Social media marketing is essential for any business these days. If you don’t have an online presence, you’re already at a disadvantage.

For a lot of businesses, nailing down the right social strategy may be difficult. There’s a lot of advice out there, and some may seem contradictory. The thing to remember is that social media marketing is all about finding the right balance.

To show you what we mean, we’ve compiled a list of dos and don’ts to help you develop your own social strategy.

Do: Inject Personality
You want to have a clear brand voice across your social platforms. Your audience wants to interact with a person, not a robot. So, make sure they know there is a human being behind the keyboard, and that this person is aligned with your brand’s values.

Don’t: Be Unprofessional
Make sure that you do not go overboard and drop your professionalism when showing off your personality. You’ll want to make sure you’re still speaking with authority and professionalism and save personal opinions for your private profile.

Do: Engage with Your Audience
Social media marketing should be just that – social. The people who follow you want to talk to you. Make sure that you take some time each day to scroll through your comments, direct messages, and mentions to see what your audience has to say and respond when appropriate.

Don’t: Respond to Messages You Can’t Leverage
That last bit is essential: respond when appropriate. Not every message you receive will warrant a response, so use discretion. Pay special attention to praise and good questions, as you can leverage these to your advantage.

Do: Post Often
You won’t hit every one of your followers with every post. This is just the basic nature of social media algorithms. So, you’ll want to post consistently. Take the time to figure out what works for your company and each platform.

Don’t: Spam Your Followers
People can get annoyed very quickly. Only post when you have something to say, not for the sake of posting. Everything you share on social should have a purpose, or else you’ll fall into the world of spam accounts. You certainly don’t want that.

Do: Post and Share Content
Content is your friend. It’s a way to drive traffic to your website and cement yourself as an authority in your field. Don’t be afraid to share complimentary, relevant content from other sites, too.

Don’t: Repost Just Anyone
There is a lot of false information on the internet these days. Vet your sources before sharing anything you didn’t write yourself. It also goes without saying, but do not unwittingly share content from your competitors. Check who you’re retweeting before you click that button.

Do: Post Across Channels
You can save a lot of headaches by cross-posting content. If you wrote a great article, promote it on more that one channel. You don’t always need to create content for specific platforms, though you can do that from time to time.

Don’t: Post to Every Channel Every Time
Your Instagram post may not be relevant to LinkedIn, and that’s fine. Make sure you know what audience you’re reaching with each platform and what content is appropriate for them.

Do: Use Images and Video
Visuals perform very well on social platforms. You want to engage your audience and catch their attention with multimedia posts. To do this, make sure at least some of your posts include images and video.

Don’t: Forget Your Text
All of this visual content needs a caption! Make sure to be thoughtful with your words and pay attention to spelling and grammar.

Do: Use Keywords and Hashtags
Your posts can attract people who aren’t even following you yet. One of the ways to make sure this happens is by using keywords and hashtags. Incorporate this relevant language into your posts, making each word count.

Don’t: Use Excessive Hashtags
If all of your posts #look #like #this, you are not going to attract the right kind of attention. Don’t use hashtags mid-text or use a million at a time. Use a couple important keywords at the end of your post, or tuck them away below a “Read More” line.

Do: Use CTAs
Calls to action are always important in marketing, so don’t be shy to ask something of your audience. Whether it’s a simple “shop the link in the description,” asking a question, or a “read more here,” there is a plethora of ways to use CTAs to engage your audience.

Don’t: Beg for Attention
Do not ask something of your audience every single time you post something. Asking “please share” or “please follow” is fine occasionally, but make sure you’re doing so very sparingly. If you’re going to use language like this, make sure you’re offering incentives to your audience, as well.

If you’d like more industry advice like this, please browse our Michael Page advice section. If you’re looking for expert social media marketers who have mastered these tips, reach out to one of our expert recruitment consultants today.