Social Media and the Illusion of Engagement

To small businesses:

When the people who work for your company are the only ones engaging your company's social media posts...you're doing something wrong.

Social media does NOT exist for your company's vanity. It exists to be SOCIAL.

Should you post about the things your company does? 

Sure.

Should your company post on a daily basis about what you do and how wonderful your product/service are?

Absolutely Not. And if you do post about what you do and what you provide...your employees shouldn't be in the comments stuffing your proverbial bra with padding.

Social media was not created for your employees to make the CEO and other executives feel good about the work the company is doing. It was not created as a way for your employees to cheer each other on either.

If you're measuring any metrics when it comes to social media, you better be damn sure that the metrics being presented are authentic and not inflated by your own employees.

Social media was created for people to engage the outside world.

This is true especially for businesses.

If your business is not engaging with people OUTSIDE of your own company on a daily basis...something isn't right. If the only people who like and comment on your posts work for your own company...something isn't right.

I've already given away the key to fixing this problem.

Engage with people OUTSIDE your company on a daily basis. Have your social media manager respond to every new follower, like, retweet, share, or whatever else it is. Engage with others. Give them a reason to come back and take an interest in your brand. Stop expecting them to come to you. 

No one cares about your company or what you do.

By taking this assumption, you put yourself on the proactive side of things and assume that every person you meet is an opportunity to create a raving fan.

Treat every one you meet as though you need to pull out all the stops and make them a raving fan of your company.

By the way...this doesn't just go for social media. This goes for anything external facing with your company.

Engagement can create an illusion of success. Make sure your rose colored glasses are in the garbage when it comes time for an examination.