Social Media Soft Skills - To Tweet or Not to Tweet?

President Trump has used Twitter as his 'Social Media Bully Pulpit." Whether you think he is being successful using it or not I am sure it has made you look at your own use of social media for your business and wonder how you appear to your customers.

Here are a few tips on how to make sure your use of social media enhances your business.

1) Choose the right media. There are many options for people to use in order to promote their business. One of the biggest mistakes I see a business tries to do them all or take on too many. Use the social media that your customers use. If they are on Facebook then you should be on Facebook. If they are on Instagram then so should you. There are various software available that will help you manage all your social media. Hootsuite is a good example. But even using a software management system takes thought. 

2) Focus your message. People have short attention spans. Each post to social media should have just one simple message. Promote a sale, an event, a product and leave it at that. 

3) Ask for feedback. Customers love to be heard. Ask them what they think about your business. Pay attention to what they tell you. You will get some positive feedback that you may be able to use as a promotion. You will also receive some negative feedback. Addressing that can improve your business and your relationship with those customers.

4) Address complaints - Immediately! The beauty of social media is it gives a very public voice to anyone who take the time to write or record. You will hear from unhappy customers. If you don't you aren't trying. When they complain listen to them. They care enough to let you know. Here is what to do: 1) Thank them for their feedback. 2) Apologize for the problem and do not make excuses for it. 3) Fix the problem if possible. 4) Tell them what you are doing to make sure problems like that do not happen in the future. 5) Thank them again. 

5) Use proper English. Edit your work, better yet, have someone else edit it. If you post something with a lot of grammatical errors and incorrect word usage you come off as someone who just does not care. Worse, you come off as someone who is just plain stupid. 

6) It is all about connections. Good business is about building relationships. Treat your customers well on social media and you will build good relationships with them. They will like and share your posts so more people will know about you and your business. 

Cheers!