The social use of social media

Companies should never use social media platforms to hard-sell their products or services. Any reference to company products or services should be subtly included, preferably after having provided substantial free high-quality content.

McKenna (2012a) expressed the view that social media platforms can be used for story-telling: for instance, by telling tales about successful customer experiences. Safko and Brake (2009) state that the main objectives of the content published on social media should always be communication, collaboration, education, and entertainment.

This content could include both opinion and factual information. Messages posted by a company should be congruent across all social media platforms, which means they should not have any contradictions. All these messages published by an organisation should support one another, as part of the company’s overall digital communication strategy.

These messages should also be coherent with the rest of the messages conveyed by the organisation in other ways: for example, events, post, adverts, company’s website, etc. Most companies need to become more active on social media and regularly publish attractive content.

The content published defines the organisation and distinguishes it from other organisations. A company should choose content which piques the audience’s curiosity and prompts them to participate willingly.

There is a positive correlation between high-quality content posted by an organisation and the endorsement it receives from audiences. Authentic and worthy content generates the spontaneous engagement of community members. A company which posts high-quality information on a frequent basis tends to be perceived by visitors as a caring organisation.

Oftentimes, companies replicate their content in several platforms, using different formats. In those cases, several platforms can also be linked to one another. When possible, after new content is posted the company should invite their audience to participate and also express their views and opinions on the information published.

Companies can also pose open-ended questions to prompt the audiences to participate. Most community members are very opinionated; they have the urge to express their views overtly and freely. Every time members of an audience give their opinions, a company can obtain valuable insights. On social media platforms, individuals are empowered to comment about topics in an open and fluid manner, through digital, sociable, and non-face-to-face interactions.

A question for self-reflection is: "How can I use social media in a more social way?"

This is an excerpt from the book "The Art of Compassionate Business: Main Principles for the Human-Oriented Enterprise" (2019, Routledge - Productivity Press). This book can be found here bit.ly/2MAkr4k