With the increase and the improvement of technology and innovation, there are many things we can do without having to leave our house. Have you ever noticed that as time goes by, technology nowadays is all about making things easier for humans to do many things at once? Yes, we often buy things online straight from home instead of going to the offline store, right? Moreover, we can even buy stuff through social media now. It’s amazing how a social media platform originally intended for connecting with your long-time friends who went separate ways after graduation could actually turn into a shopping platform. Business owners who happened to be my clients always asked me this question a while ago; “Is it necessary for us to use social media?” As if that wasn’t enough, they asked again “Can someone else do it for us?” Well, it’s crazy enough for me to say this since my company offers social media services as well, but I replied to them with my honesty; “Yes, you need social media to grow your business and reach more target audience, but if you want it to really succeed, you should do it on your own. However, we can assist you if you want.” They thought for a second, I might say they were kind of confused and asked; “Aren’t you offering social media services? It should be beneficial for you if you just give us a deal.” Oh, that’s what they meant. After hearing that, I proceeded to tell them what I’m going to tell you in this article. Keep reading to find out!

Humanise your brand through social media

While it’s good to have someone specially hired to manage your business social media, the only person who really knows your business well is yourself. There is no one on this planet who understands the meaning and the values of your business other than yourself. When using social media for business, your followers are considered as your potential buyers or maybe the returning customers. There will be times when they will be asking you a lot of questions that sometimes can only be answered by you as the owner. There are things that only you who knows about it. When you are engaging with your customers on social media, how they view you can be determined by your answer. Oftentimes business owners choose to use bots or automated messages that seem to be lifeless and not humane at all. This, of course may end up turning off your customers instantly. However, when you are managing on your own and engaging with them on your own, you are directly making your brand more humane and alive.

Show them who you are

Let me be honest with you, I don’t usually trust a new online shop on social media if they don’t have a trace of who the owner is. Unless you are a big brand, people need to know that you are the CEO and you are a real person. Many scammers use social media disguised as an online shop to rip people off their money and people basically have no idea about the scammers’ real names which makes it difficult to track later. This has often become the major reason why we can’t trust an online shop without knowing who the owner is. Therefore, it is important for you to include your name in your content or simply put it in your profile bio. For example, if your business is on Instagram, your profile bio should be like this:

“A homemade skincare company established by @santindahlestari since 2010, bringing you the natural beauty adjusted to every woman’s needs.”

The method above uses the business owner’s personal social media account to make sure people know that you are a real person and authentic. Also, they will feel more rest assured knowing that your online shop is not a scam and if something goes wrong, they can find your real account and ask for direct and urgent help.

Learning by doing

Once you have started your business and launched the opening, you might think that your task was done. That’s wrong. A business owner never stops learning no matter what. Sometimes we all make mistakes, but how can we fix it if we don’t realise we’re making mistakes? Yes, social media can also be a tool to find your mistakes. Sometimes customers might be disappointed by your services or products and were ignored when trying to complain directly, so the customers made Instagram stories or posts to state their disappointment. Therefore, always explore social media and explore the hashtags too in order to find what your customers are talking about your business. From that, you can learn what your customers like about your business and what they don’t. Note all the information you have gathered and improve your business based on that.

A social media specialist is good but you are better because you know your business better than anyone else. Only you can provide more effective answers when interacting with your customers on social media. I’m not saying you should not hire a social media specialist. It is okay to hire one when you are busy, but make sure you are more involved in this than your hired social media specialist. Be your own specialist on your business social media. That way, you can interact well with your customers and increase your brand awareness and reliability.