Episode 3: How to be Social on Social Media

It may seem obvious that we need to be social in our social media. But, the reason I'm sharing this episode with you is that I see so many people go the anti-social route. I'll share with you why this is so important and how to actually be social as a business on social media. 

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Video Showing you How to Like Pages and Engage as your Business Page: https://youtu.be/OFxYil5SreE

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Full Transcript for this Episode:

Well, hello, we're back. Here we are again. If you're just tuning in, I want to encourage you to back up a couple episodes because this is the third episode in my little launch series for my podcast that I'm launching right now. And, you know, first episode, we talked about the difference between personal social media, business social media, and why you should be using your business page and really why that's very important. And then, we talked about, in the second episode, how often we should be posting to social media and I helped answer that question, really gave you some tools about how to answer that question for yourself, because there is no perfect formula. But today, we're going to talk about what it means to be social in social media. I know, it sounds weird, doesn't it? It just sounds weird. But, I have to be honest with you — the reason I'm talking about this is because often, often, I see people forgetting these necessary elements of their social media efforts. And, you know, people are posting, they're creating content, but they're not being social. And there's different ways to be social, and we're going to talk about that. But, it's extremely critical that we are social in our social media. So I think, you know, I see, from a personal standpoint, it's fairly easy to be social. And what I mean is, you know, you create a post and, you know, you're interacting with people, you're commenting on other people's posts, you know, you're clicking the haha button, the wow button, the like button, the love button, whatever. And you're, you know, you're commenting on people's posts, and you're replying to comments on your posts, and all those things… you're being social! You're using the DMs to message your friends and ask questions and what not. But, why aren’t we doing it as a business too? So, I think it's so easy to forget that even when we're doing, you know, our social media for our business, we still need to do all those same things. We need to be social on social media. So, there's a few ways that we can be social, but first, I want to talk to you about why it's important to be social on social media. 

I mean, the foundational reason is, social media is meant to be social. And it's meant to be full of communication. And communication is back and forth communication. And you can't really be social if you're not showing up in the comments, in the DMS, in Facebook groups, and in other areas. So, it will help you in the algorithms, which is a very scientific, you know, techie way of saying, you know, you need to be able to interact and communicate with your audience and others in order for you to actually be able to say you're effectively using social media. It just really comes down to that. But there is very strategic reasons as well, if you kind of need you know, the ROI, if you will, for this, then I'm going to give it to you. By showing up in comments and by showing up in, let's say, other posts, which we'll get to in a second, of other pages, then you're actually going to get more exposure. So you might show up in somebody's, you know, notifications, because you're commenting on a post that they commented on, and they've never heard of your business. And now they've just discovered your business. And so by actually commenting and interacting on other posts, you can actually gain more exposure. Now, I don't want you to approach it in a way of you're trying to, you know, just beat the system and get new leads. I want you to actually be genuine and authentic. And I want you to actually be part of the conversation. Let's think of it this way, when you walk into a coffee shop for a meeting, and, let's say it's a local coffee shop, and you walk in and you see, you know, three other people that you know… you know them, and you know them well, and you interact with them, maybe you even work with one of them, maybe one of them works for you, and then another one might be a customer. You're not going to just walk in and ignore them. You're going to actually say hello, you might even give them a hug, you might give them a high five, you might ask them how they're doing. You might even, you know, say, “Hey, let's get coffee next week” and make an appointment. And then you're going to proceed to the person that you're meeting with. You're going to say hi to them, they're going to say hi back, you're going to sit down, and you're going to have back and forth communication. You're not just going to sit there and talk at them and then not give them any opportunity to say anything. Or, worse, they're not going to say things to you and you're just going to ignore them. You're going to reply to what they say. You're going to have a conversation. Social media is meant to foster conversation. I's meant to foster community, it's meant to be a place where people can converse, it's meant to be social. Oh, I know, it sounds so, like, simple and basic, but it's important! So, outside of the strategic reasons and all that, you just got to be showing up as a business. And so here's how we do that. 

There are many ways, but here's a few that are just really, really important, really simple. One way is I want you to be interacting with other posts from other business pages. The way to do that is first, you need to go and make sure that you are liking and following other business pages. So, maybe other local businesses, maybe the partners that help you do what you do, vendors that you buy from just, you know, other, you know, people in your industry, even, or other kind of collaborative companies that have the same customers that you do, but maybe they do something different, you know, community organizations like nonprofits, you know, these are just simple examples. You need to go and find them, and you need to follow them as your business page. Now, I actually have a little video about how to do this, because it's not super intuitive, and so I will put a link to that video in the show notes that shows you exactly how to like another business page as your business. And then I want you to be looking at your newsfeed. And that same video shows you that as well. I want you to, like, look at your newsfeed at least once a week, I mean, I actually would love for you to check it daily if you can, and just find some time, like five minutes a day, and look at your business page newsfeed and interact as your business. And then the other way you can interact as your business is in Facebook groups. So Facebook groups now allows you to join groups as a business page. Now keep in mind, some, you know, Facebook groups, they have their own kind of personal policies that are trying to protect their audience and make sure there's not a lot of promotions going on, and they may not allow business pages to join their group, that might be their thing. So just keep that in mind. But, let's just assume that everybody is allowed, and you're allowed as a business group. You can join a group as a business page, and you can interact as your business. So that's another way that you can show up as a business and be commenting and contributing as your business page. Another way, really important way, okay, for you to be social in your social media, is to be social in your own content. Don't post stuff and then, like, ignore the people commenting, okay? You've got to go back and reply. And when I say reply, I mean actually reply to them don't just like their comments. Like, that's like having a conversation with somebody, let's go back to the coffee shop… you're sitting down having coffee, and you just shared a story. And the person across from you just, like, told you how amazing it was and how hilarious it was, or whatever. And you looked at them, and you stuck your hand up and gave them a high five. Like, awkward. Okay, you wouldn't do that in a coffee shop. So why do we do that on our social media? I mean, or better yet, you looked at them and like major eyes really big and you went, Wow. Come on! I want you to actually comment back, respond to them. This takes time, yes, it does. And you do need to monitor your notifications, and you need to be looking, but here's the deal. I mean, you need to be on social media to be social, so this is part of the game, this is part of it. And honestly, the best way for you to get to know your audience and the best way for you to get to know these people is to interact with them. So you can actually have some back and forth conversation in the comments of your own posts. Two things are going to happen, you're going to get to know your audience better, and other people are going to see your interaction with them and they're going to like you that much more for it. Or, they're going to not like you that much more for it, which is fine. That's a feature podcast episode coming up for sure. Because if somebody sees you for who you are, and they don't like you, well, they're not going to be a good customer anyway, and you being transparent like that helps you filter out the people that aren't a good fit for you. So, here's how we can foster communication, you know, in our own post, because I know what some of you are saying, some of you are saying, “But Melanie, people don't comment on my posts!” Okay, well, I get you, I hear you, that does happen sometimes. But here's the deal. There are some other ways that we can start to foster communication. Because once you start to create, kind of, a culture in your own social media content, that there's back and forth communication, the more likely people are to communicate, I promise you. People are more likely to comment on a post when they see that other people have comments on it. Have you ever noticed that? Do you feel yourself doing that sometimes? It's totally true. It's one of those weird things, but it's a true thing. 

