Social media platforms provide an amazing opportunity for businesses to engage with consumers. However, posts intended to engage prospects may intend to the opposite. If your social media efforts are annoying prospects and your current customers, you run the risk of losing business.

Are your Posts Annoying?

Some posts will annoy a pocket of the general public no matter how hard you try to avoid this consequence. However, you can take proactive steps toward avoiding this outcome. Avoid the following when creating social media posts:

• Posting Too Frequently– If your friends and followers feel like they see a never ending stream of posts or content from you, it is time to slow the frequency down.
• One Sided Communication– If your posts tend to be hard-sell in nature without engaging or interacting with the end-consumer at all, it is time to make a change. Mentioning your products and services on an occasional basis is acceptable; day in and day out isn’t.
• Blatant Advertisements– This is somewhat debatable at the moment, but most consumers discount and avoid blatant advertisements posted on social media accounts. For the most part, individuals are on these sites to socialize and share information, not to buy products. However, as individuals are spending more and more time on social media, this trend is beginning to change somewhat. Rather than direct, in your face advertisements, offer platform specific discounts, promotions and VIP experiences to followers and friends.

 Now that you know some of activities to avoid, it is time to focus on posting content that results in sales conversions via ongoing engagement.

Engage with your Followers, Fans and Friends

When creating social media posts; focus on communication.  Invite people to interact with your business by sharing thoughts, liking content, leaving comments and posting feedback. Here are some of the primary ways you can engage your audience on social media platforms:

• Create an Outlet for Customer Service– Social media could prove to be an alternative to customer service offered via traditional outlets such as telephone and email.
• Contests, Giveaways and Freebies– Post one or more of these opportunities on an ongoing basis (i.e. weekly, monthly). For example, you could create and launch online polls, platform specific discounts or promotions (i.e. Facebook or Twitter), giveaways and contests.
• Feedback– Encourage current customers to leave feedback about recent purchases or experiences and to share stories about how your company’s products have impacted their lives. Consumers have shown to be extremely receptive to reading experiences and recommendations of others.

 In addition to avoiding content and posts that stands the opportunity to annoy your readers and creating content designed to engage, you must also spend time interacting with the social media community. Respond to platform direct emails, leave commentary on other people’s profiles, answer questions promptly, offer personalized notes and messages and ‘like’ other people’s posts and pages. Time invested in building relationships across social media channels will be well spent.