of thanks. They should end up feeling even better about the positive notice they’ve left.

Make It Interactive

Interactive tools can make your customers feel much more invested in your social media accounts and business. They can be used for feedback purposes, such as including polls about various plans for your business. You should also do your best to respond to messages from customers. These tools could be the only way that people can interact with your brand and because of that you should make sure to make it worthwhile. When you implement interactive tools, you can show your customers that you put stock into what they have to say. After all, you wouldn’t be where you are today if not for them.

Include Photos

People really love looking at photos. It shouldn’t be any wonder that Instagram is a success when its design is basically for sharing photos. However, you can’t expect to win people over just by posting photos. Yours need to be eye-catching, with strong colors and professional compositions. They should also be supported by compelling captions. You can use photos to appeal to emotions, such as happiness, empathy, and anger.

Use Restraint

You don’t want your social media accounts to be ghost towns. However, there’s something to be said about maintaining some sort of mystery. If you’re bombarding your followers with multiple updates every hour, you’re going to test their patience. All that clutter is going to make them wonder when you post things that are actually relevant to them. Space your posts out as much as possible. If there’s breaking news, then you should definitely post it right away. More general posts should be given time to reach your followers before you add more. Should a post just seem like it’s serving as a filler, you’re better off not submitting it.

Take Notes

Think about how you can make posts that are a cut above what everyone else is posting. Competition can extend to social media, and it could be on Facebook and Twitter where you separate yourself from the rest of the pack. Do your research to see what kinds of posts are getting the most response. This doesn’t need to be limited to your direct competition either. Look at trending posts from various industries and see how those businesses are able to create a buzz. Not every post is going to be a runaway success, but a consistent mark of quality is invaluable. It’s also encouraged to ask others for tips on making your posts stand out more. They likely had to figure it out on their own and will be happy to know that at least one person is interested in getting some pointers.

An engaging social media account is like a garden. It’s important to plant the seeds, but it’s also important to nurture it. This is another responsibility, but any successful business owner knows the importance of bracing responsibility. Your commitment to your work is a quality you should never feel halfhearted about. When you put the proper amount of time and effort into your social media accounts, you can give your business a serious lift.