Top 5 mistakes to avoid when using social media for business
The prevalence of social media isn’t going away anytime soon, making it a crucial aspect of your entire marketing plan. According to Statista, an estimated 3.6 billion individuals use social media worldwide, and that number is anticipated to climb.
Assuming your target audience is among those who utilize those platforms, you have a chance to reach them through those channels. However, you must exercise caution in order to avoid any social media mistakes along the route.
The prevalence of social media isn’t going away anytime soon, making it a crucial aspect of your entire marketing plan. According to Statista, an estimated 3.6 billion individuals use social media worldwide, and that number is anticipated to climb.
Assuming your target audience is among those who utilize those platforms, you have a chance to reach them through those channels. However, you must exercise caution in order to avoid any social media mistakes along the route.
Start by conducting an honest evaluation of your current marketing approach to make the most of the opportunities available to you on social media. You’ll be more likely to reach your audience, create a relationship with your followers, and achieve your marketing goals if you avoid the frequent blunders listed below.
1. Concentrating on the number of followers :
Followers are crucial for increasing brand exposure, generating leads, and reaching out to new customers. You can’t just gather followers as you would antique teacups or vintage neon signs. What matters most is what you do once you earn a new follower. Your page will not generate much momentum if you gain followers but do not connect with them. Without proper nurturing, any small amount of organic reach you may have when a new follower joins isn’t going to last. Eventually, your followers won’t see your content if you’re not taking the time to create a relationship with them. They expect you, as a brand, to make their time on your page useful in exchange for that “like” or “follow.” Tip: Getting followers is excellent, but maintaining them is even better. Make sure you’re posting on a regular basis, and that you’re posting stuff that your audience wants to see (more on that next). Respond to your followers’ interaction, questions, comments, and customer service issues so they know you’re a real person behind the brand.
2. Posting stuff that is irrelevant, uninteresting, or salesy :
Your content will either keep your followers coming back for more or cause you to fade into the social media void. Your followers will pass over or, worse, unfollow you if your content is unrelatable to them, yawn-worthy, or overly promotional. The more your followers scroll through your material, the more likely it is that it will not appear in their newsfeeds. To put it another way, just because you have 5,000 followers doesn’t mean they’ll all see your stuff. To get more of your posts noticed by not only your followers, but also their friends, you must post stuff that they want to see. Tip:Create content that informs, educates, entertains, or inspires your audience. Approximately 80% of your material should be non-promotional, with the remaining 20% set aside for sales, events, and special offers. Essentially, they should be the focus of the majority of your content, not you. Here are some content suggestions:
- Include a photo and a few interesting facts.
- Explain how to use your items or services to your followers.
- Post a snapshot of a delighted customer with their permission and thank them for their business.
- Do you collaborate with a local school or non-profit organization? Give them a shout-out with a photo that shows how you’re helping them.
- What’s it like to operate your own company? How did you get started in the first place? Show your audience what goes on behind the scenes by posting a photo.
- Collaborate with influencers who can tell their own stories about their interactions with your brand. With this form of third-party social proof, you’ll gain a whole new set of fans.
The last bullet point can be particularly powerful. Influencer marketing, in which “ordinary” individuals who aren’t celebrities promote your business, has exploded as a marketing tactic in recent years.
More than advertising content, these influencers are seen as trustworthy and credible. Global communications firm Edelman discovered that 63 percent of 18-to 34-year-olds trust what influencers say about a business over what the brand says about itself in an online influencer study.
3. A failure to promote content :
The notion that social media platforms are free marketing tools is now a thing of the past. If you want your followers to notice your brand on social media, you must pay to play. Even the best content won’t gain the same traction as boosted material, even if it does achieve some organic reach. After liking your page, your followers may see your stuff at first, but unless you advertise, your visibility may decline over time.
Tip: Set an advertising budget to supplement the high-quality material mentioned in number two. This guarantees that your material appears in newsfeeds and is seen by the relevant people. You can choose age, demography, geographic area, and other factors for your target audience. You can also generate sponsored material that is mostly promotional. Consider the various adverts you see while going through your Facebook or Instagram feeds or reading stories. This piece of content has the potential to bring in new customers. You can increase website traffic, conversions, and sales by using effective calls to action.
4. Being tone-deaf :
The economy, the health-care crisis, social justice, and political issues have all provided obstacles this year. It’s critical for brands to be aware of and responsive to these concerns. Unfortunately, some corporations become tone-deaf when it comes to current events. They’re still sending out the same marketing messages they’ve always sent, oblivious to what’s going on in the globe. Their messages’ timing and wording are out of sync with what their target audience wants to see. Consider a travel business that, during the height of the outbreak, invites followers to book a weekend getaway.
Tip: This type of out-of-context marketing will irritate your audience. Our marketing communications must be relevant to current events while not being offensive. When discussing social justice, Ad Exchanger author Alison Weissbrot advocates avoiding sales-driven themes. The same may be said for any significant world event. When tensions are high and the tone is gloomy, the last thing your fans need is a company pitching their web hosting service or organic nail polish. Rather, tailor your social media material to address a variety of topics and serve as a source of support, inclusiveness, and inspiration. So that your followers know what you believe in — and what you’re doing to aid your community — back up your words with actions.
5. Doing everything yourself
You might be handling your social media yourself when you initially start a firm. However, if you continue to try to do your own social media, you’ll be diverting time away from other elements of your organization.
When done well, social media management and marketing need committed resources to cover a wide range of duties, including:
- Increasing the visibility of content and developing sponsored promotions.
- Responding to engagements and fostering brand loyalty are all part of community management.
- Taking care of any difficulties with customer service or poor web reviews.
- Keeping up with what’s going on in the world.
- Results are analyzed, KPIs are established, and the approach is tweaked to match the objectives.
Tip:Hire a dedicated social media manager, if not an entire team of social media marketers, when your budget allows. Some businesses use a combination of in-house and external resources, while others outsource the task to an agency.
Allowing yourself to let go of this burden will allow you to concentrate on building your company. Plus, if you’re networking, generating a sales funnel, participating with your community, building a rockstar team, and retaining your customers and employees, you’ll have more to talk about on social media.
It takes some effort to avoid these five typical traps. However, it has the ability to considerably assist you in growing your organization. You can not only prevent becoming irrelevant, but you can also become the industry leader.
