Social media captivates our attention like nothing else. 2.3 billion people actively use social media today, 176 million of those in the last year alone. With 12 new mobile social users every second, social media marketing is becoming more and more influential. Businesses and celebrities worldwide are utilising their resources and aligning them with consumer behaviours and interests to generate followers and build their brand image.
The opportunities that social media present to a business are growing exponentially; and with added features and platforms emerging, consumers are becoming increasingly easier to reach.
Tower’s annual consumer survey (2016) found that among internet users in the Cayman Islands, 85% use social media regularly. Within social media applications, Facebook was by far the most popular (84%), followed by Instagram (35%), Whatsapp (25%) and YouTube (20%).
With that said, it is increasingly important not to get it wrong. There are many ways in which a company effectively uses social media, and, unfortunately, there are just as many in which you can offend, alienate and distance yourself from your audience. Regrettably, in many cases, once you do get it wrong, it becomes almost impossible to remove your tracks.
Here is a quick guide of the Do’s and Don’ts when posting social media updates:
- DO have a content plan… but be flexible and stay in the know with current affairs. You cannot afford to look insensitive.
- DO engage and respond to your audience. If a follower has an issue with your product, others will want to see how you deal with the issue.
- DO have a clear and consistent message in your posts.
- DO NOT use your biggest rival to post your updates.
…Which is exactly what Alicia Keys did. As Creative Director for Blackberry smartphones, the last thing you would want is to be caught tweeting from an iPhone. #Awkward. Que that infamous excuse…
Of course it wasn’t you tweeting Alicia… We believe you.
- DO NOT incorrectly post captions and promotional updates.
Notable examples include Scott Disick and Naomi Campbell who evidently directly copied and pasted their captions from the sponsor. Naomi’s “’I really do love my @adidas kicks – they didn’t pay me to say that!’ And we’ll pay you an extra $10,000” tops the list.
However, you could argue, that the unedited caption gets more views, and as a result, more exposure for the brand. We would be incredibly naïve to believe that Scott Disick loves tea enough to post a picture on his social media without being paid to do so. No harm is done in the process, no one is offended and arguably, the same result occurred with potentially more exposure than normal.
- DO NOT post confidential information from behind the scenes of your HQ.
Or, more specifically, do not fire your staff all at the same time, especially the ones in charge of your social media accounts. HMV did this, and staff in control of twitter decided to document the firing process.
- DO NOT post a tweet with a trending hashtag without checking the context.
On first glance, DiGiorno Pizza have made a witty tweet and related the hashtag to their product. However, the #WhyIStayed hashtag they used was a hashtag encouraging conversation about domestic abuse.
- DO NOT use the death of a much adored celebrity to promote your brand.
More specifically, do not use the death of Prince in order to let everyone know your opening hours… Homebase.
- DO NOT post personal opinions that do not reflect the opinions of the company.
This rule even applies to the CEO, including Ryanair’s CEO, Michael O’Leary, who couldn’t help but compliment a follower with one big “Nice pic. Phwoaaarr!”.
