Want to dive into social media, but not sure how? Below are a few best practices I've learned in my time as Social Media Manager at the Balcom Agency. 

Be Strategic – Consider your overarching social media strategy and goals when posting to social networking sites. Ask yourself, “What do I want my fans or followers to do when they see this post?” Each post should, in some way, further the goals of your strategy.

Consider Your Voice – When posting content to social networking sites, be mindful of the tone of your message. Ask yourself, “Is this message consistent with the personality of my brand?” A consistent tone of voice ensures fans and followers see posts as being representative of a cohesive organization. 

Provide Diverse & Rich Content – Vary the type of content you post to your social networking communities so as to keep your fans and followers interested and engaged. For example, if you’ve just posted a link to an article on your page, consider posting a photo or video next. The more diverse and rich your content, the more likely your fans and followers will frequent your page to stay abreast of updates and information, as well as share the information with friends. Rich content includes media such as photo, audio, and video. 

Leverage Existing Tools – Take advantage of the multitude of features offered on social networks. For instance, Facebook offers users many diverse features, including links, photos, videos, events, discussions, notes, polls, favorite pages, and the ability to create custom tabs. Twitter allows users to reply publicly to other Twitter users (@username), send a direct message to followers (DM username), and include hashtags to group tweets (#hashtag).

Post Frequently at Key Times – Research shows that posting at least two to three times per day keeps an online community thriving, as does posting at times when people are most likely to be engaged in social networking. Some research suggests that social networks are most active between 9 and 11am and between 4 and 6pm. Posts on weekends – especially Sunday evening - often yield the best results.

Ask Questions – Users of social networks want to share their thoughts and opinions. Asking questions is a great way to engage your fans and followers, show you care about their involvement in the community, and encourage robust dialogue between the organization and its fans and among fans themselves.

Monitor & Respond – Keep a close eye on your social networks and respond to fan questions and complaints. Monitoring Facebook comments and Twitter mentions offers opportunities for reputation management and brand growth. It is considered a best practice to respond in some way to fan comments or questions within 24 to 48 hours, even if the response is a promise to return with more information. Delete inappropriate or offensive comments, but be thoughtful before deleting a comment that disparages the organization. This can provoke further negative commentary.

Measure & Adapt  – Bi-weekly or monthly, measure the growth, fan engagement, and sentiment on your social networking communities. Use Facebook Insights to measure Facebook fan growth and link spikes in fan interactivity to corresponding posts to determine popular content. Use Twittercounter.com to measure Twitter growth and Bit.ly to determine successful tweets. Review fan comments to determine the overall sentiment toward your community. Adapt your content according to what spurs the most positive and prolific fan interaction. 

Keeping these key concepts fresh in mind will help you develop a thriving community on social networks. 

What best practices have you learned?