- Participate often. You can’t just open the dialogue and then leave the room. You have to keep talking! Keep your posts fresh.
- Don’t just talk; you’ve got to listen! Don’t let your followers think they are talking to a wall (or is it more appropriate to say “a blank screen”?).
- Be honest. Honesty is the best policy—do I need to say any more on this point?
- Don’t sell—engage! Use social media to build customer relationships and to interact with your customer base. Nothing makes your followers run for the hills and “unlike” faster than a hard sell.
- Respond to complaints; don’t ignore them. Remember—an unhappy customer gives you an opportunity to create a happy customer (okay that’s kind of Pollyannaish but it’s true). An ignored unhappy customer can only be an unhappy customer. And through social media, an unhappy customer can make his/her disappointment widely known...very widely known.
- Be creative. The same old, same old is really just old.
And don’t forget—have fun!
