Writing for Your Business — Creating Social Media Posts

$\"Social$ So, you’ve set up your social media accounts and now they just sit there. A few fans and followers may have gathered after you shared the page with everyone you know (and a few you don’t). Now what?

This is where social media gets a bit tricky: People will follow the businesses they like across their social networks, but only if the content is right. Sounding too advertorial will push your customers to disengage from your profile, be it on Twitter, Google+ or Facebook, so finding that mix of promoting your business and providing something your customers want to read is crucial.

For small businesses especially, social media provides a company the opportunity to show how it’s different than its competitors.

You should be able to answer these three questions when you complete a post:

Is the post interesting to your customers? Pictures of your business, flavors of the day, time-limited promotions and links to relevant articles are all workable on any social media network. But make sure it appeals to your demographic — really specific industry news probably won’t cut it.
Will the post provide value to those who read it? The other half of creating a good post is that it is should be helpful to your fans or followers. If they find it helpful or interesting, they are more likely to share it and extend your reach.
Do you only talk about your business in your posts? If you’ve done this consistently, try finding another topic. If you emphasize that your business is local, highlight events in your area or respond to local news items.

The bottomline is that few customers will follow a business with a purely promotional social media setup. Make it worth their while to see what you have to say.