Style is critical in social media marketing from the use of capital letters to indicate yelling or emphasis to the inclusion of low-quality images that might indicate indifference or sloppiness. Overall these non-verbal cues leave users with a feeling about your business’ attitude towards them. Use the tips below to ensure that your social media marketing is really a two-way street that is interested in the users viewing your content.

Use classic examples of cases where you get a sense that a business is not really interested in your opinion and make sure your business avoids those pitfalls in your social media marketing. For instance, a classic is telephone service providers who omit phone numbers for contacting customer service but instead require you to fill out numerous fields regarding your concerns, obviously communicating a lack of caring on their part. Similarly, social media that doesn’t invite user response and input is not really appropriate for “social” media and its emphasis on two-way communication.

Make certain that your choice of social media is the best way to communicate your marketing message. Purely informational content that is not time sensitive whether in pictures or text perhaps is best delivered on your business Facebook page or even your website rather than on your Twitter or Instagram tools.

Your social media marketing materials should contain an invitation much as other marketing materials contain a call for action. Consider what you’re inviting your users to do with every piece of social media from commenting about the material to joining in supplying content through submissions of text or photographs.

Determine whether you’re really interested in what your customers or potential customers have to say. There’s nothing worse than phony interest such as the boilerplate “We’d love to hear from you,” when you really wouldn’t and you’re unlikely to respond in a timely fashion to user comments or inquiries.

Institute practices that show you value repeat or loyal customers in addition to marketing materials designed to attract new customers. Again, phone providers are a great example of what not to do where their offers are frequently geared to getting the new customer rather than rewarding the loyal customer. While this may work in an industry with few alternatives for consumers, it likely will turn your customers off.

Encourage community among your customers by acting as a facilitator of user or customer comments and incorporating those comments or contributions into the wider community of discussion you’re trying to create using social media. While you’ll have less control over an active social community in connection with your business where customers relate and respond to one another and not simply to you, ultimately by moderating and steering the direction of such interaction you can maximize the effectiveness of your social media marketing efforts.

Social media marketing works best when you genuinely have a desire for two-way communication between your business and your customers or potential customers. Use the suggestions above to avoid sending a message to your customers that their input is not especially important when you’re using social media marketing.