What I Learned in 12 Months of Managing Wix’s Social Media by Nathaly Schneider

Starting a new job can be intimidating for anyone. Starting a job knowing that you’re about to be the voice of a company with over 3 million social media followers, is enough to kick those nerves into overdrive.

But this time last year, that’s where I was – a newbie employee joining the greats in Wix.com’s Social Media & Community team. Sure, I had some social media experience under my belt, but creating tailored social content for a big international company? That was a first. Looking back a year later, I’m proud to say that not only did I survive, I learned some important lessons about social media along the way.

So from one newbie to another, here are some of my favorite rules that every social media marketer needs to know:

The Golden Rule: Timing is Everything!

When it comes to social media, the first rule you need to know is this:
You’re only as good as your response time.

Social media is a public forum where people don’t hesitate to voice their opinion… for better or worse. One of the best ways to show your audience that you’re listening is to be quick with your response. This one action alone speaks volumes about your company’s customer service.

Be Human

Your social media pages are one of the few arenas where you can publicly engage in conversation with your customers. This is your chance to show the human face behind your brand. I try to keep this in mind with every post and online response that I give – a little tasteful humor and compassion can go a long way.

As the human face representing your company, it’s your responsibility to be honest with your customers too. Is something not working as well as it should? Did an item sell out faster than you expected? From my experience, I’ve found that honesty is the best policy. Owning up to issues and offering genuine answers can build your trust and credibility as a brand.

Personal tip: Face it, sometimes people can be really cruel behind their keyboard. Regardless of their rudeness, do your best to keep your cool and always reply in a kind and professional manner. Try smiling while typing, in my experience, it helps subconsciously add a cheerful tone to your writing :)

Know Your Demographic

Newsflash: social media’s not just for kids. In fact, over half of the people who are active on social media are over the age of 35. Most social media channels provide you with key analytics about who the biggest demographic on your page is – use this intel to fine-tune your speech in a tone that not only stays true to your brand, but will also resonate best with your crowd.

Stay on Trend

Social media is all about joining in on the conversation. Like one big global hangout, platforms Twitter, Instagram and Facebook are all about contributing your thoughts to the trending topics of the day.

Big brands are no strangers to joining in on trending topics; after all, they’re great for generating fun content, increasing engagement and making sure that our collective internet addiction is well fed. Trending topics can change in an instant, but some crowd favourites include: internet holidays like #SharkWeek, real holidays like#Independenceday or totally random Twitter nonsense like fantasizing about#IfThe80sNeverStopped.

Never Stop Experimenting

Social media is a dynamic place, and because of that, the way that people engage with content is constantly changing. Keep up to date with online trends and never stop testing the waters with your channels. Whether it’s the kind of content you post, the length of your text or even the images you use – don’t be afraid to try different things out, you never know what just might work with your fans. Lord knows, we’ve tried our share of weird social media posts.

Measure Your Results

When it comes to your social media marketing, sometimes it can be hard to measure your successes. Unlike tangible outcomes like the number of sales you have in a given week, your success on social media largely depends on your own personal goals that you set for your biz. Whether you’re looking to use your social channels to drive more traffic to your website, or establish yourself as the authority in your industry on Instagram, it’s up to you to define your goals and monitor whether your objectives are being met.

Most major social media platforms come with their own versions of built-in analytics, but in my opinion they’re most effective when combined with an additional analytic tool. Not sure where to turn to? We jotted down some of our favourite tools to help measure your marketing success in a previous blog post.

Source : Nathaly Schneider, Contributor, 2015, www.wix.com