5 key behaviours for social media

Whichever platform is your social media favourite there are 5 key behaviours to adopt to ensure that you and your business get the best results.

Broadcast (Sell)
Just not too much! As a business, we need to say what we do. We may have special offers available, or want to promote our next batch of courses. Whatever that broadcast content is, bear in mind that it's akin to advertising and that's not the content people want to consume all the time.

Engage (Listen)
Good quality engagement starts with the online equivalent of listening, which is reading what other people write. This means actually taking time to read/watch their content and not just retweeting or liking everything your business buddy puts out without critical thought. Nor is it about reposting everything that mentions you - especially if the post was automatically generated in the first place. Taking the time to read what other people write and responding to them thoughtfully and appropriately is a skill that you should cultivate. The dividends are worth the effort.

Support
Again, this isn't about mindless retweets/likes/shares of insubstantial content. Be helpful. Solve someone's problem online and they'll know you can help them in their offline business too. Make an effort to raise someone else up, you'll reap the rewards too.

Question/be curious
Ask genuine questions, which means avoiding the faux market research style. Crowdsource information for your next business hire or purchase.

Add value
Find and share good quality information. Create compelling content. Be authentic. Think about who you want to talk to and then search for great articles that'll really help them. Research a catalogue of great content providers that are respected and publish regularly. By adding real value to the people reading your updates, you'll be building up your own reputation too.


Start to behave like a successful, thoughtful person online. Your business will benefit and so will you.

Three social media watchwords

Three little words that make all the difference...


Genuine

Be yourself, even if you're representing a company. The occasional foray "off corporate script" to talk about everyday minutiae is a good thing - especially on Twitter and Facebook. Admitting you like chocolate spread on your toast isn't going to bring your business to it's knees! Chatting (being social) builds relationships, which is what social media is all about.

Original

Plugging some RSS feeds into your account and then automating the content across all platforms is  - undoubtedly - quick and easy. It is also bland and without personality. Creating new, good quality content takes time. Whether you opt for blogging, YouTube, Flickr or Pinterest the content you create reflects on your business. This makes it a powerful way to build reputation and credibility.  On the other side of that statement, poor content reflects poorly. It's worth putting time and effort into this side of social media and getting it right.

If you're integrating your content with an SEO campaign then create interesting content that is then optimised. If people like what you put out, they'll look at it and share it far more than they will a generic keyword heavy offering.

Generous

Share other people's content. Offer assistance. Make supportive comments. In other words, do the things that you'd like people to do for you! My only proviso would be that you choose to share content that adds value to your social media community.

If you're selective with what you share, then your community will recognise your posts as being high quality and worth reading. Then when you post your own content, people are more likely to look at it.