Netiquette

Now more than ever digital marketing is a peak requirement for visibility. While the world is hunkering down, business for many in the GovCon space continues. It’s time to get on the social train or get run over! Social Media isn’t just for “the kids” or the younger generation anymore. Businesses across industries are utilizing newer marketing techniques to stay connected and GovCon back office is no different. When viewing digital marking from a place of visibility, NOT being on social media could be harming your prospects before you have a chance to throw your hat in the ring.

For starters, let’s talk netiquette, or the etiquette you use when interacting online.

Be Human
You will NOT ruin your business’s brand simply by being on social media.
Our advice is to avoid the big three:

• Anything that you don’t want plastered on the side of a bus
• Anything you wouldn’t say on a stage in front of potential clients
• Anything that belongs on TMZ (you know, the gossip show.)

Instead, what you should do is to remember that you’re speaking to your audience on your profiles the same way you speak to someone in conversation. Humor is okay, conversation is okay (and encouraged), being a resource to your network is invaluable. **Side note here: Being human means speaking as you would when in a face-to-face conversation. You wouldn’t insert your business offerings to conversations randomly, so don’t link drop and run!

Be Active
Committing to a social presence means being active regularly. Long gaps between postings on your LinkedIn profile may be more detrimental than not having a social presence at all. When a potential client or customer searches your business online, and you know they will, they want to see that you take pride in what you do. Social media is the ultimate “we love our business’ pride machine. If you’re not willing to talk about it online, why would they?

Be Patient
As much as an audience of thousands or tens of thousands sounds nice in reality it is more of a vanity metric than a gauge of success. What matters more is the engagement (comments, shares, direct messages) that drives the success of a digital presence. If your posted content is driving new people to your website, that’s success. Even better, if your email or phone are becoming more active due to the content you’re sharing online, that’s Social media is no longer an “if you build it, they will come” type of endeavor. It takes strategy, execution, and patience to build a robust presence that turns connections into leads.

At BOOST we practice what we preach. While we understand that times are currently changing (and very likely unstable) we also know that business will continue! We believe in providing value through our blogs (like the one you’re reading), our free consultation (schedule one here), our free downloadable white papers, our back office services for GovCons, and more. We recommend that you take a look at your current social presence and identify which platforms and what kind of content could make a difference for your business. We can help with a high-level digital diagnostic to get you started.  Contact us!