After learning the ins and outs of social media, it’s important to understand some do’s and don’ts as well. As you’re working to build your presence, brand and audience on social media, keep a few pieces of advice in mind as you continue:
First, remember that you don’t just want to throw posts into the wind without engaging with your audience at all.
“You really need to be a good corporate citizen in those platforms, too,” Charles Tweed, owner of Tweedia, says. “We see a lot of people who are serial posters, posting once in the morning and never really engaging with their target audience. That’s a huge no — you’ve got to get in there and get into some of those conversations.”
By taking the time to respond to comments and repost shares or commentary, you’re helping to create your own community around your brand.
In addition, though the world might frown on social media “influencers,” taking care of someone who has influence within your audience can lead to a bigger following.
“We think of influencers as the big, personal brands on Instagram, but in agriculture, we have a guy down here that farms, and he’s got 5,000 followers. Do we take extra special care of him? Absolutely,” Tweed says. “We understand that when he says stuff, his audience is really paying attention to what he says, and it carries a lot of weight. When he says good things about our brand and connects with us, other people are seeing it and it resonates.”
Second, when it comes to boosting posts and marketing on social media, remember: it’s an investment, just like any other part of your business.
In addition to having someone specifically trained on social media, boosting and money for ads should be incorporated into your strategy.
“Any advice strategy is going to be paired with the content strategy at the start,” Tweed says. “When you get into the cost metrics on the back end, ultimately, it’s up to you to decide where you’re going to see the most value. You can really start to dial in your audience by their interests and refine your audience. Ultimately, you have to monitor your ad buys on the back end and make sure that your budgets are being allocated in the way you want it to be.”
Finally, when it comes to organic reach, remember that there’s no magic bullet for getting an audience to engage with you. It’s different for every business, but there are some things you can do to help.
“It’s a slow process, bringing people in,” Tweed says. “The big thing is to be mindful of things that have been successful in the past and start to move some of your content in that direction. Ultimately, you’re looking for engagement. There’s a reason on Facebook that after four photos, they start getting smaller with a ‘see more’ button, right? We’re naturally curious.”
When people click on those “see more” buttons, you’re creating more engagement through longer posts. The more people click, the more engagement you’re creating.
And remember: you don’t always have to talk products.
“Stop telling me about your products every day. Start having fun in there,” Tweed says. “The thing you should be doing most when you’re creating content is always self-analyzing how you engage with content, because that’s how other people are engaging with content themselves.”
It All Comes Down to Investment
In the end, if there’s a few things Cornelisse and Tweed want folks to walk away with knowing about social media, it’s to have fun, be flexible and remember: social media is what you invest in it.
“You want to have a flexible plan — spend time to develop a strategy, but don’t be so locked into it that you can’t change with the times,” Sarah Cornelisse, senior Extension associate of agricultural entrepreneurship and business management at Penn State University in the Department of Agricultural Economics, Sociology and Education, says. “Social media is always evolving, and you need to evolve with it.”
Keep in mind: social media won’t be going away. It’s here to stay.
“It comes back to value that it’s going to add yesterday, today and into the future for your business,” Tweed says. “This is an investment you’re making in your business. If you think that’s important today, what do you think it’s going to be worth when we forecast 10-20 years out?”
