How to Successfully Build Relationships on Social Media
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Welcome to Day 3 of my Social Media mini-series! If you haven’t already, you may want to read The Best Social Media Platforms for Building Your Business and How to Create Successful Social Media Posts before continuing.
Question #3: How have you successfully built relationships on social media?
I wasn’t surprised to discover that the folks from POC’s Halton-Peel Chapter knew some great ways to build relationships on social media, considering that’s how I’ve come to know many of them!
Here are their top recommendations:
- Engage in regular activity on the social media platforms that you choose.
- Make sure your content is appropriate for the platform. (Don’t post pictures of kittens on LinkedIn, for example.)
- Be authentic. Let your conversations reflect your personality.
- Be brief and be timely.
- Share useful resources — not just your own.
- Comment on other people’s posts, and respond to their comments on your posts.
- Follow people with whom you wish to form relationships.
To these excellent suggestions, I would add these:
- Tailor your content to your target audience so you can inspire them to take the next step in the buying journey.
- Use social media as a way to build your email list, so you can further the relationship on your own platform.
Have you successfully built relationships on social media? Please share your stories in the Comments!
This mini-series continues tomorrow with tips and tools for time management and social media.
Photo © vilman – Fotolia.com
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Who has time or interest in creating “fake” contacts? I enjoy getting to know – even if only in a small way – my social media contacts. I love developing an understanding of their expertise, and feeling part of a community. It is easy to see who is just scheduling a bunch of posts, but not actually interacting.
And you, Seana, are a wonderful example of someone I’ve formed a relationship with through social media. Although we’ve only met in person once, and very briefly at that, I feel that I know you as well as many people in my local community.
Building relationships on social media is very important for every brand. So, it’s good not just to promote your content, but to engage with your friends/customers. And, NEVER delete bad comments or reviews. Instead, answer them politely.
Eva, that’s an excellent point about negative comments and reviews. Deleting them will hide them from other potential clients, but responding to them appropriately shows both the person who posted them and everyone else that you are committed to customer satisfaction.
If it weren’t for social media, you and I wouldn’t have met…or at least we wouldn’t have met as quickly. While I love writing content to share, I also love engaging with others that are writing and thinking and sharing interesting things. It’s the relationship building that is what’s most valuable and rewarding.
They call it “social” media for a reason. They don’t call it “broadcast” media…which is more of an output only situation.
I also agree with you that Seana is amazing at building online relationships. She’s a generous sharer and commenter, as are you, Janet.
Thank you both for being awesome models of social media at its best.
You’re right, Linda! And if we hadn’t first met on social media, maybe we wouldn’t have made a point of meeting face-to-face when the opportunity arose. People who think you can’t form relationships online are really missing out!
This is awesome, Janet. I really appreciate the feedback I receive from groups. They inspire me to continue on and help others. I agree, authentic people make the best members. I also feel that being kind and supportive while assisting others is beneficial too.
Yes! If you’re going to be *on* social media, you need to *be* on social media. Someone once asked me if I knew a certain organizer, because she’d responded to one of her tweets and got no acknowledgement. Nobody likes talking to a wall, so don’t be a wall – be a window, or a door!
My formula for building a vast social medias network is simple: frequent posts & engagement. The more you post, the more interesting you become for the others. Also, once you receive some comments, it’ll be a good idea to respond thus showing that your audience’s opinions does matter to you.
Responding to comments is vital! Why would anyone keep talking to you if you don’t talk back? 🙂