Having an online presence for your company, especially on social media, can be a great marketing technique and really bring in the sales. So, how do you manage a social media marketing campaign and what do you do if it goes wrong?
Do Your Research
Social media marketing can make or break your company, so it is a good idea to do your research before you get started and keep that research going for every post your company makes. This means everything from figuring out how to get verified on various platforms to researching how your products and services can be successfully marketed on social media. You can look at the tones that other companies have set with your target audience and mimic the most successful ones as well.
Separate Personal and Corporate Accounts
When you have separate accounts for personal and company use, you are less likely to get into hot water online. However, sometimes you do not realize which account you are signed into and that can get you into a lot of hot water. Some bigger brands hire people to run social media campaigns, so if you do this, it is a good idea to keep an eye on your account to make sure that no wires have been crossed. If they do get crossed, you can learn from other companies who have had this happen by terminating the person responsible for the mix-up, apologizing publicly and learning from the mistake.
Use Hashtags Appropriately
Few things turn a customer base off more quickly on social media than using hashtags wrong. Many companies have gotten in big trouble by not thoroughly researching various hashtags and the way they are being used. It is a good idea to click through some posts for any given tag to determine the tone and content of tweets and posts before using that tag. You can also create new tags for your followers to use and bring attention to your brand, but it is important to make sure that it is not currently being used for something else before you start. If you mistakenly use a tag, you should apologize and publicly learn from the mistake.
Social media marketing can be a tricky business with many pitfalls along the way. The more you research the platforms, the target audience and the help you hire, the better your experience will be. One key thing to keep in mind is that if something goes wrong, you can regain a lot of ground by admitting and fixing the mistake, apologizing for it and learning from it.
