Social media is the most powerful tool of our time, which can be used for selling to a targeted audience, communication with customers or breaking the news. Most of nowadays businesses are using different social media platforms to market their products and services in the best possible way.
However, handling social media isn’t as easy as it might seem. If you want to get the best of it, you need to make sure you are using it properly, without making the same mistakes other people and companies do. We will help you learn more about the most common social media mistakes, and how you can avoid them.
1. Not Having The Strategy
Most of the brands don’t have a proper strategy and that is one of the biggest mistakes they make. If you want to meet your business goals and objectives, you will have to create a social media marketing strategy. It will ensure conversions and help you boost your business by following every step of that plan, which is also used as a reminder for the management department to ensure they stay on the right track.
2. Ignoring Negative Reviews
If you run a business online then you should be prepared that people might be already talking about it. Some of those talks will maybe show your business in a positive light, but there will probably be some negative comments too, and you will have to know how to deal with them. That is imperative for business success. Not handling bad comments and reviews about your brand is one of the most common social media mistakes. So, keep in mind to always deal with negative sentiments, and ensure a productive online presence for your business.
3. No Interactions With Audience
Most people think that it is enough to promote their products online to make a connection with their customers. However, it turns out that you will need much more than that. How are they supposed to trust you if you are never there? If you want to build a strong connection to your customers and gain their trust, you will have to be more social. Ask them some questions to engage them, follow the comments and provide all the information your customers need. Interact with your fans, and be sure they will appreciate it.
4. Posting Just Because You Have To
What is the use of posting if you don’t put the effort in it? Don’t just post just for the sake of it because your customers will start seeing those posts like they have no value, and you will start losing your fans. This can be one of the worst social media mistakes, and if you want to avoid it make sure your posts are interesting, informative, and valuable. Original posts will keep your audience entertained, increase your reach and exposure and help you gain new followers through shares.
5. Not Using the Analytics
If you want to be sure which posts are providing the best results, you will have to understand the importance of Analytics. It will help you understand the performance of your marketing campaign and realize what you can expect from it. If you are not able to analyze the posts you are sharing you will not be able to build a strong social media strategy. So, make sure you don’t make this common mistake, and everything will be alright.
6. Having Too Many Profiles
It is recommended to have only one profile on every platform you choose because you will not be able to handle more than that. Having several different profiles for the same thing might affect your business badly, because people will get confused which profile is a real one, and you will not be able to keep a presence on each one of them.
7. Foul Language, and Grammar/Spelling Mistakes
Social media platforms have strict policies regarding language use. Most of the people abide by these policies, but some don’t. If you want your business to be successful you need to follow these rules strictly. Also, one small grammar or spelling mistakes in your content can make your readers focus on what’s wrong with the post instead of what the post is about. So make sure you double-check everything before posting it.
8. Not Realizing the Difference Between Various Social Media Channels
Many brands post the same content with the same format and copy to all platforms they are using. This is one of the biggest mistakes people make, and you should keep in mind that strategies and content for each social media account should be distinctive and tailored to the targeted audience on a specific platform. Every social media channel is unique and has different marketing tools, features, and diverse audiences with varying interests.
9. Lack of Personal Approach
Just as people connect and interact with each other, your page should too. Your brand page is not just your business. Social media profiles are also a place where you can show the human side of your brand and connect with other like-minded people. Social media is for socializing, so use it to show your fans a mix of engaging, educational and interesting content rather than just showing the sales-related one. That is an effective way to build trust.
10. Increase Number of Followers by Buying Them
Follower exchange programs or buying followers will bring you inappreciable business results, and give you the false outward appearance of being popular. It will also increase the chances of your social media account being banned or deleted.
Sometimes businesses use some kind of contests and give out free samples to attract new followers. However, this will attract people who are interested in free goodies, not your products. So, keep in mind to provide useful content, created to help your audience and to engage them, and you will see your followers count grow.
11. Not Posting Regularly
Once you create a strategy and become regular with your posts, not posting for a one day can affect your engagement and impression rates. Not being regular with your updates means that your posts will become invisible to your followers.
If you want to avoid this mistake, use the benefits of scheduling the posts automatically. So, you can create a publishing plan on a social media content calendar, and ensure your post will be consistent and regularly updated.
12. Not Having a Proper Team
Even if it looks like social media marketing can be done by a single person, this is a job which requires an entire team. Many people ignore this and think they can handle it on their own or hire just one person which results in very low-quality content. You simply need a team that can carefully plan and execute visual, text, audio and video content for your social media campaigns and ensure you make the most out of your social media profiles.
13. Being Present On Every Single Platform
Most brands make the same mistake – they create profiles on every single social media platform, and by the time they realize it is too much to handle, it is usually too late.
First of all, you need to define where your target audience is and make your presence on those channels. Otherwise, you will not get any productive outcome no matter how hard you try. So, don’t take up more than you actually can handle, and make sure you choose the social media platforms wisely.
14. Spamming
It is very important to understand that your goal is to educate people about your brand and products, not to bother them with tons of promotional material. That is why you need a well-planned strategy which will not cause the flood of your messages on their profiles or emails, because that can cause only negative results.
15. Too Much Brand Promotion
When you over promote your brand many people will start losing their interest in it. You should keep your promotional activities on minimum, and follow a pattern of posting one promotional post on every four non-promotional ones.
Try to share something interesting, like how-to guides, blogs, images which show your brand culture and similar content for your non-promotional updates.
16. Not Using the Benefits of Promotional Tools
Premium paid services on each platform allows you to show your products directly to the target audience who could become your potential buyers. It is important to create a targeted audience based on their interests and preferences and offer them appealing, engaging content through advertising channels of leading social media platforms.
17. Not Knowing Your Audience
Try not to cast your net too wide. Knowing your target audience is crucial for your business success. That is the only way to make sure you are promoting your products to people who are ready to purchase them. You can identify your target audience by using the analytics tool and ensure success for your social media campaigns.
18. Not Promoting At All
Promoting business is the most important thing to good content. You simply have to advertise your business in the best light so people can know about it. Having a well-planned promotional strategy on social media will help you boost your sales potential, and reach a wider audience which will lead to conversions and ROI increase.
19. Poor Customer Support On Social Media
One thing that people like most about social media is the possibility to get all the information they need instantly. You have to be ready to answer all their questions and provide the necessary information as soon as possible. Most people want to avoid speaking with customer representatives, so they send a message or post comments on your page and expect you will be there to help them. If they have to wait for the answer for too long, or they don’t get the relevant information it is more likely they will find another brand and never come back.
20. Not Using Hashtags and Handles
Using hashtags and handles is one of the best ways to attract new followers on social media. You can use them to find new conversations you can take part in or attract people who will never find your content otherwise. On the other side, you must be careful of using too many hashtags and handles which may cause your content to look desperate for engagement, and that is certainly not the impression you want to leave on others.
There is no one thing you can do to make your social media efforts top-notch. It is a complex process with many different aspects. These tips will help you grow your social media customer base. If you need someone to skyrocket your ROI, set a clear strategy with objectives, and fulfill your audience expectations, you can count on Mirror Solution professional digital marketing services.
