6 Steps to Becoming an Awesome Social Media Networker
Anyone can create a social media account, but it takes effort and care to actually be good at social networking.
Follow these 6 easy tips to dominate communication and networking on your social channels.
1. Don’t be afraid to reach out to users you admire
It can seem scary to approach a bigwig on social media. Making that initial leap can almost be as intimidating as asking a celebrity for an autograph. However, there’s one big difference here. When fans bombard a celeb in public, they’re invading their personal time. But when well-known brands or individuals make a social media profile, they’re doing it to communicate with their followers.
If you have a question or insightful comment you want to share with an influencer, go for it! There’s no guarantee they’ll answer you, but you would be surprised by how many huge names regularly respond to their fans.
Social media is the perfect place to introduce yourself. Everyone appreciates a sincere compliment or positive input about their business.
2. Give credit where credit is due
Everyone loves to have their content shared on social media, but make sure you’re giving a nod to the user you got it from. Whether it’s a funny link or a cool graphic, give credit to the original poster by including their X handle or tagging them on Facebook.
Put a spin on what you’re sharing by adding your own opinion or asking a question. After all, nobody likes to feel like their great content or original idea is being stolen by another user. And who knows, you might just get a response or follow from them when they notice you praising and sharing their posts.
3. It’s nice to be nice… even when you don’t feel like it
Trolls are one of the biggest pitfalls of the social media world. While there are millions of engaged, interesting users who want to positively contribute to the landscape of the internet, there’s a pretty vocal handful of people who just like to cause trouble. So when you get defensive and stoop to their level in your responses, you don’t look very good, either.
Address users’ questions and complaints as thoroughly and politely as possible, even when they’re being a pain. And if that doesn’t work, you can always report them to Facebook or X.
4. Adapt to change and be willing to grow
If you want to stay on top of your social networking game, you need to be on top of social media, in general.
Never stop learning and growing, even if you’re naturally resistant to it. Social media does not start and end with having Facebook and X profiles. Take full advantage of hashtags, Facebook tags, Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, shared Pinboards and everything else!
This doesn’t mean you have to do all of these things all the time. Educate yourself and pick out the ones that will be the most useful for your individual needs.
5. Remember the little people
So you’ve acted on these tips and now you have more followers and you’re actively cultivating relationships with new and exciting people! That’s wonderful! But remember not to turn into a social media snob. Just because someone doesn’t have hundreds of fans and followers doesn’t mean they’re not worth your time.
If a social media newbie reaches out to you, take the time to answer and encourage them. Once they’ve found their footing and built a follower base, they might just turn into a valuable connection.
6. Don’t overthink this stuff
This might sound like the antithesis of everything you just read. Don’t misunderstand, you want to be thinking about your social networking skills and how you can improve them. Just don’t be overthinking.
If you obsess over each tweet and status update, you’re going to start to sound like a robot. Let your individuality shine through. Having the confidence to be yourself and represent your brand honestly is really what will draw followers to you at the end of the day. Tell the truth, ask questions, make mistakes every once in awhile. After all, behind the avatars and usernames, we’re just humans.
SOURCE: Volusion
