Do you remember the good old days when people would ask each other for recommendations or insights on where to eat or what business to trust? Thanks to platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter the world is a little bit more connected to everything that happens in the world are able to leverage mass scale testimonials that are presented in the form of:

• Online Ratings and Reviews
• Like and Follower Counts
• Engagement Counts
• Photos
• Comments, Likes and Shares

This can be awesome if you are one of those lucky businesses that get thousands of likes, followers and photos posted without having to lift a finger, but for most business owners that are already busy trying to run their business and focus on operations social media can be the Wild, Wild West.

So much, that social media can actually be hurting your businesses’ reputation online and offline.

Some of the things you should be updating and working on your social media profiles include:

Taking it from the top, you should have an account for your business with at least Facebook and Google My Business that has all of your business info up to date. This includes:

  • Being Findable: Are you there when customers are looking for your business?
  • Taking it from the top, you should have an account for your business with at least Facebook and Google My Business that has all of your business info up to date. This includes:
  • Business hours and Holiday Hours: Want to know a great way to lose a potential customer? Say you are open during a Holiday, when you are not.
  • Addresses (if you have more than one location)
  • Contact Information: This one seems like a no brainer, but if someone wants to give you their money, the least you can do is have the right number or email for them to reach out to you!
  • Look the part: Does your profile reflect your businesses’ branding and showcase the best photos of your product or location?
  • First impressions are everything and many will rather look at pretty pictures than to read and do research to pick a business to frequent, so investing in quality imagery or video is key.
  • Keep up with your fans (or haters): Acknowledge feedback and Reviews and show your customers that you care.
  • Turn some frowns upside down. An unhappy customer is a great opportunity for any business owner to turn their business from good to great or earn a loyal customer. As a rule of thumb you should be at least acknowledging every negative review by either apologizing for the negative experience or better yet, making it right.
  • My favorite is when businesses invite me to sample their business one more time on them. It allows them to show me what the experience should be like and honestly it makes me feel valued and like they actually care.
  • Doing this can actually be perceived as you doing your unhappy customer a favor, making them feel like they owe you a better review, a 2nd or third visit or even a recommendation.
  • Look alive! You know that feeling you get when you walk by a business, and the doors are closed and it doesn’t look like they have been open in months? This is the same impression potential customers get when they land on your social media profile and don’t see any new posts. We are not saying you need to post 5x a day, every day, but a few updates every month won’t hurt either. Some easy content recommendations include:
  • Alerting Customers of Events
  • Hosting a happy hour or a great deal? Post about it on social media!
  • Showcasing new products or services
  • Content your customers want to see. Are there any tips that align well with your industry? Make your customers feel special and you look like the authority in your industry by providing advice or tips to your followers.
  • Wish your followers a happy _______ (insert your favorite holiday here)
  • Give away something, because everyone loves free stuff!
  • A simple way to do this is by telling your followers you are picking a random person who likes your post to give them a free _____ (insert a product or service that you offer here). This is a great way to get some organic engagement!

Bonus: Increase your reach with social media ads!

  • Once your social media profile is sparkly and ready to show off, it is time to get new customers in a cost-efficient way by running some ads!
  • There are 100s of different combinations of ads that can be ran on social media with a very small budget to help raise awareness, visits or transactions; Remember that time you had a thought of split second about getting a new vacuum cleaner and you saw an ad for it the next day? With social media advertising, you can make stuff like that happen for your business: the creepier the better!

I know this list can seem intimating, so if you want a second opinion or are ready to handover the keys to your social profiles completely: let’s talk.

Ps. If you are San Diego, we have some mean lattes in our office.. bet you’ll LIKE em

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