Best Practices for Twitter and Facebook
Tips on how to best utilize your organization’s Twitter and/or Facebook account
Update often
Social media is about building and maintaining relationships. If you have a long-distance friendship with someone, the best way to build that relationship is through frequent communication. Social media is the same way. You can’t expect to have a meaningful connection with your followers if you offer them nothing in return. Facebook administrators should plan on updating Facebook at least four times a week. Twitter users should update at least once a day, Monday through Friday. The more frequent your updates, the more successful your social media efforts will be.
Ask questions to spark conversation and activity with your status updates. [i.]
People want to be talked “with” not “at.” Ask a thought provoking question and see what happens. The conversation that may result could be an asset for someone else.
Respond to comments in a timely manner.
If someone walked up to you at your place of business and asked you a question, would you a) answer them right away? Or b) wait 12 hours. The answer *hopefully* is a). Monitor your page to see if people have questions, and try to answer them right away. If you don’t know the answer, respond anyway. Be honest by saying you don’t know the answer but you’ll find it and get back to them ASAP. Just by posting an acknowledgment, you’ve shown that fan/follower (and countless others) that you have an interest in them.
Respond to negative comments in a positive way.
If there is a negative comment, do not ignore it. Try to diffuse the situation by turning the comment around and asking, “How can I help you?” Think of a way to change the commenter’s perspective in a constructive way.
Example: From Davenport University Alumni Facebook page: “My BBA has me unemployed! I paid 30 grand for a piece of paper! Time to shop another school for my masters!”
Davenport University’s reply: “Have you tried reaching out to Career Services?? Even though you’re not a student anymore, you can still go to them for help.” (Link to Career Services)
Updates should be meaningful.
Don’t just update for the sake of updating. The things you say to your fans/followers should be useful to them (and timely). If you have a big event coming up, post about it. Something new coming down the pipeline? Generate interest by giving updates on the project. See something in the news that pertains to your department/organization and you want to share it? Post it as a link along with a simple message.
Photos, Notes, Links, Wall posts, Events are all considered updates – Use them wisely.
Updates don’t just need to come in the form of status updates. They can be photos, events, notes and links. Every time you add something new to one of those categories in Facebook, it shows up in your fans’ newsfeeds, keeping you at the top of their mind. Make albums showing your staff, or write a note about something new you’re offering.
Reward your followers. [ii.]
Thank your fans. Can you offer a reduced rate to an event? Do you have the option of giving away a free ticket? Hold a contest to give away a simple prize to one random follower. Even small gestures show your appreciation and can increase interest in your organization.
See who is talking about you and respond
Whether you like it or not, people are talking about you/your brand on Twitter and Facebook. If you know how to “listen” to what those people are saying, you can set straight any misinformation that may be out there OR reaffirm any positive messages. Another good reason to “listen” is to learn more about your audience. You can gain important insight if you listen to what they have to say.
Want to keep an eye on what people are saying about you on Twitter? Set up an RSS feed by using Google Reader. You can use Google Reader to aggregate a number of feeds to one place. To learn more, check out the article “Grow Bigger Ears in 10 Minutes” by Chris Brogan.
[i.] Source: http://www.insidefacebook.com/2009/08/04/8-best-practices-for-retailers-on-facebook-pages/
[ii.] Source: http://www.diosacommunications.com/facebookbestpractices.htm
