1.Forget that it is public
We’ve all heard about the high profile libel cases and the stories from large businesses where people tweet the wrong things and pictures
urgh who wants to see someone standing in the salad. But there are plenty of other businesses that just don’t think about how a message reads to a wider audience. Sometimes banter is best to take onto a more private platform. If you are a caterer then please don’t show me a dirty kitchen, if you are in accountancy then don’t make jokes about how you can’t add up etc!
Set yourself some ground rules – what are you allowed to say
and what not – (ie language use, behaviours etc)
Check who has access to your account – are they trust
worthy? And what plans do you have in place for when things go wrong?
2. tweet and forget it
So many companies start with great intentions about twitter,
but for one reason or another they stop using it. If you are not tweeting
regularly then you are not going to be making the most of the resource. There
are plenty of accounts that tweet once a year and then expect it to produce results.
Tip: set yourself a realistic idea of what you are going to
be able to do, having a regular time to tweet and to schedule tweets to go out
at regular intervals are all great ways to ensure you have a consistent
approach to twitter
3. Sell and only sell
People often see twitter as an online advertisement for
their company , the same content as they would place in a magazine or
newspaper. This leads to boring tweets – buy this now etc. Its dull and it
doesn’t make me want to buy anything. It feels as though you are not interested
in the online community, and just want to take out what you can get. This method
doesn’t work, it alienates the very customer base you are trying to reach.
Tip: stick to the 20%/80% rule, 20% can be sales the rest
has to be all about giving back to community.
What is it you can be an expert on, what knowledge can you bring to those
around you.
4. Don’t tell me what they do
You see some businesses that are so worried about selling
that they do anything but tell me what they do or offer me any knowledge form
their expertise. I know about their social life, what they’ve eaten and where
they are going on holiday. If I am following you, I am allowing you to talk
about what you know, what you are good at.
Tip: plan in your content, think about what things you can
share with your audience
5. Have no focus
Companies have joined social media they have been told it’s
the thing they need to do, so they have, they have got all the accounts, they
put stuff out on them but they really don’t know whether its worthwhile. You
need to find ways of measuring your success and effort across the different
platforms. What are they there for?
Tip: use the analytics from things like facebook pages to
understand how your page is functioning.
Use Google analytics to track links back to your website
from various places.
Create your own measures – is it numbers of new followers,
likes, shares etc.