So here's a couple of ways. I want you to start to think about how you can create questions in your content. So I want you to prompt people to answer you. So, you can actually come up with, like, “question of the day” or “question of the week.” And you can literally ask a question… one that I've done in the past is, you know, “What's your biggest marketing pitfall right now?” Or, “Are you more likely to interact on Facebook than Instagram? And if so, why?” You know, just things like that. So I like to ask questions that are marketing related for two reasons. One, it kind of creates community because people like to see each other's responses. But two, I'm trying to kind of just get to know my audience better. But what I can do is when they answer that question, I can respond to them. And I can either recommend a resource for them, or I can kind of dig deeper with them, or I can share in their pain. And people will need that. They want that. It's supposed to be a back and forth conversation, remember? So, you can do that by creating posts that ask questions, or you can even create polls. I love polls, because other people love polls. People love to vote on these polls. So you can do polls in your Instagram stories, or on your Facebook page. I really love them on the Facebook business page. Right now, as it is, you know, here in 2019, you can only do two options on a business page poll. But in a group, you can create a pole and you can have endless options. And people can even add their own options as well. So I love doing polls… It creates tons of communication and interaction. But then the other way that you could do this is you can just, you know, make a post, share a tip, and, you know, give helpful information, offer value, but then ask a question, you know, at the end of your post. Or share something that works for you, and then maybe ask what works for them. So, like, productivity, I might share a tip about how I create my to do list, yada, yada. And then I may say, “What's your favorite productivity, you know, to do list app?” and people will start sharing their favorite apps. So that's kind of another way you can kind of solicit that interaction. But again, you've got to pay attention to the comments, and you need to be responding to them. You need to be interacting back and forth with them. This is for all posts. So another example is when you do Facebook Lives, people will comment while you're live. And it can be very difficult to respond to all those comments live. But go back and actually acknowledge those people in the comments as well. So even if you answered their question, you know, in the live video, or you talk to them in a live video, go back and respond to their comment and just say, “Hey, thanks for tuning in, I hope my answer was helpful.” Or go ahead and offer the link that you talked about, you know, what not. So, go back and create that conversation. 

Here's another reason that is very strategic about why this is important. Now, I don't want you to think of it this way because again, I want you to be authentic, and I want you to be real. But, the more interaction on these posts, the better your page is going to perform in the algorithms because Facebook is going to see, “Hey, they're being social,” “Hey, they're fostering communication, “Hey, they're creating community.” And these are the objectives of Facebook, they want these things to happen. And so when you do these things, they like you better for it and they're going to promote your stuff in the newsfeed. So again, you're helping them create a better user experience. And so they're going to reward you for that. But don't think of it in a way to gain the system, I want you to be true. And I want you to be authentic. And I want you to be helpful to people. That is what's key and super critical when we're doing this stuff. 

So, the other, you know, thing that you need to not forget about is your DMs, your direct messages. So if you're getting direct messages from people to your business page, or your Instagram page, or wherever you are, make sure you're responding to those people. If somebody's, you know, spamming you or, you know, they're giving you one of those silly, “Hey, checked out your website and your SEO performance could be better whatever.” You don't have to respond to those people. I'm talking about actual real people that are DMing you. You need to be interacting with them and responding to them as well. Those are more private communications. That's like somebody calling you, you're going to answer the phone and you're going to respond to them, you're not going to ignore them, right? 

So you need to be doing all these things in your social media as well. So, you guys, that's what I got for you today! So I know it seems so simple — social media is about being social. I hope that this was prompting for you. Write some of these things down. Make sure that every day you're at least checking your notifications so that you can be responding to comments, and just do your best. Okay, do your best to respond to these things. You will get into the flow of it and you will get better. But I also want you to interact as your business on other business page posts, in other communities, I want you to be interacting like groups, Facebook groups. And then of course, in your own comments and DMS you need to be responding, but also create content that can foster some of this back and forth communication. Create content that prompts people to respond and comment and to answer a question or to give you information so that you can gain insights but also respond to them and have this communication. So, you guys, just simply go be social, okay? Don't ignore people. Let's be social. Even if you're introverted. You can do it. I know you can. And so just everyday, check that stuff and go get it done. All right, I'll see you guys in the next episode.