Social media pages have been the go-to for inquiries, learning more about a company’s products and services, and more. Here’s how to make yours more efficient.

Did you know that 67% of consumers expect brands and companies to have social media pages that actually provide customer service? And this is hardly surprising, given that social media these days has become a primary source of information—be it about the brands and companies themselves or about the products or services they offer. 

Furthermore, social media pages have also become a place for people to provide feedback—both good and bad. Unfortunately, the latter can be rather unpleasant for social media managers, especially when complaints cross the line towards being rude.

With that being said, running a company’s social media page can be a tricky responsibility altogether. After all, in order to keep a healthy social media presence, there are things that should and should not be done. 

For social media managers and business owners such as yourself, we put together a list of dos and don’ts with the help of Matt Lester Matel—a partner of bespoke footwear brand GodFather Shoes—who has years of experience in running his brand’s social media pages. 

The 5 Dos

1. Remember SURI

Posts are the lifeblood of social media. But beyond a well-curated feed—one with a consistent theme and design style—the very nature of your post is just as important. From informative content to testimonials, product shots and more, this could span a wide range of things.

Matt gives an acronym that is easy to remember when it comes to what kind of content to post: SURI, which stands for single-minded, unique, relevant, and impactful. “Always tell a story that is relevant to the interests of your clients,” Matt explains.

2. Post Regularly

This is pretty much a given for social media pages to stay dynamic. However, this does not mean that posts should be published every hour of every day. After all, too many posts can come off as hard sell, spam, or just turn off your audience all together.

Instead, opt for a strategic method that will reach your audience. Your posting schedule will depend on the day and time windows when your target market are online—for example, after work hours for the professionals or early in the morning for moms. Doing so helps ensure that you have your audience’s undivided attention, according to Matt. 

3. Take Negative Feedback Graciously

When it comes to giving feedback, no one likes dealing with passive-aggressive or outright rude social media managers or business owners. This is why as a social media manager or business owner, it is important to remain polite and professional when communicating through your social media page.

Likewise, it is also not good practice to just completely ignore negative feedback. “Acknowledge negative reviews with the intent to correct or remedy,” says Matt. “Do not leave negative comments or reviews with no responses. Doing so would only justify the negative review.”

And when apologies are in order, do so graciously and own up to your actions with the promise to do better moving forward.

4. Respond to Client Queries in a Timely Manner

In general, no one likes to be kept waiting—even more so on social media. Responding to queries in a timely manner is key when it comes to engaging with clients and customers, as it allows you to provide them with the information or help that they need. In some cases, you may lose the opportunity to make a sale, especially if you miss the chance to reply on time.

And worse, some negative situations may escalate without a timely or proper response.

Matt advises that in special cases when you or your team cannot respond to client queries right away may opt to set up automated responses instead. But as much as possible, reply right away and address the issue, inquiry or concern. After all, good customer service must extend, even on social media.

5. Always Credit Source Materials

These days, social media calls for authentic and organic content, which makes user-generated content just as important. This is why some brands are in the habit of reposting photos and videos of their products that are taken by content creators, customers, and patrons alike. Doing so is perfectly fine—as long as you have permission from the owners of said source materials, that is.

Taking materials from sources with no permission and attribution is considered stealing, which we all know is a big no-no. And the last thing anyone wants is to get into a copyright dispute with content creators, photographers, or even other brands. After all, using somene’s photo without permission can get your brand canceled, which in turn, will tarnish your reputation.

And do take note that CTTO or “credits to the owner” still doesn’t constitute as credits.

The 5 Don’ts

1. Don’t Spam

We cannot emphasize this enough. Matt says spamming actually devalues the content of your page, especially since it can turn off customers—causing them to either mute notifications or just unfollow your page altogether.

Instead of going for quantity, choose quality. Be strategic in when and what you post, and don’t hard sell your product or service too much. Change up your posts too, in order to keep your customers’ interest. For example, you can post a testimonial (taken with permission, of course), followed by a product photo instead of a series of just one thing.

2. Don’t Share Too Much Information

Social media is an avenue for people to post about just about anything—from day-to-day activities, memes, products or services that they’ve tried, and even complaints or grievances! In fact, some may end up oversharing on social media when left unchecked.

However, as a business owner or social media manager, this is something you should not do with your brand’s social media pages. Why? It can come across as hard sell. “Don’t overload your posts with information that they would’ve otherwise gotten from a genuine human interaction,” Matt explains, adding that organic content like testimonials from customers are still more credible.

3. Don’t Be a Broken Record

While product recall is important in cementing your brand in the minds of consumers, there is a fine line between sounding like a broken record, which can drive people away.

When trying to get your audience to remember certain information, Matt cautions against sharing the same message over and over again. Not only do you cause your customers to tune you out or come across as spam, but your campaign may not even be relevant after a while!

Instead, look for different angles and ways you can convey the message you want to share with your target market. Take advantage of trends, seasons, and other factors that may help make certain product or services more in-demand.

4. Don’t Abuse Hashtags

Hashtags may have been all the rage in the past, especially with Twitter and all, but social media trends have changed. Keywords are just as important, and being strategic helps, too.

What’s more, no one likes seeing social media posts peppered with hashtags. While social media platforms like Instagram allow a maximum of 30 hashtags per post, using all of that can clutter your post and come across as spam. Instead, figure out which hashtags will be helpful—not just for your brand, but your target audience as well. You can even use a mix of generic hashtags with specialized ones that are exclusive to your brand!

5. Don’t Share Unverified Information

In the era of rampant fake news on social media, you do not want to contribute to the misinformation going around. Sharing unverified information will also hurt the integrity of your brand should you get called out for it.

As the face and representative of your brand, it is important that your social media pages show the company’s knowledge and expertise. This establishes credibility and makes your products or services more legitimate, thereby translating into more customers and eventually, better sales.