Recently, I was browsing the news feed on my Facebook
account and I couldn’t help but wonder why some of my friends’ businesses were
posting the things they were. To me, posting personal opinions on your
company’s social websites is good way to loose business. I believe that a
business should be as unbiased as it possibly can because as soon as you start
siding with one thing, you begin a slippery slope that might end up costing you
more then you imagined.
I think every entrepreneur should read this
article from inc.com. Entitled “What Not to Share on Twitter or LinkedIn”,
it is written by Hollis Thomases and she goes over some of the pitfalls of
social media. She gives some good advice on how a business should enter the
social media network without coming off as unprofessional. Granted, most of
what she says is common sense but then again, time in and time out we are
proven that common sense isn’t all that common.
According to Ms. Thomases, the first thing that a business
needs to have when entering the social network is a purpose. By entering the
social-sphere with a plan of how it will benefit the company, businesses can
easily avoid falling into the rut of randomness. When a clear goal is set out
and followed, companies can take advantage of the power of social networking
and really get themselves a credible following.
Secondly, Ms. Thomases warns of the black hole. By this, she
is referring to the amount of time someone spends on keeping up with his or her
social updates. With the abundance of social media sites, it is easy to get
caught in the net of trying to get caught up with your social network. I myself
have been easily distracted by roaming my Twitter feeds and checking Facebook
updates. It’s intriguing to see what your friends are up to or how many times
something you Tweeted gets re-Tweeted. The key is to not let it interfere with
productivity. Make sure you stay on top of the social-sphere but know that it
doesn’t need to be constantly monitored. Set aside so much time a day to update
your status and whatnot and if you need to, set an alarm so when it goes off,
you are back to work.
The third one is an excellent tip for a business: it isn’t
all about you. Ms. Thomases analogy of walking into a room full of strangers
and talking about yourself is spot on. Sure, as a business, you do want to keep
people informed on what you are doing but also informing them of what the
industry you are in is up to, is also a positive. When people see that your
business isn’t just boasting about themselves all the time, they can start to
see the people side of your company. It gives them insight into what your
company’s values are. Maybe you post a link to help a cause or charity, or talk
about something happening in your city. Whatever you post, try to spark
conversation or action. Make your social network postings more responsive as to
draw more attention to your company.
Lastly, should go without saying but for some, it needs to
be: don’t post anything you wouldn’t want your grandmother to see. If you think
a person, who you respect a great deal, would be offended by what you are about
to say, then maybe you should just hold off. It may seem funny or insightful to
you, but there are people out there who could easily take it the wrong way.
The bottom line is: just think before you post. It’s easy to
get caught up in thinking that what you have to say is grandioso but as a
business, you need to adopt a new line of thinking. Besides, if you really have
something that you want to post on the social network, well that’s what
creating aliases are all about.
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