I can not deny that social media sites have become major traffic drivers to almost every online business, and in fact 90% of online businesses have social profiles on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or LinkedIn. Promoting your business on social media sites is a wise move because it will give your business a competitive advantage, but you have to be careful on what you do and post on social media sites.
Remember, that every thing you post on these social media sites is more of a tattoo for your business which can be shared across that all network. So it is advisable to behave responsibly on social media sites so that what ever goes viral helps your brand to grow. People find it easy and fun to spread bad news, and this explains why bad news travels faster than good news.
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Many times before i do business with any one online, i Google them to check out their social status, this helps me to know these people or companies deeply, social media sites expose more information about a company than that ”ABOUT US” page on your company website. So if you keep on posting private information on your business social page, it might damage your brand’s reputation. It is better to separate your social life from your business life. That is why most CEO’s for big companies never have personal accounts on social media sites, it is not that they do not know how to use these sites, but they try to protect the image of their brands. Below I have listed some of the ways you might be damaging your business reputation without you noticing.
- 1. MIXING PERSONAL LIFE WITH BUSINESS: Many times you will see people posting status updates on how much they feel about their spouse, or how they feel good when they take weed and so much more, yes, this is good information to share with friends, but when you become professional, you better do that under a different account which is not in your real names. I guess your friends can recognize you by your profile picture or Nickname, so if you want to post personal wired information on social networks but you don’t want that information to be linked back to your brand, i suggest you create a second personal account then post only professional content on the account in your real names. For example, if i hire an SEO expert, the first thing i do is to Google their names then do a background check on social networks and forums,. The information i collect helps me make a final decision.
- 2. WIRED SOCIAL PROFILES: When you sign up with a social network, you will have an option of writing about your self, this brief description helps people know more about you. Now here is where the mess is made, you will find some one writing ” I’m a CEO, OR I’M THE PRESIDENT OF COMPANY Y ” , It might be true you’re the CEO, but that will add less value on your profile, because any one can write the same description. Try not to look unprofessional; do not lie to people because at last this will ruin your business image. If you’re an editor at Glam Magazine, then just write that, so who ever deals with you knows that you’re an editor. Lets take a simple example of Facebook founder ”Mark Zuckerberg” , he makes his profile very simple,……(CEO & FOUNDER facebook) and yes, it is true he his the founder of facebook. So be realistic and open so that your clients gain trust in you.
- 3. DESTROYING THE IMAGE OF YOUR COMPETITOR DIRECTLY: I have seen some wired marketing executives, telling targeted markets that company (x) is worse, and theirs is the best. In my opinion, this is a wrong way of marketing and promoting your company. It is like dating a woman and you start by telling them how bad or ugly the other guy they are seeing is. Starting with a negative message will show the other person that you’re not a professional, remember that in everything, that first impression counts most. Also remember, not to self praise your self, i have always seen social profiles of people stating like this ”Social Network Marketing Guru,” these self promoters tend to use persuasive languages which at times wins inexperienced customers, but me i will judge you as a guru after seeing the results. So simply promote your self in a normal way on social media sites, be persuasive but logical as well.
- 4. TOO MUCH SELF PROMOTION: Okay, now you might be asking your self how this can damage your reputation on social media sites. It is good to promote your business, because at the end of the day you need to make some great sells. But social media sites are quite different; you need to create a balance, other wise you will be seen as a spammer. Let’s take a simple example on social sites like ”Pinterest”. If you only pin images from your website, people will stop following you and you will be marked as a spammer, so the best way to keep pinterest followers engaged, you will need to pin images from other sources. The more you give the more you get, stop being selfish on social media sites. That is why they are called social sites; socialize with your followers by giving them variety.
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- 5. NOT REPLYING TO COMMENTS AND INQUIRIES: Once your business starts using social media sites, you have to be ready to respond to any inquiry or comment posted on your social page. You customer service department will be responsible for any damages that might be caused due to negligence or failure to reply customers comment or inquiry. Customers prefer to contact you using your social page, so make sure you always respond back on time. Failure to respond or reply customer comments will make you look unprofessional and this will damage your business reputation. For small businesses of about 5 people, assign someone the job of updating and replying customers on social networks.
