It was the outspoken writer Christopher Hitchens who coined the phrase, "Everybody does have a book in them, but in most cases that's where it should stay.” Given the slam-o-rama that plays for trending news on many social media outlets, he may have a point. The fear of stating something offensive to one group or another has many business leaders holding back on saying much of substance about their companies on social media. Either they post the blandest of news – something no one could really form an opinion on, one way or the other – or they choose to stay off of social media altogether. Let me offer an alternative.

Social media gives businesses a great way to showcase what they do in a way that is different from other forms of marketing (such as advertising) where it is all about making a sale. Social media is the other side of the coin. It is telling your story so that your customer understands what you do and feels good about it. There are ways you can tell your story that is filled with interesting content and engages the customer without putting you in the middle of controversy. Here are a few tips.

Explain not only what you do, but how you do it

The reader who is following your company on social media has an interest in your products and services or they would not be following you. Tell them about it, but also explain how you do it and why you do it that way. There is a greater awareness in how products are manufactured, particularly when it comes to processes that conserve energy and produce as little waste as possible. In essence, that is what every successful business is doing, correct? What are you doing to be efficient? Tell about it in your story. There are other ways in which you operate that may be of interest to your social media followers. For instance, do you purchase your materials locally? Do you hire employees with special certifications? Do you give back to the community around you, maybe through a charity or a particular cause? Tell about it in your story.

Highlight new hires

People like to hear about real people getting jobs. It inspires them (I am not joking about that!) We have posted new hires on social media for our clients and every time, without fail, it has resulted in a lot of engagement from these networks. It causes more people to follow you and to share the news with others. A company who is hiring is a healthy company in the minds of social media followers. One word of caution: make sure you are getting the permission of the person who has been hired before you post his or her information all over the internet.

Tell how you are solving real life problems

One of the best ways to tell a corporate story well is to showcase a customer for whom your product or service has solved a problem. We often put these in a case study format. Most of them center around one of these themes:

• Your employees went above and beyond the call of duty to help a customer

• Your product or service was of such high quality it solved an issue competing products/services could not.

• You delivered your product/service quicker than was expected and it saved the day for the customer

• You delivered a great quantity of product/service in a very short amount of time

• Your product/service saved the customer a ton of money on the method they were using before they gave it a try

Social media gives you a great way to tell your story without the hard selling approach of other marketing methods. For the traditional marketer, this may be a hard pill to swallow – but there will be a time and place for marketing to the sale tactics. Social media is the prelude to other forms of marketing. It is effective because it is large and it wields a network with a lot of influence. Take advantage of the influence of social media. If you tell your story well, you will find a following of potential customers.