Social media has grown to play a key role in society. Just like there is proper etiquette when eating at a restaurant, there is also proper etiquette for social media. These rules are meant to help you maximize your social media following, drive traffic to your website, and generate leads.
Here are 6 rules to remember while on social media:
Be authentic
We all have met that one agent who will say whatever it takes to get ahead. Don’t be that person… and if you are, stop. Elon Musk once said, “brand is just a perception, and perception will match reality over time.” If you are authentic on social media, and show your audience that you care about them, that message will also translate in the future if you work together. Don’t disappoint your audience by being fake online.
Pro Tip: Keep in mind that you are what you share. If you share negative/inappropriate content all the time, people are going to assume you are a negative/inappropriate person… and that’s just bad for business.
If you are asked a question, answer it
When you have a question, you want it answered as soon as possible, right? Did you know that more than half of consumers expect brands to respond to their Twitter messages within an hour? This number jumps to more than 70% when it comes to negative comments. Addressing questions, comments, or concerns promptly will greatly impact your business’s reputation management. Never underestimate the power that one person can have on your business, so keep notifications enabled on your SM accounts so you can be alerted immediately when there is activity.
Pro Tip: We all want people to post positive and inspiring things about our business, but that isn't always the reality. While it seems like the right thing to do would be to delete the negative comments, DON’T! Leave the negative comments unless they are abusive.
Informative not promotional
There is a huge difference between being informative and promotional. Follow the 80/20 rule when you are choosing your content. This means that 80% of your posts should be informative, and only 20% should be promotional. Being informative means that you are offering your audience information that can help them in some way. Maybe you are offering them some tips on buying or selling a home? Maybe you are offering them an answer to a common question that you get. Promotional content would include any self marketing or the marketing of your listings. Filling someone’s newsfeed with only promotional content is a quick way to get unfollowed and a bad reputation.
Don't ask for followers, show them why you're worth following
Asking for followers or retweets can often portray you negatively and cause people to think you’re needy or desperate. Why should anyone want to listen to what you have to say if they don’t know you? If you are sharing content that people are interested in, then they will actually care what you have to say. Offerering people something of value will also help to expand your audience.
Some negative feedback doesn't need a reply
While it is important to address your audience’s questions, comments, or concerns, some comments don’t need to be responded to. There are some people out there that spend their time insulting people and businesses online just to get a rise out of you (in case you didn’t know, they’re called Internet trolls). Pretty awful thing to do, right? Just brush it off. The worst thing you could do for your brand and your business is get into an ugly and unnecessary argument with people who know nothing about you, or what you do. Be the bigger person and ignore them.
Don’t over-follow
The number of people that you follow on social media does not define your success. Your goal is to gain an audience! While having a big audience is great, it is more important that your audience is filled will people who are actually going to engage with you. The same can be said about when you follow or connect with someone. What is the point of following people who you are never going to interact with?
Pro Tip: Following too many people is a good way to be marked as spam.
Abiding by these rules will keep your fans happy and engaging with your social media pages. Let your social media pages build trust with potential clients and market your business. You know how to market yourself in person, so apply those techniques and these new ones to your social media pages. The sky's the limit on social media!
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