Traffic

Social Media Protection: How to avoid damaging your brand online

By 20th September 2016 No Comments

Digital marketers, us included, constantly bang on about how crucial social media is for online marketing – and with good reason! From large franchise gyms to the smaller one-man-band personal trainers, social media provides unprecedented direct access to customers, allowing you to build strong relationships with the community.

Social Media marketing is a goldmine – when done right. It’s a very natural form of marketing — one that gives businesses the space to speak in a manner that’s true to them and stand out for being who they are.

But as great as social media is – it can also damage your business reputation if you make some common mistakes, constantly.

Let’s take a look at just a few ways you should present your business in the best possible way on social media, avoiding any damaging mistakes by a million miles.

 

Always spell-check!

Grammar is extremely important on social media, especially for business. A simple spelling error could make your posts look rushed and unprofessional or if you’re really unlucky, a spelling mistake could change your whole post meaning entirely!

Now, I understand that hiring a proofreader isn’t something every business can afford, so if you’re proofreading your own posts – take your time. Don’t be afraid of Googling definitions or grammar corrections. Be safe rather than sorry.

 

Talking facts and stats? Make them accurate!

Using facts and stats in your social media posts is great and can generate a lot of engagement. But if your stat isn’t accurate – it could be costly.

In the fitness industry, people love hearing about how long it takes to burn 1,000 calories or how much Broccoli is equivalent to a Snicker but don’t just put any old jargon. Make sure you can verify your stats and facts or any other research that you may quote before you get the dreaded comment from a user correcting you. Embarrassing.

 

Be fun, but be appropriate.

Social media can be a fun light-hearted place, where business profiles can have a laugh with their followers and create humor-filled content.

But remember, something you may find funny may not always be funny to your followers and target audience.

I love seeing businesses create fun posts on social media but it needs to be done carefully. You need to take your time and ensure you don’t offend people – something that could truly tarnish your following.

If you feel like creating a fun post, keep your jokes relevant to your target audience and ask a colleague or friend that you trust for an honest opinion on the post.

 

Always respond to comments.

Engagement is what social media is built on. It’s the foundations of every social media network, past and present. But when I talk about engagement, I don’t just mean your followers engaging on your posts, you must respond and participate in conversations too.

Responding to peoples comments will boost your brand loyalty and – in time – will bring even more engagement to your channels.

Conversing and responding to comments isn’t just beneficial – it’s essential. You need to know what your customers are saying and sharing so you can address potential issues before they grow into bigger ones. You might also potentially turn a negative experience into a positive one, which takes us to our next point…

 

Tackle complaints, respectively.

Nobody likes receiving complaints about their business or service – but it can and does happen. In this day and age, clients can also make complaints quite public – especially with the likes of social media. But remember not to ignore these complaints and certainly don’t delete them.

If you see a social post about a potential problem with your business, send that person a message offering to continue the discussion offline to help rectify it. Don’t keep going back and fourth on the thread as it might turn off other customers and can lead to factual inaccuracies being broadcast to the public.

Offering to take the matter offline not only gives the customer a chance to discuss the issue in more detail, but also shows other users that your business cares about making things right.

Always acknowledge any comments, apologise if they have a complaint – embrace it and learn from it.

 

Final thought

Always take your time on social media and be careful of your content. It’s better to be safe rather than sorry on your channels.

Enjoy yourself but remember, this is your business account and not your personal account. Communicate with customers and prospects in a friendly polite manner and you will be able to avoid many of the common mistakes!