It is hard to find a business that does not have some sort of social media account in today’s digital marketing world, as well as bots like Instagram automation. Businesses are using social media to reach a wider audience. In many cases, they have been able to increase their sales and loyalty from the use of social media. With most of today’s population on social media for a greater part of their day, having an account on these platforms is a logical move when it comes to marketing your brand. While good social media guidelines are encouraged for businesses, having strict rules in place will not always be a good thing.
Many businesses who have a team in place to cover their social media accounts need to have rules and procedures in place for what and when to post and how to respond to customers. It is important for a business’ team to be on the same page with the brand. Without guidelines in place, posts could be sporadic and all over the place and not have a consistent theme or message. But the guidelines you create don’t need to be strict. When you allow for flexibility in your business’ social media accounts, you also allow your social media team to be creative. If your business is just starting out using social media, it could be a good idea to get in touch with an expert to help you come up with a best practices list.
Creativity can go a long way. On social media, users want to follow people and businesses who interest them and who post things that they want to see. When a social media team is confined to a strict set of rules, they cannot respond to current events properly. Your social media team is constantly seeing posts and gauging reactions to them while developing their own ideas about how to apply it to the company’s own social media account. They may see a follower’s comment and have a witty quip ready, but they will not be able to use it without a flexible social media policy.
Humor gets people’s attention. If your social media team started posting witty replies, your business’ reputation would grow. This flexibility would allow for relevant, in the moment replies and comments that can match a customer’s tone. If a customer has light-hearted, humorous comment, you team could reply in the same fashion. Often times, humorous banter can be created between your business and a customer this way. More customers will be eager to engage with your business when they see others getting good feedback.
Flexibility in your social media policy can increase your business’ overall following and likeability. You will gain new followers who may have never heard of your business before but became interested due to quirky, relevant posts. Flexibility would also increase the loyalty of your frequent customers. They may feel proud or excited to do business with you. Social media can be a very useful tool when you use it properly. Having flexibility in your social media policy can allow for great things to happen.