Surely you have already read and heard that social networks must be a mandatory presence in a business. We agree. The question is not “if”, but “how”. It is important to bear in mind that, to be present, you must do so in a thoughtful and coherent manner. Due to the instantaneous and global nature of the virtual world, there are several dimensions to consider about your online presence. It is, therefore, about the “how” that we are going to deal with in the next lines. Come on!

Despite the reader's natural enthusiasm, we must start by warning that you should avoid putting all your eggs in one basket. Indeed, not infrequently, social network accounts are denounced, disabled, etc., and you risk causing enormous damage to your business, even jeopardizing its viability. Besides being advisable to be present on different social networks, you should always have a website or Online Store.

1. Have a Plan

What goals do you want to achieve with your presence on social networks? Are you looking for a minimal presence or use it as a real tool to increase sales? And what resources will you allocate to achieve these goals? In short, draw a plan. Also make a note of the themes and posts to be addressed during the year. It helps to schedule some things in advance. For example, it's very likely that you'll post something about Mother's and Father's Day, Valentine's Day, etc. You can create in advance those posts, to be ready to publish at the desired time. There are several free templates available online to help organize content. The social networks themselves have numerous statistics and control tables for published content. You can also use this feature to control what you publish and eventually what type of content to promote through paid advertising. Platforms like Hootsuite allow integrated management of several social networks. Or just a simple spreadsheet already allows the registration and control of the contents that are published. What really matters is that there is a record.

Who´s who?

You should assign tasks and responsibilities (who takes a record of what, who responds to what, etc.), through clear internal procedures. Get ready for an omnichannel interaction, you can receive requests for clarification in Messenger, or a purchase intention in an Instagram comment. Also set in response times as the customer expects quick feedback from you.

3. Resources

Evaluate your advertising budget and which social networks you will focus on. You can, for example, decide that it makes sense to channel advertising to a certain content that is already having good interaction with the public, enhancing it even more. Test different contents, insisting on those that bring you more interaction. You must pay attention to the performance of what you publish.

4. First things first

Start by optimizing your profile, providing at least information about opening hours, address and contacts. Photos must have acceptable resolution. A careless and amateur look results in less credibility and visitor trust in your business.

5. Where´s your audience?

Depending on your audience, you should adapt the content in order to create interaction (engagement). Always consider the 80/20 rule in your publications: 80% relevant information content, only 20% effective proposal for the sale of goods or services. In a social network, content with more interaction gains greater visibility, in a virtuous cycle.

6. Consistency and Coherence

From the moment you decide to be present, you must be consistent and respect a minimum frequency in your content posting. Your readers/customers are counting on it, and you'll want every opportunity to interact with them. You must maintain a brand image and a transversal line of communication in your “voice” on across all social networks.

7. Crisis

Things don't always go according to plan, it's better to think of a crisis plan in advance. It could be a more vocal customer, displeased with something you published, a comment, anything anything can generate a whirlwind of negative interactions, that's the rule and the name of the game on social media. At that very moment, how will you react? You should consider whether to suspend any ongoing advertising campaigns, what to say in face of a damaging event for your business, what your institutional response will be.

8. Listen

Check your accounts at least on a daily basis, apply Social Listening (monitoring tags, comments, criticisms or praise for your brand/business). If you're on social media, listen to your audience, it can give you valuable information for free.

As redes sociais têm um potencial enorme, que nenhum negócio pode ignorar. Não tem o know how, ou o precioso tempo para tratar das suas redes sociais? Fale connosco HERE!