Imagine you’re at a party. Who would you be more inclined to talk to – the person who is the life of the party or the guy in the corner who is on his phone most of the time and then jumps into conversation once every hour or so?

Unless you’re an introvert, you likely answered “the guy who is the life of the party”. This is the case with social media as well.

If you want to be the life of the party and engage potential customers with meaningful content, you can’t have the office intern do the job once a week when they find time. That will just make you the guy at the party that no one is talking to… Don’t be that guy!

Engagement Is A Priority

If you want people to take your business seriously the days of treating social media like a side project are long gone. Building, maintaining and retaining an audience in social media is a crucial step in the growth of any business that aims to move beyond mom-and-pop shop beginnings.

Here are some guidelines for creating engaging content:

• Make it personal.

  No matter what your brand or business, social media is intended to touch on something personal, so turn your sales pitch into a story, an infographic, or anything that will entertain as much as it informs potential customers.

• Keep posts timely.

  Yesterday’s news should not be today’s post unless you have something original to offer, or a new insight that your business can provide.

• Don’t sell them.

  Show them. Social media is intended to be entertaining. Blocks of text and sales pitches in different forms do not belong in your content.

Content Is King

When you’re at the aforementioned party and someone says something that doesn’t have anything to do with the current conversation, it usually generates some blank stares. Right? Equally, irrelevant social media posts and content that isn’t consistent with your brand will generate just as many blank stares—except on a much larger scale.

Meaningless content is the equivalent of getting the whole party to look in your direction and then tell a bad knock-knock joke. Don’t tell bad jokes, and don’t post bad content – these are just rules for life.

Don’t Underestimate Anything

The popular guy at the party can change the flow of the evening. If he suggests everyone check out a cool after-party bar when the crowd dies down, that’s highly likely to happen. Similarly, if your audience is truly engaged with you and the conversation you’re forwarding, they’ll be much more open to suggestions that benefit your bottom line.

Don’t ever underestimate social power. Twitter started the Arab Spring, it can certainly be leveraged to make or break your business along with all other social channels.

Social media is a powerful tool for sales, a magnificent way to waste time, and everything in between. There are many ways to utilize social media, from customer service to brand awareness to special offers and fielding new concepts, the trick is to maintain a presence and keep the posts pertinent. From small businesses just starting out to multinational organizations, social media is the party you want to get into. Once you’re there, don’t be the antisocial guy in the corner!

This article has been edited and condensed.

Alexander Ruggie is the PR Director for 911 Restoration, and has been in the advertising, marketing, PR and entertainment business for over a decade. When Alexander isn’t crafting bigger, bolder and better marketing content he is trying to change the world, one word at a time. Connect with @911Restoration on Twitter.

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