In several past posts we’ve touched on the importance of using social media to market your small business. As you venture into the world of Facebook, Twitter and the like you need to remember that as with anything you share online, these posts can take on a life of their own. To maintain the integrity of your corporate image you’ll need to monitor the comments that others leave in response to your posts.
As a kid did you ever get in trouble for something you didn’t do? Maybe you were with a group of rowdy kids and you got kicked out of the movie theater even though you were sitting quietly. Did you ever lose recess or other privileges at school because a few people in your class couldn’t stop talking? This is “guilt by association,” you weren’t the responsible party but you were there when it happened so they drug you right down with them. Back then, these occurrences put a damper on your day but you probably moved past it pretty quickly. Times have definitely changed and the stakes are much, much higher these days. If your posts attracts the wrong comments suddenly your business could become associated with an entire belief system that you have absolutely no connection with.
Even innocent comments can cause problems for your business. Most parents will tell you that they look at things differently now that they have children. The joke that would have cracked you up a few years ago now makes you cringe because you don’t want Junior to repeat the words he just heard at preschool. A commenter can leave what they consider to be a perfectly respectable comment, but if they use off-color language it could offend some of your other readers. We’re not saying that you have to sanitize everything, but be warned that you could lose some readers if your page routinely has language, humor or other content that could be objectionable, even if you’re not the one creating that content.
Of course you want your posts to go viral. It’s a marketing dream to see your comment liked and shared all over the internet. One viral post can bounce around the web for weeks or even months generating buzz, and hopefully sales for your company. It’s good to keep an eye on things because just like the game telephone, as your message passes through multiple people it can become a bit garbled. Watch for things being taken out of context. Sometimes losing even a word or two can completely change the message.
Your social media presence is a huge part of your brand and you need to manage it as closely as you would any other part of your marketing. You can’t afford to allow misrepresentations of your company and what you believe in to gain a foothold in cyberspace.
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So how do you manage social media? You need two things: time and someone who is comfortable reviewing and revamping your online presence as needed. If you’re not that media savvy you may need to hire someone who is. Refer back to our previous posts on for more tips to help you save money while staffing your small business and make great staffing choices. Think you can handle the job and just need help finding the time to focus? Stockpile can help. Our fast free inventory management solution makes it easy. How much of your day do you spend worry about inventory management issues? How often does an inventory crisis demand your attention? With Stockpile, our online fast free inventory management solution you can worry less and get more done. Stockpile makes it easy to track inventory within a single location or across multiple locations. We’re ready to grow with you so you never have to worry about outgrowing your small business solution. You won’t have to worry about coming in to the office to keep an eye on your inventory either. Stockpile allows you to access your critical inventory data anytime from anywhere. That should free up some of your valuable time, now shouldn’t it? Stockpile is quick and easy to implement so if you haven’t tried it yet, get started today!
