Are You Talking to Yourself on Social Media? Social Media is More Than Just Posting.

Debbie Harris

Are you talking to yourself on social media?  Social media is more than just posting.  I so often work with clients who have gotten the hang of what to post on Facebook but they are not getting engagement on their posts.  The same thing happens on Twitter.  Tweets are being tweeted but they are not seeing anyone Favorite or Retweet what they are tweeting.  Are you experiencing this with your social media?  It seems to be a natural inclination to think that if we put out enough information on social media and make it interesting, that people will just flock to us.  I would agree that posting interesting, educational and entertaining information on Facebook and Twitter is a great start but social media is so much more than just what you put out.  How are you engaging with others to give them a reason to reciprocate and engage with you on social media.

Here’s a few pointers on this:

• Facebook
  
  
  
  • Post as your business on your business page and LIKE other businesses as your Business
    
  • Think of other businesses that might be strategic partners, colleagues, clients or vendors and LIKE their pages as your Business Page – help them spread the word about their businesses if appropriate for you
    
  • When you scroll down the Home Page using Facebook as your Business, click LIKE on things that seem appropriate and/or put up a Comment
    
  • Congratulate others, acknowledge others, express your opinion and generally be supportive of other businesses on social media
    
  • You may even find posts that you want to Share on your Business Page
    
  • Help other businesses so they are more inclined to reciprocate on your social media
    
  • Ask your clients/customers/patients to actively engage with your Facebook page by reminding them in emails, when they are in your office and when you send out anything via the mail
    
  • Having people Check In if you are a brick & mortar establishment also encourages more Likes as people notify their Friends that they are visiting your place of business – don’t push this but simply remind people
  
  
• Twitter
  
  
  
  • Twitter is an awesome tool for fostering engagement if you spend some time to pay attention
    
  • Look at what is trending on any give day – remember my article on what we are celebrating on that particular day – there’s always something
    
  • Look at what others have Tweeted and see what you can Retweet.  It’s great that you can now leave a Comment with the Retweet which can give you another opportunity to express your opinion, include your website and/or thank the person who tweeted the info – (Crazy how it is these days, the whole time I am writing this about Twitter I keep having to stop myself from writing in Twitter speak, LOL.)
    
  • The other option is to Favorite someone’s tweets
    
  • Read someone else’s blog that was tweeted and Favorite it and/or retweet it – Please do READ it first so you know what you are putting out there
    
  • Again helping others promote what they are tweeting motivates people to reciprocate – it’s amazing how that works
    
  • Remember to use Hashtags on Twitter but don’t overdo it – You can use them in your Facebook posts as well but again, keep it making sense

Social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter give us a soapbox to promote our voice.  It is important to remember that just as you get excited when your tweet gets retweeted, others feel the same way.  Or when your Facebook post gets comments and even shares.  We tend to want to help those that help us and it’s almost an automatic response to reciprocate on social media.  As always, I recommend staying away from subjects on Facebook and Twitter that are controversial and/or political in nation and there are lots of those.

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