What was communication before the domination of digital media? Very few of us would remember, isn’t it? Come on, we all know how Social media has taken communication to a whole new level. It’s safe to accept that people’s experience can make or break future business through more than just word of mouth.

And that’s exactly why it’s really essential to hold an upstanding image online as well as communicate effectively through social mediums.

Pro-Tip : If you are going to be on social media platforms, do it right or don’t do it at all.

How , you ask? Go beyond the basics. These crucial steps are sometimes neglected by advanced social media users too. Check out what we think can help you best :

1. Make sure your social profiles are complete and up to date:

Many of the people who see your business (or personal) profile on a social network are seeing you or your business for the first time.

What they see and read – their first impression – will influence what they think about your business and/or you personally.

That first impression will play an important role in determining whether they want to know more about you, or not.

Ever tried googling about yourself? Ever noticed the social networks that rank on the first two pages? Well, pick those & make a note of it to further scrutinise.

Visit each profile to make sure all of your information is filled out and up to date. This includes updating your website information if you’ve added anything new, such as a blog or an online store; adding your location; adding your story or journey in brief; and also your interests to help like minded people connect better.

2. Be consistent with your branding & communication:

This is so important – you must pin it ! Ensuring that your branding represents your business well and is consistent across all your online networks and print materials is often overlooked.

However, it’s supposed to be well taken care of as visitors would like to easily recall your website, your social networks even if they see some print advertising.

Consistent branding also means that your profile picture is consistent across your various social networks. Whether your logo or your photo, ensure you’re using a high quality, professional looking , share image across all social networks.

Remember : You want people to be able to easily recognize your brand (or you) on not just one social network but everywhere your branding or image appears. Including when they meet you or visit your office or store.

3. Cross promote your social profiles:

Nobody can promote you as better as you can. Whether it’s adding links from one social profile to others or giving redirects on blogs, or promoting in your email signature , smart cross promotion can take you a long way.

For example : Instagram helps you connect to Twitter , Facebook & Tumblr; YouTube offers a spot for Twitter , Facebook & Google+; Google+, allows you to link to as many of your other social profiles as you choose.

4. Respond / Engage with your customers frequently:

There’s no better way to connect with your user at such ease than at social media. This means communicating with your customers quickly and in a timely manner. Not responding three days later because you don’t check your social platforms that often is not acceptable.

Social platforms are almost as important as your website because of the way people communicate. It’s easy to discuss the good and the bad with just a button click away. Even if we know that the person on the other side of the account may not be a manager, it is their job to maintain customer satisfaction. Of course, this increases the power any consumer has with messages via instant communication, along with reviews that are being left.

Again, each network is somewhat different as to what is acceptable but as with most things customer related, faster (within a few hours) is always better.

5. Check your email contacts for new people to connect with on social networks, and do this periodically:

Who better to follow or befriend than the ones you’ve already engaged with. If nothing this leaves you with an opportunity to reconnect. Whether it’s been a few months or a few years since you last checked your email contacts for new people to connect with on social networks, it’s always a great idea to initiate now.

6. Stop buying followers and fans:

If you thought simply inflating your number of social followers shall guarantee you success, you’re surely mistaken. Much to your surprise, social networks like Facebook are already removing fake likes from pages; and tools for Twitter are exposing accounts with a high volume of fake followers. So remember that it’s not worth it – fake followers and fans will do nothing for your engagement or your bottom line.

7. Use Google Analytics to measure your social media efforts:

Wait! Before you get started on that you must first set up goals in Google Analytics & only then use the new social reporting features of Google Analytics.
This shall ensure that you are getting results from your social media marketing campaign. You may not be able to measure some benefits of social media like engagement and the resulting consumer loyalty with your social media followers, but you can measure how much traffic social media brings to your website and how much of that traffic results in conversions.

This data shall act as a fuel to your upcoming marketing strategy & give you the much needed push for your plan of action.

8. Evaluate , learn & keep improvising as you go along the way:

Who’s a better teacher than your past act? Whether it’s a rewarding attempt or a failure, your activities prove to become a foundation of your next step. Each move that you make teaches you something new, the key is to keep a watch out. Evaluate all the efforts you’ve taken so far, draw some learnings out of them & improvise to strive better.

Remember , innovations & adaptations are always well embraced by the consumers. No matter what’s that one new thing you’re attempting, make sure you’ve thought through it.

9. Persevere to succeed:

Real progress or growth with social media is a slow, steady and sometimes a little painful. This is especially true when you are just getting started with social media. Like most anything of value, social media requires time, attention and especially perseverance to produce results.

To wrap things up, you can’t overlook that social networking doesn’t work on autopilot. You should guarantee that no stone is left unturned along a brand’s image. Social networking has turned into a foundation of digital marketing. While it doesn’t make a difference what industry you’re in, it is a device you ought to utilize each day to communicate with customers.

So, don’t wait, get started today!
Need help with your social media marketing? We offer a variety of digital marketing services based on the unique needs of business clients. Wave us a hello in comments below or write to us at : mktg@binaryic.com