Social Media - 'It's about being social'

As I meet with small business owners about their social media, I'm often asked, 'How often should I post?'   To me there are no clear cut answers to that question.

Here is Wikipedia's definition of the word 'Social' -

The Wikipedia definition of Social - The term social refers to a characteristic of living organisms as applied to populations of humans and other animals. It always refers to the interaction of organisms with other organisms and to their collective co-existence, irrespective of whether they are aware of it or not, and irrespective of whether the interaction is voluntary or involuntary.

So, to me, being social means interacting with others.  It's not all about how often we post.  When planning a social media strategy for business, I advise the following:

1.  Post relevant information about your industry, i.e. links to articles, stats, humor, etc.  People crave information and if you are perceived as the person who is helpful and knows their industry they are more apt to turn to you when they need your services or to refer you.
2.  Plan time to read and interact with others, both individuals and businesses.  Like their posts.  Comment on their posts.  Share what is relevant.  It shows others that you are paying attention and you care.  This is important to developing the relationship.
3.  Limit direct posts about your business to 1 of about 4 to 5 informational posts.  Posting to much direct information about your business comes across as being a pushy sales person.
4.  Be conversational.  Ask questions.  Do a survey.  Get your readers/fans involved.
5.  To gain loyalty, build relationships, and to gain more followers, if appropriate, offer specials from time to time.  However, use caution.  Make it about your followers/fans and less about you and your business.

I like to think of 'Social Media' as an online networking.  We go to networking events to meet people, get to know them, build the relationship, and hopefully eventually do business with them.  So, it's not about how often we post, it's also about the interaction and relationship building.

I hope that you find this helpful.  Your views, comments, and insights are welcomed and appreciated.

In appreciation,
Annette