Helping Limit Social Media Marketing Concerns

Here’s the scenario: I’m an online marketer relying on email marketing and social media. A prospective customer reaches out to hire me for her online consulting business, which is branded with her real name. Her one concern is about privacy issues on social media and the idea of using her own pictures and videos. To convince her to continue with her business and use social media safely and effectively, I would send along this email.

Dear Prospective Customer,

Thank you so much for showing interest in working with me on your social media marketing! I can see you have an extreme amount of potential and believe expanding your social media presence could help grow your business tremendously.

With that being said, I do understand your concerns about privacy on social media, especially when it comes to using your personal information in your branding. However, using social media for marketing can bring your business to new heights while keeping up with the trends in today’s society.

Using social media to promote your business can create many opportunities to reach the audience who would buy your products. This would drive more people to your online site, which would grow your business and increase your revenue. Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X (Twitter), and other social media platforms can help you make a personal connection with your target audience and build trust. Posting content that would relate to these users helps create a community, therefore improving your reputation.

Using your own pictures and videos on social media can be intimidating, but there are a variety of ways you can protect yourself while still using platforms to promote your products. Here are my best tips for staying safe while using social media to promote your brand.

1. Research social media platform privacy settings

All social media platforms have a privacy policy you can read through. They break down what information the app collects, why they do it, and what your data is used for. It is important to be aware of what all platforms are saving and sharing to protect yourself.

There are also a variety of privacy settings you can choose from, like being a private or public account. For a business, it is essential to have a public account where potential customers can find information about your brand and products, but this still allows you to be selective over who can view your page and who cannot.

2. Know your rights and the laws that apply to social media

Many people think of social media as all fun and games, but that is not the case. To keep yourself protected online, you should know the respective laws and policies that could impact your business. Copyright, trademarking, and spamming are all crucial to understand when putting your face on a business. Here is a short breakdown of each of these terms.

Trademarks are used to protect words, phrases, and logos used by other businesses.

Spamming is the repetitive sending of unwanted messages to users. There are serious laws and consequences to prevent this.

3. Be selective of what you post

Remember that this is YOUR brand. You are in complete control of what gets posted and what your image is to the audience. Be professional and post meaningful content that relates to your business. This means you should stay away from posting about your personal life on a brand account. Although you want to market yourself and use personal content, you don’t have to show yourself in every single post.

4. Use social media management tools

There are numerous tools available to you online that can help manage your social media accounts while giving you insight into your audience. Hootsuite, Buffer, and Later are just some examples of platforms that give information about your followers and viewers. You can track how they engage with your content and find out how they are reacting based on data. These platforms also can help you lighten the load with scheduled postings and organizational tools.

5. Communicate with your followers

To build your business, the most important thing you can do is build up your audience. You want someone to see a post and get drawn in, prompting them to follow and look for more content. Part of this is done by creating a connection with followers. Not only does this build trust and brand recognition, but it shows that there is a human behind the business. You can encourage replies and comments on your posts, then respond to questions and be attentive. Make your followers aware that you have boundaries and will not tolerate certain activity on your pages. If they are engaged and enjoy your content, they should abide by your rules.

You have the power to take your brand to the next level, and with an online business, social media will be a strong factor in that growth. By using these strategies and staying true to yourself, you can be successful online while staying safe. I look forward to working with you more and collaborating to expand your business.

Katie Coen