virtual assistance and social media

When you hear the word “etiquette,” does it leave you thinking about formal attire and place settings with too many forks? Good news! That’s not the type of etiquette I’m talking about.  I don’t care which fork you use, as long as you use one.  I’m talking about social media etiquette. Because it’s such a fast-paced world, people often don’t stop to think about what they post before they post it.

Especially when you’re a solopreneur, social etiquette can make or break your business. Things to not post:  politics, religion, and controversial topics. If I Google “vacuum cleaner repair Minneapolis” and your Facebook page comes up, I’m going to click on it. Is your page all about Donald and Hillary? Chances are, I’m going elsewhere because I’m interested in vacuum cleaning repair, not politics. Same goes for religion. I have my own beliefs. If ours clash, you could lose my business because maybe I don’t want to support someone who worships a pair of dirty tennis shoes.

Then there are the memes. Everyone loves to share memes! You’ll even find a few on my business page. They’re not all bad. A great meme can make your page go viral. Some are really, really funny.   However, keep your audience in mind. The other day I stumbled upon a fellow entrepreneur’s page. There were more naked women on there than there are in a nudist colony. Unless you’re running a strip joint (which this business was not), keep your sexy ladies to yourself, please.

Notice that I said please in the last paragraph. Please and thank you are just as important in social media as they are in real life, and you’ll surely catch more flies with honey than you will with vinegar. If you make a request, say please. If you screw up, apologize. Even if you only have 140 characters with which to do it.

So far, some of this may seem like common sense, but social etiquette doesn’t stop there. Have you ever seen a business insult a customer on social media? If a client tweets that they’re unhappy with your house cleaning services, it’s not okay to respond with “Your home was disgusting. Jesus Himself couldn’t have made it clean” (which could be tempting to do after a rough day and a couple of cocktails).  Other clients are going to see that and decide that maybe you’d think their home was disgusting too, and consequently you’ll lose business.

Even though you try your hardest, sometimes you can’t win when it comes to social media. It’s true that some people are just looking for an excuse to be offended. However, doing what you can to minimize risk and damage is key.

Figuring out all the ins and outs of social media etiquette can be challenging, much like when you’re not sure which fork to use or if that bowl with the lemon water is for dipping your food or your fingers. Lucky for you, though, we can help.  Some of the social media tasks our amazing virtual assistants do:

  • Set up new social media pages
  • Monitor pages
  • Post regularly (and appropriately!)
  • Increase following
  • Interact with fans
  • Online reputation monitoring (for when you’ve already screwed up!)

That’s just the tip of the iceberg. Each business has different social needs. If you’d like to chat about yours, ring me up!

Thanks for reading.

Until next time,

Angie