NCET Biz Tips: Don’t Abandon the Basics on Social Media

NCET helps you explore business and technology

By Brook Bentley

Brook Bentley

When done well, using social media can help create deeper personal relationships with customers and increase brand engagement.

Social media also offers the ability to quickly spread the word about promotions and deals. While there is no right or wrong way to do social media, remembering a few of the basics is important.

Don’t Ignore Your Accounts

Having a presence on multiple social media platforms can be a good thing but being on multiple social platforms and ignoring them could actually harm your business.

If a potential customer lands on an ignored social media account, you could either miss their question or it may give the appearance of inattention.

At the end of the day, it is important to only sign up for as many accounts as you can reliably handle. If you’re posting on one account, you should have plans to post something on all your accounts. There are lots of automation apps and software that can help you stay organized and post consistently.

If you are too busy to handle multiple platforms, that is ok. It is important to get a good grasp and focus on what you can. Take on whatever it is you can manage well, and your followers and customers will see your social media accounts as an additional way to consistently interact with and learn about your brand.

Respond to Comments or Questions 

Social media is meant to be social, which means your followers and customers are going to want to use social media to engage with your brand. Now, do you need to respond to every single comment? No, not only is that time consuming but it is ultimately unnecessary. However, there are times that it is important to respond and engage with your followers.

Sometimes, followers will use your accounts to ask questions, or you may end up with a negative review (it happens). Answering questions is good customer service and lets your followers know that your company cares. Engaging with a negative review can be an opportunity to turn around their impression and further understand their experience. 

Remember the Best Times to Post

There are two main reasons to pay attention to what time you post. The first is you don’t want to inundate your followers with too many posts. The second is you want to reach people when they are online, making it more likely for people to see your content.

The key is knowing your audience to understand when the most successful time to post might be. It can also be helpful to try a few different times, especially when you are using different types of content. 

Overall, experimenting on social media is important, but don’t forget the basics along the way.

Brook Bentley is an Account Coordinator at KPS3 (kps3.com) and NCET’s VP of Social Media and Image Management. NCET is a member-supported non-profit that produces educational and networking events to help people explore business and technology.