Social media will build you up or tear you down – proceed with caution –
There’s no doubt that social media plays a huge role in our personal and business life; using it in a smart way it can make wonders for anyone. Whether your plan is to create a strategy for personal branding, for business awareness or just to show your friends what you’ve been doing, there are no better tools than Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. Each of this channels will work in your favor if you know how, when and where to use them. Social media has now the power that great leaders once had; it can build up a company or completely destroy a reputation.
No need to roll your eyes just yet. Take a look at how brands are using all channels to speak with their community. Starbucks failure campaign #RaceTogether is a good example – barristers across the country wrote “Race Together” on cups in order to make people talk about racial issues. It sparked controversial discussion on social media, 60% of which was negative and more than one-third was categorized as “hate”.
So take care of what your next move is on social media because there is no delete button that could help you in case you mess it up. People, especially millennials will take you down but also build you up with the proper comeback plan. The thing is, whether you decide to kill your campaign as Starbucks did, people will not forget it anytime soon.
How to avoid social media turning against you?
- Social media is also a great feedback source; listen to your prospects and community because your social network can help you bring value to the market. There are some basic rules to build your strategy on in order to make all its channels work for you. You can try different things and see what your audience responds to.
- You create valuable brand awareness through your community and that means to keep it real. You can make your community happy with a great customer service, by launching interactive campaigns, qualitative current content and by always being present with news and challenges for them.
- Engage in conversations because of the importance of having a relationship with your community, even in the online world. Don’t just sit in your chair and follow the talks that your community is having. Take time to make them trust you and show them that their opinion is important for the brand. Respond to their questions and say thanks when appropriate because that is one way of building a strong relationship with everyone. There will be some moments when you will face a bad review or an unhappy customer. The way you handle these specific complications and how you take care of your community will define your brand identity.
Gone are the days when you could give a coupon to everyone and it would result in a positive sales report. The chase is now greater because knowing your brand and audience inside out is a must; there is no such thing as playing it by ear.
Don’t sweat it, with a strong plan and a little bit of daring, you will be just fine.
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