February 1, 2011

2011 Best & Worst Social Media Practices

BY John Paul Narowski IN Sales and Marketing One Comment

Here are a few of the best and worse social media practices reviewed in 2011. I would love to hear a few best practices that you have had the chance to experience, so make sure to leave a comment below.

Here we go with the Best Practices:

1) Make sure that your are social media plan involves educating, and solid information, not sales tactics.

2) Tell the truth while on social media. Don’t have different agendas that you are hiding from your audience. Remember people become loyal clients because they trust you, and because others they are close to trust you.

3) Two Sided Conversations! Social media is based on involving and engaging people in conversation. You can’t be the only one talking, you have to also listen and participate in the conversation going on around you. (answer questions, offer valuable customer service, thank people for RTing you or mentioning you & listen to concerns and take them seriously)

4) Listen to constructive feedback, and sometimes even ask your audience for their feedback. Remember what your company offers is based on the needs of your clients, not on your own needs. If simple changes are addressed let them know that you hear them!

Now for the Worst Practices:

1) Using social media for hidden agendas. Not being real is a true problem. Don’t offer things that aren’t possible. Don’t use social media as a curtain to hide behind.

2) Not keeping your eyes opened on your social media platforms listening to those following you. Remember social media is a two way street, and you shouldn’t always be the one speaking, its just as important to be the one listening.

3) Using social media strictly for the Sales. As I have said time and time before, social media is a place of engagement in a educational manner, not sales driven. People are following you to get to know you, the real you, and being propositioned for sales after sales is not what they are interested in.

Reach Out

Social media gives us the opportunity to reach out and meet people that we may never have had the chance to connect with, and that should not be taken advantage of. I have been so lucky to meet some of the most educated individuals in the social media world, and continue to learn and grow from each of them on a daily basis.

John Paul Narowski

I’ve been hacking at various business ideas since I was 16. I’m a full stack developer and love crafting user experiences. I’ve been nose deep in code since I put the legos down, and built several successful businesses in the process. I’ve lost some hair, gained some experience and throughly enjoyed the journey.