Have you ever seen something on social media and wondered why it was posted? Do you form opinions of people based on what they post? As a consumer, we form the same opinions when a business has a post that seems out of character or not as professional as we’d expect.

People connect with you – or your business – because of what you post. More importantly, how you say it. It’s like the old adage, it’s not what you say but how you say it. If your business account is unprofessional or even one giant sales pitch, people will probably keep scrolling or unfollow.

Providing quality content is crucial to your organization image in all situations, but the type of content is really important when it comes to social media. Here are a few of my top tips for a business account.

1. Humanize you content. Give your organization a brand or image that someone can relate to. Show your staff in their work environment, highlight volunteer or charity work that is important to your organization, show team building activities or how your staff takes a break from the work day, and highlight personal and professional staff accomplishments. Pictures don’t need to be staged or professional, but do pay attention to what is shown. You never want to show confidential information or intellectual property. You humanize your company by showing real life. Telling a broader story helps people see and feel your company values.
2.  Engage with your audience. To keep your audience engaged, it’s important to speak to them on their level. You can do that with the type of language you use or by the content you post. Stay away from buzzwords that may not mean anything to your readers. Just as your marketing materials shouldn’t make your audience feel like you are smarter than them, your social media shouldn’t either. Your social media content should speak to them on their level, relate to their problems, and give solutions that they can imagine in their own organization.
3. Think about your daily image. Whether someone follows your posts daily or looks at your account in bulk, the combined image that you present will determine what people think about your company. This also applies to how little you post. If you post twice a month, people will form an opinion about you based on those two posts. They may also assume that your organization doesn’t value marketing or social media or even technology.
4. Don’t argue or post negative comments. A business account should never be used to replace a customer conversation, whether its good or bad. It should also not be used to express personal opinions as posts or as comments on someone else’s page. Your company social media accounts should mimic your company ethics. If you wouldn’t want an employee to say something to a customer or peer, it shouldn’t be posted to social media.

These tips are for business accounts, but they also apply to a personal account. The posts you write, pictures you post, and things you share all help others shape an opinion of your beliefs. It’s really easy to set up a social media account, but no one tells you that what you do with that account will determine what people think about you or your organization.

Let’s chat! What social media tips do you have for managing a business account? Or, what personal account tips do you think relate to business accounts?