Are You Making These 8 Social Media Mistakes?

Social media is constantly evolving and so are the audiences who use it. If you read these mistakes and realize you are guilty of a few, don’t be upset! Your flub will likely be forgotten once you get into the swing of things on social media.

After reading these no-no’s, you’re bound to have a better experience constructing a plan of action moving forward.

1. Thinking Social Marketing Isn’t for You

Social marketing is for everyone. It is a key component to marketing and will be a positive addition to almost every department.

It’s benefits include, but are not limited to:

• Brand Awareness
• Website Traffic
• Lower Marketing Costs
• Increased Sales
• Start Conversations
• Connect with Potential Customers/New Hires
• Address Questions and Comments Directly
• Improved Brand Image

There’s not much debate anymore about the importance of social media marketing. If you’re not sure if social media marketing is right for your business, or you are sure and you’re ready to get started, feel free to CONTACT US

2. Thinking All Social Platforms are the Same

There are many social platforms out there, and the more you’re a part of, the better your overall reach. So just post the same exact thing across each social platform, right? WRONG! Every social network is going to have its own customs, language, audience, and type of content. For your posts to be most effective, you need to account for these differences.

3. Not Creating a Social Media Marketing Plan

Your social media marketing plan should build on your presence and not let it dwindle. Decide what your goal is in using social media. Do you hope to gain likes and followers? Are you hoping to create a new source of sales/leads? Are you trying to solidify your brands authority? Without a goal, your social marketing efforts will go nowhere.
Here’s what you need to iron out if you want to succeed:

• Goals
• Predetermined and Measurable
• Target
• All the effort in the world won’t help if you don’t know where to aim it
• Audience Tactics
• Know who you’re talking to and how they communicate
• Time Investment
• Set an amount you’re willing to give to social media and adhere to this time frame

Develop your brands very own social media strategy. It is a cornerstone to everything else that follows.

4. Not Tracking Your Results

Part of setting up your social goals is also making sure you’re able to track those goals. This will allow you to make strategic changes in your campaign and target audiences in real time. This way, you can stop ads or campaigns that aren’t performing and keep you from throwing your money away. Reassess your goals through tracking regularly. No need to continue with something if it’s not working for you. Tracking allows you to try new avenues.

5. Ignoring Your Audience

Being on social media means connecting with your audience on a much more personal level. They will likely ask questions, comment, and interact with your postings. A very common mistake is to ignore or choose not to interact with them.

Your audience is there to interact with your brand. So interact! It will be almost impossible to keep their attention if they are ignored, which means they may not care what you post about in the future.

Comment back! Like back! Answer questions! Engage with their content! It’s that simple. This may seem like a small gesture, but it goes a long way with the relationship with your audience.

6. Deleting/Avoiding Negative Comments

By opening the door to your audience’s questions and comments, you are also opening the door to some negative comments along the way. Trying to delete them, ignore them, or bury them in positive reviews does not make it go away, really. It also looks like you’re trying to hide something, which in turn, makes your brand seem untrustworthy. And if you’re called out for deleting or hiding comments, it can bring even more negative attention your way.

Instead, address the negativity by:

• Thanking them for their feedback
• Let them know you take feedback very seriously (and you really should…)
• Stay away from getting defensive. This makes you look worse, even if it’s true.
• Attempt to make it right if possible

Think of negative feedback as a way to improve the quality of your services and to build a trusting relationship with your audience. Take these comments seriously and try to resolve the issue the customer is facing. Engage with them initially on the thread then try to move the conversation to private channels and handle it more discreetly. But remember… Screen shots are easy to take and share, so make sure to adhere to these rules in private channels as well.

7. Sounding Like a Robot

Social media lets brands and organizations break down the wall between them and their customers. This allows you to get personal and have a human interaction with your audience. Being real and behaving like a human will let you connect in a much stronger way.

Social media is for socializing. Use it to show your audience that your brand is a social creature just like them – it’s an effective way to build trust.

8. Over-Posting/Under Posting

Your audience wants to hear from you and they want updates on what your doing. But don’t bombard them with content. No need to over do it.

That being said, make sure you also don’t under-do it either. Out of sight out of mind is a real thing. Once you start posting consistently, not posting for even one day can affect your impressions and engagement rates and put a wrench in your marketing efforts.

A great solution is to sign up with a management platform that allows you to schedule your posts ahead of time and get posted automatically when they’re supposed to.

Hopefully the above helps you double check your own social accounts or think more about how social can play into your business strategies moving forward.