The Don’ts Of Social Media

IH Admin — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 09:00:03 +0000

Social media isn’t going anywhere, so the company needs to make use of it. While you may not be anxious to get yourself out there in a personal way. Social platforms can be effective drivers for professional development and business growth.

Simply put, no matter what context or level of experience you have with social media, there’s no better time to dive in. Likewise, while this may be a bit hyperbolic, it’s important to be aware of the risks that certain acts take when using social media.

1. Share Too Much Information

Some things are better left unsaid. As a rule of thumb, people you’re looking to engage with professionally online do not need to know your physiological functions, your embarrassing moments, or your lengthy daily recap. Meanwhile, for both business and personal accounts. It should go without saying that proprietary information should never be shared online with a public audience.

2. Flat-Out Lie

Don’t risk your professional reputation (or that of your business) by sharing false, misleading, or refutable information online. A good guideline is to share factual information for which you have supporting data or professional viewpoints and predictions with disclosure on your perspective. Above all, being honest about your achievements and knowledge base will help you build a trustworthy. Leader persona within your professional network.

3. Share Your Strong Opinions

If you’re looking to build a professional audience. It’s best to leave certain subjects out of your conversations. For instance, with so much valuable content and ideas to exchange, there are much more productive ways to grow an audience. However, leave tendentious topics to discuss with trusted family and friends offline.

When contributing to the mass of content on social media as a business professional. After that, we generally want to influence others by sharing something valuable, relevant, and non-offensive.

4. Forget Grammar Check

Proper grammar and sentence structure ensures that your content comes across as professional, polished, and considered. Make a mistake? Edit, delete, and/or re-post if appropriate. Be attentive to detail in general to avoid silly mishaps.

5. Neglect Current Events

Social media moves a million miles an hour, and commenting on something that (A) you are not well informed on or (B) you haven’t researched can come across as ignorant or insensitive to news and important issues. Bottom line: only comment on a current event if you feel it is necessary for your professional well-being and will be valued by your online community. When in doubt, leave politics entirely out of the equation.

6. Be Tone-Deaf

Relative to neglecting current event research, coming across as “tone-deaf” (not being empathetic to a situation and speaking on it inappropriately) can be as simple as not checking a trending hashtag before using it for commercial promotions.

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Why Is Word Of Mouth Marketing So Important?

IH Admin — Sun, 08 Dec 2019 17:36:27 +0000

Consumers trust their friends. This is why word of mouth marketing is the most valuable source of marketing. It’s all about creating a buzz. It’s a passive way of gaining a following. The more you interact with people the more likely your name will spread. It’s an organic way of spreading information that utilizes components of viral marketing, though, unlike viral marketing, it spreads by more natural channels.

Word of mouth is a free form of advertisement or promotion (just one reason it’s so important). It’s shared by customers and triggered by an event the customer experiences. This event is something beyond what’s expected.

WOM also doesn’t stop after just one interaction. One person will tell another, and that person will someone else, then that person will continue the chain and spread the word further, making it a great vehicle for exposure and distribution – if used well. Of course, the same is true in reverse – negative news can spread just as fast, but the essential benefit of WOM in the connected era is a personal endorsement, which is not only more readily available, but is seen as significantly more valuable to modern consumers.

1. Make Yourself Interesting

Consumers feel more confident in the information they’re sharing when they’re contributing something that’s worth talking about. Think of it as social currency – share what makes you look fun/good/interesting. This entices sharing.

For example, research has shown that Facebook users are more likely to share content that educates their network, and/or makes them look good and reinforces a certain image of themselves. You can tap into such behavioral trends to benefit your messaging.

2. Create A Trigger

You can design products that are triggered by the environment, and create new triggers by linking your products and ideas to prevalent cues within that environment. If people remember you, they’ll continue to talk about you. Sounds like a great way to start a successful referral program.

3. Provide Value

If you establish yourself with a few people, they’ll share the experience with friends – you may not remember the last time you shared a mediocre restaurant or service with someone, but you’ll no doubt be able to remember an amazing experience or event.

Sharing valuable information makes you valuable. Great, unique customer experiences, along with having a great product, can help increase your value, and thus, your WOM potential.

4. Provoke Emotion

Creating emotion goes hand in hand with creating value. People are more likely to share something that promotes high arousal, and people are more likely to share experiences in which they had some sort of emotion.

No one shares an ‘OK’ experience. People share the things that make them happy or upset.

Think about Yelp – the reviews are either one extreme or the other – hardly ever does someone take the time or effort to talk about their experience if it was average.

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