Our Social Best Practices is designed to help you get started with social media or get you better results from your current strategies. As you know social strategies can change and evolve, so this is a working list of suggestions for how to interact with your audience effectively and how to choose what content to create/feature. Below is a list of tips to DO and others to AVOID that can help you establish a successful social presence.

Here are some tips you should DO on social media:

start with an engaging visual

Include visuals (images or videos) in your posts which your followers can engage with. Visuals allow you to communicate a message efficiently. An interesting visual may help you separate your brand from others on social media. Users may be more likely to interact with a post when it includes an engaging visual.

USE creative captions

You can write creative captions on each post that interest your followers and effectively communicate your identity. Social media professionals might change the style of a caption to match their message. For example, you may create a post with a short caption that tells a joke or write another with a compelling story that helps your followers relate to you. You can determine the appropriate caption length and content to match when determining the objective of a post.

Develop relationships

It's important to develop relationships with your followers by asking questions, responding to comments and interacting with other posts. This can help your audience personally connect with you and helps generate a positive public reputation. Try to foster existing relationships with previous customers and develop new connections with more recent followers.

Post frequency

Consider how often you want to post on social media and creating a posting schedule. Posting content consistently is important for encouraging your audience's engagement. This helps customers remember you and identify with your social messaging. Try maintaining a different schedule for each social platform. It's important to ensure that you can commit to the posting frequency in the schedule you create, as this helps you develop sustainable social practices - pick a resonable posting frequency and stay with it.

Post a variety of content

Varying your posts can inspire followers to engage with your content. For example, you might share a humorous meme or a video that's different from the content you usually post.

Interact with your followers

It's essential to engage with followers to highlight your involvement in your community. For example, you might host a giveaway contest on your social media platforms to encourage sales. You can also ask your followers to use a specific hashtag whenever they make a post with one of your products.

Analyze data

Another helpful tip is to analyze data from your social profiles to identify what your audience engages with from your posts. Try to establish a system for tracking customer activity and the metrics of your social pages. Many social media platforms have analytical tools that allow you to measure performance. For example, you might review how many clicks, likes, comments or shares you receive on posts. This can help you determine the most effective social strategies and apply these to future campaigns and posting.

Research competitors and peers

Everyone has a reason for doing what they do; by researching the social practices of others, you can learn effective strategies for engaging your followers. You can begin by identifying your competitors/peers and locating their social pages. Try to review how they're using their platforms and measure the success of their social strategies. Compare the results of your social pages against this competition to identify opportunities for improvement in your own strategies.

Determine your target audience

Identify who you want to target with your messages on social media. Consider aligning the target audience for your social messages with your overall target consumer. You can accomplish this by researching the social platforms your target audience uses. Consider contacting members of your target customer base on social media and customizing your posts to fit their needs and desires.

consistency across platforms

Try to keep the essential components of your identity the same, regardless of the social platform you're posting on. This may include your color scheme, name or slogan, or logo. A consistent identity can help an audience search for the you easily and confirm your identity on different platforms. Consider maintaining consistency regarding your overall messaging and tone in each post across social platforms.

calls to actions

Including a call to action in your posts that aligns with your goals can help customers engage with your content. Try to ensure that the call to action is clear so readers understand exactly what you want them to do. Consider also including any necessary instructions or links for your followers to complete the action. Explain the benefits of completing the requested task. For example, you might ask your followers to visit a your website/store or sign up for an email services.

Get feedback

Asking an audience for feedback on your social practices can help you determine the most effective methods for boosting engagement. Through this practice, you can discover which approaches require improvement.

promote content

Many social platforms offer paid options to promote posts or profiles. This method is often less expensive compared to traditional advertising methods. By paying for "boosted" content, you can increase your exposure and reach more potential followers.

Here are some things to AVOID when establishing a brand on social media:

Don't ignore followers

Ignoring interactions with your followers may decrease engagement on social pages. Therefore, it's important to reply to positive comments or interactions from your audience. It's also helpful to ensure that your responses are friendly and helpful.

Don't forget to proofread

Proofread your posts to ensure they're free of spelling and grammatical errors. Consider asking others to read your caption and identify any mistakes you might've missed. Consider alternatively using a spelling or grammar tool to identify errors and suggest revisions automatically before copy & pasting in to your post.

Don't respond to negative interactions

Social users may write negative comments on your posts. This differs from customer or audience concerns, in which you can offer ways to resolve their issues. Try to avoid interacting with hateful responses to preserve your reputation and consider deleting the comment from your page and reporting the user who left it. This can ensure that you maintain a positive community of respectful followers.

Don't tag people without their permission

Tagging people without their permission may upset them and harm your reputation. You can use tagging effectively by contacting followers and asking for consent before tagging them in posts. Personally, we always encourage people to tag us and our brands, but we are careful who we tag with content; especially if it is sales oriented.

Don't share someone's content without giving credit

When you share someone's content on your social channels, make sure to give clear credit to the original creator. This includes tagging them directly in the post and referencing their social handle. Always give credit where credit is due.

**REFERENCES:
Indeed Editorial Team (2022, June 24 - Updated). 25 Do's and Don’ts of Effective Social Media Branding. INDEED: https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/dos-and-donts-of-social-media-branding


Please let me know if you have any question - IG DM me or ask below.

– Mike Matulka | Social Media Manager

Thank you!