Social media marketing is on everyone’s radar today. Some companies are even declaring it the new advertising frontier, while others still see no point in getting started.
With such a vast array of information and very little knowledge of how this business works, one can quickly make an error or two that may negatively affect their brand image.
As such, let’s take a look at some of the biggest mistakes businesses make when it comes to social media and how you can avoid them.
Don’t use social media for business if you’re not really into it.
Social media has its roots in people spending time on various platforms and enjoying themselves while sharing content with their friends and acquaintances and also with people they don’t know.
Don’t treat social media as a pure business tool if you don’t really enjoy it and if you’re not willing to invest time in it because that’s what social media is all about: commitment, time and constant improvements.
Don’t be inconsistent.
You have to be present on as many networking sites as possible. You have to be active and post new content regularly in order to generate traffic and increase your online presence, with the ultimate goal of increasing sales.
Don’t treat social media as a one-off thing. It takes time for you to build up trust. Better yet, partner with a trusted social media agency that can help mobilize your marketing missions. Make sure that people know when they can expect new content from you.
Don’t underestimate authenticity.
Social media users have an incredible sense of smell when it comes to authenticity. If you’re just in it for the money, don’t bother starting a social network site. People will boycott you, and even worse, they’ll stop following you. People love authentic humans (like them), not corporations trying to sell them things.
Don’t ‘sell’ too much.
You can definitely use social media to promote your products and services but don’t overdo it. Customers are here to engage in a conversation with you, not to be sold another miracle product.
Don’t make everything about money.
Social media is definitely an effective tool in promoting your business online, but it might backfire if there’s no soul behind your brand or company. People can sense if you’re just trying to sell them something.
Use social media to engage with your audience, not to give orders! Don’t tell people what to do. Ask them for their opinion or advice. Give them the opportunity to participate in your business, and they’ll feel more connected with it.
Don’t neglect other online marketing.
Saying that social media is the only source of online traffic or sales will just make you lose money. You can’t expect everything to come from one network site, and it’s certainly not possible. Don’t neglect SEO, email marketing, banner ads, collaborating with social media agency, and other promotional strategies.
Be where your audience is.
Social networking sites are supposed to help you in bringing more people to your business and increasing your sales, so you should be there, on the sites where they spend time. Don’t focus all of your efforts only on one site because it might not be the best place to reach them!
Don’t ignore mobile traffic.
Social media users access their favourite pages anytime, anywhere and anyhow they want, and not many people like to use their computer for this purpose. So make sure that your website is mobile friendly and always check the stats in order to see which network site generates more traffic.
Don’t over-monitor your brand.
While it’s important to keep an eye on what people are saying about your business online, over-monitoring can lead you down a rabbit hole and cause more problems than solutions.
When you’re checking up on mentions of your company or brand name, you should be keeping a particularly close eye out for keywords like scams or fraud and, if necessary, take action.
