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10 Social Media Best Practices Your Business Should Follow | DigitalMediaThoughts.com
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10 Social Media Best Practices Your Business Should Follow

social media best practices

75% of male internet users and 83% of female internet users actively use Facebook. And that’s just the beginning. Social media has totally permeated our society.

As a business, this is great news! You can use social media to directly reach your audience. But it can be hard to know how to do it correctly.

That’s why we’ve compiled the 10 social media best practices your business should follow when utilizing social media in your marketing strategy. Check them out!

1. Set Goals

If you start using social media without setting goals, you’re not starting off on the right foot. That’s like going on a road trip without a map.

Instead, start with some goals. And make them SMART goals.

You’ve probably heard of SMART goals before. This simply means that your goals are Specific, Measurable, Aspirational, Relevant, and Time-Based. Doing this will help your social media marketing have greater purpose.

2. Make a Calendar

Next, it’s time to make a schedule for your social media. This will help you stay organized and ahead of the curve.

When you make a posting calendar, you can post more strategically. When you don’t plan, things like holiday creep up and you have to scramble to put a post together. Instead, planning ahead will minimize your stress.

A schedule also keeps your team on track and helps your team be accountable.

3. Define Your Voice

How do you want your brand to come across on social media? Do you want to be funny or more serious? Calm or energetic? Sarcastic of more put together?

You can be a combination of different adjectives as well. More than anything, it’s important to establish guidelines about your voice.

Who is your audience? What will they best respond to? Answering these questions will help you narrow in on your brand’s voice on social media.

4. Pick Your Channels: Another One of the Biggest Social Media Best Practices

Here’s another key to success. Don’t try and be active on every social media account right at the beginning. That’s simply too much to do at once!

Instead, identify the channels that will work best for you. The honest truth is that your business probably doesn’t need to be on every social media platform. It’s best to focus your efforts.

Start by thinking about your target audience. Where do they spend their time on social media? Do some research to learn about which age groups use different networks the most.

Also consider your business objectives for social media. Are you trying to drive sales, generate leads, or simply grow your brand awareness? This will also affect your decision.

5. Find the Right Posting Frequency

You don’t want to post too much that you annoy your followers, but you also don’t want to wait too long in between posts either. Finding this balance is key.

This is because posting too much makes up for 34.9% of all unfollows on social media.

The good news is that there are industry guidelines that will help you know where to start with your posting frequency. Every social network has recommended posting amounts that you should consider.

Doing this will help you optimize your interactions with your followers.

6. Switch Up Your Content

If you’re only posting promotional information on social media, you’re going to lose followers. That’s just how it is. In fact, one study found that 45% of people will unfollow brands because they post too much promotional content.

Remember that social media isn’t all about selling. It’s also about growing a relationship and increasing trust with your prospects.

Here are some potential content pieces you could post instead of just promotional items:

  • Blog posts
  • Community news
  • Job listings
  • GIFs
  • Informational videos
  • Information about your community service initiatives
  • Posts about your company culture
  • Shared testimonials or reviews from customers

When you post a wide variety of content, this will be much more engaging to your followers. Also be sure to always respond when people comment or DM you. This will also show that you are a trustworthy organization.

7. Analyze and Act Based on Data

With any marketing campaign you run, you should look at the data to see the results. This will help you know what is going well and what you should adjust.

In the past, it was really hard to track exact data about billboards and television commercials. But with digital marketing, it’s much easier.

Social media will give you detailed statistics about the performance of your posts. Keep an eye out for the amount of likes, comments, and shares your posts are getting. This will show you what type of content best resonates with your followers.

Keep in mind, however, that not all social media platforms are equal in terms of their reporting capabilities. However, there are lots of third-party software programs that will help you get better data.

8. Claim Your Usernames

Another social media best practice is to claim your username on every social media platform. Do this even if you don’t plan on using them. Here’s why.

This will ensure that you’ll have access to it in case you decide to use that platform in the future. But this also means that other people won’t be able to register your company name and post as if they were you. You want to avoid that at all costs.

And the solution is simple! Just register with every major social media platform as soon as possible.

9. Optimize Your Profiles

You should make all your profiles consistent and you should also make sure they’re optimized. This means that you should make all your profile pictures the same.

You also want your contact information to be the same on every profile. It’s also a good idea to write bios so that people can get quick information about who you are and what you do.

If your social profiles aren’t filled out the maximum with the same information

10. Focus On Quality Over Quantity

Last but not least, keep in mind that quality is more important than quantity when it comes to your posts. If you are posting just for the sake of posting, you should reconsider.

Instead, make each post connected to a bigger goal or objective. This will greatly improve your online presence.

Closing Thoughts

There you have it! 10 social media best practices that your company should utilize. Next, it’s time to implement these ideas.