Reflection 2

6 Tips for Successful Social Media

1)      Making your account public

No matter which social media platform you find to be best fitting it is extremely important to make sure that you have your account on a public setting so anyone has the ability to view. By making the platform accessible by any consumer allows your target audience to expand which would result in more business.

2)      Social media outlet that best fits business
Picking the social media that best fits your business will allow a beneficial aid in how in which you share to the public the moves your company makes. For example if own a law firm you do not necessarily want to have your main social media platform as Instagram, as it would lack the important substance needed to be successful. However if you are a clothing store it would be advantageous to have an Instagram account to keep customers up to date with products that are new to the store.

3)      Forming an Identity

When trying to form an identity on a social media site, it is important to be consistent with your message and have a specific person in charge of what is posted. “One major implication is privacy. Users willingly share their identities on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter, yet this does not mean they do not care what happens to this information” (Kietzmann 2.1) It is also important to support/share things from other companies that possess the same ideas as yours as it shows you are in touch and up to date with things going on.

4)      Engage with your audience
It is important to understand who you are targeting when using the site and have an understanding which demographic is following your given profile. By also connecting with your audience will give a stronger presence to the consumer who visits your site, things such as replying to posts by other users can give a positive outlook on your business. “Social networking sites are applications that enable users to connect by creating personal information profiles, inviting friends and colleagues to have access to those profiles, and sending e-mails and instant messages between each other.” (Kaplan 3.4)

5)      Clarity in message

It is important to make transparent posts so that confusion does not arise and or lead to a negative response within the audience. By doing so it is important to make sure that your posts are always appropriate to the consumer(s) allowing for positive outcomes from postings. “..blogs do not come without risks. These generally present in two fashions. First, customers who–—for one reason or another–—turn out to be dissatisfied with or disappointed by the company’s offerings may decide to engage in virtual complaints in the form of protest websites or blogs (Ward & Ostrom, 2006), which results in the availability of potentially damaging information in online space.” (Kaplan 3.2) It is also important for the business to understand stand former and future postings, and protect them from going back on former posts.

                                      (It is beneficial to make your message crystal clear)

6)      No over posting

It is important not to post every minute of every day as it would more than likely lead to your business unfollowed due to over posting. Many negative outcomes can come from this and it will in turn cause the significance of your posts to weaken as they will be taken less seriously by the audience.

Kaplan, Andreas M., “Users of the World, Unite! The Challenges and Opportunities of Social Media,” Business Horizons (2010) 53, 59-68

Kietzmann J.H. et al., “Social media?  Get Serious! Understanding the Functional Building Blocks of Social Media,” Business Horizons (2011) 54, 241-251,