Social media has given business professionals a whole new way to network. Businesses can promote product or services, expand brand awareness, and connect with potential partners and clients, all online. Networking on social media is a valuable resource for businesses, but it’s only effective if executed efficiently and professionally. Just as there should be at any in-person networking event, there is certain business etiquette that should be followed on social media.
- Do not use your personal social media profiles to promote your business. It’s important to have a separate page for your business. Your friends and family may not be the target audience for your business, so using your personal page to sell or network may just end up costing you friends and followers.
- Similarly, don’t use your business profile or page to share information that is too personal or completely irrelevant to your business. Being personable is important, but keep it business related.
- Avoid being too promotional on social media. If the only thing you ever post is self-promotion, you will most likely loose existing followers instead of gaining new ones. The trick is to promote your business subtly. Share a lot of useful information related to your field and sneak in some client testimonials, product reviews, or tidbits about the business.
- Don’t post anything on social media that you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying in your office or in front of a client. Try to keep your posts upbeat and informative, and avoid any controversial topics that may offend someone. If you want to publically rant about a politician, do it on your personal page, not your company page.
- Don’t go overboard on the posts. It’s important to post regularly in order to stay top of mind, but you don’t want to flood your followers’ social media feeds. This will no doubt result in followers jumping ship. Keep to a regular posting schedule to ensure you aren’t over or under posting.
- Use spell check on your posts! Just because it’s social media doesn’t mean you can get sloppy with spelling and grammar. Being able to communicate clearly and effectively without errors is important when representing your business and your social media presence should reflect that.
- Interact with other social media users. It’s important to give interaction instead of just take. Share, like, or comment on potential clients or partners’ posts. Always be respectful and professional when communicating with others on social media. If a client posts something negative on your page, attempt to contact the client for a discussion offline instead of arguing back and forth on a public forum.
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