The Dos & Don’ts of Business Social Media

• Business Profiles should be separate from your personal, with all sections completed.

• Post a minimum 2-3 times a week

• Be visual - include graphics and videos with every post

• Interact with your audience by engaging with your followers and responding back to all comments.

• Help more than you "sell." Offer great resources so your followers have a reason to want to keep you in their newsfeed.

• Tag locations and businesses in your post to help support local businesses and communities

• 80/20 Rule. A business page should represent 80% of your business or industry and 20% of the people behind the business. Make sure your followers know the who and why.

• Prioritize which social media platforms to be on. If you do not have enough time to be on all of them every day then prioritize where your audience is.

• Listen. In the social media world content is extremely relevant but listening to your followers and what they are looking for is even more important.

• DON'T be needy. Stop begging for shares, comments, or retweets. If your content is relevant enough to your followers they will engage, don’t be too needy by asking for the engagement.

• DON'T share without researching first. In a world where anything can be typed on the internet make sure what you are sharing is honest and relevant.

• DON'T Automate then forget. Consistency can be key, but automating posts for weeks then not listening or engaging with your audience will do more harm than good.

• DON'T obsess over the numbers. The amount of followers and “likes” means a lot less than building a relationship with your customers.

• DON'T expect results overnight. Social Media is a platform for businesses to connect and interact with their customers, building a brand that your followers can know, like and trust takes time.