Post submitted by Aprel Downey.

Maintaining an active presence on social media is, in most cases, vital to the success of your business.

Proof?

People ages 35-49 (dubbed Generation X) spend almost 7 hours per week on social media.

Millennials, who come in second, spend just over 6 hours per week on social media.

Dig these stats? There’s plenty more where that came from.

The simple fact is your target customers have their attention placed squarely on social media and other online platforms for a large percentage of the time they’re awake.

They’re looking for opinions, guidance, and expert knowledge when seeking solutions to their problems.

Social media presents an opportunity for your business to be that guide and expert, openly and transparently.

As you share information with your audience on social media, they begin to trust you and, if you’re approaching the medium sensibly, you’ll build genuine relationships with past, present, and future customers.

That trust works its way into future sales down the road.

For these reasons, you have to do more than just show up on social media, post something, and walk away thinking you’re ahead of the game.

That’s a losing strategy.

What you post, how and when you post it, how personable your presence is, and how dedicated you are to having conversations with your customers all play an essential role in your social media game.

Below are five steps that will ensure you’re creating social media content that adds value, instead of turning people away.

Click here to continue reading…