Did you ever consider that the way that your insurance agency conducts itself on social media is a factor in the effectiveness of your social media marketing?
It’s true! Good social media marketing is about more than “likes,” “shares” and engagement – it’s also about how well your brand conducts itself while interacting on the various networks, too. What I mean is this: the way that you conduct yourself on social media impacts how your fans and followers perceive you. Social media consultants are charged with representing their brand across the sphere of the World Wide Web, and without keeping in mind some basic best practices when it comes to etiquette, your social media presence could be hurting more than it is helping.
While there are many social media networks out there that you may be building a presence on, let’s stick to two: Facebook and Twitter.
1. Facebook Etiquette
When it comes to Facebook, keep these best practices in mind:
• Always respond to questions and comments – You certainly do not want your followers to feel as if you are ignoring them, right? Even if the questions are tough, it is important to respond. The more you take note of what your followers are saying to you, about your agency, and in general, the more likely you are to get valuable insight into their preferences.
• Before tagging photos of fans, customers or your employees, get permission – When you are going to post on you agency’s page, you want to be sure that the person in the photo or post would be okay with the public recognition.
• Never “like” your own posts – Although it may seem like a great way to start fan engagement, liking your own posts makes it look as if you are desperate. If your content is unique and relevant, then people will naturally like it!
2. Twitter Etiquette
Next, let us talk about Twitter and some best practices:
• Avoid automatically sending direct messages to people who follow you. Auto direct messages on Twitter are recognized as spam. You can instead send them a relevant, engaging tweet to start the engagement and let them know you are grateful for their follow.
• Did you ever think about the fact that tweets with #lotsofhashtags are not only difficult to read, but not enjoyable to read? It’s true! Stick to one or two hashtags that are relevant to what you are trying to say. They act as a way to boost engagement from users who may not already follow you—and want to!
• Get creative and come up with a hashtag for your agency and use it all of the time. But never hijack another company’s hashtag. Only use hashtags that support your brand and its unique message.
These are merely a few of the do’s and don’ts that social media consultants should consider. Although there are surely more, keeping these in mind is the first step to having top notch social media etiquette.