It seems like everyone these days understands the importance, and the impact, of social media. But not everyone understands how to utilize it, and social media mistakes can be costly for you and your brand.
Today, we look at the five most frequent social media mistakes marketers and businesses make, and give you advice on how to address them:
5- Inconsistency – like post-New Year’s workout regiments, social media campaigns are often highly inconsistent. We see many businesses and organizations that post frequently for a day or a week, then ignore their social media platforms for weeks or months at a time. Developing a schedule in advance, and a social media routine, will help ensure you stay committed to a social media plan.
4- Too little or too much measurement – social media metrics are incredible. For those who appreciate measurement and accountability, social media is for you. Unlike other advertising efforts, most social media platforms provide real-time, actionable metric reports that show you what is working, and what isn’t. You should review these powerful measures regularly.
But one caution, don’t over do it. It’s easy to spend all day watching the impact of your social media efforts. It’s not necessary. Post, check back regularly, and adjust as necessary. But don’t spend all day, everyday watching your posts.
3- No paid investment – while this point is frequently argued, we believe paid content is important. Whether it’s part of an important promotion or advertising campaign for your business, or just part of maintaining and growing your online presence, we believe it’s important to invest in paid content. Across the many platforms there are numerous ways to accomplish this. But we believe it’s important to budget a monthly allowance to growing your audience (Facebook ‘Like’ ads and Twitter promoted accounts) and promote your content (Facebook promoted posts and Twitter promoted Tweets). Test your messages and images to ensure you’re getting value for your investment. Trust us, done right, your paid content will bring huge value to your campaigns.
2- Poor content – while we believe paid content can be powerful, it can be wasted if your content lags. We believe in regular (1-4 posts per day) and relevant (fun, interesting and timely) content that will engage your audience and encourage them to tell their friends about your brand. Too often, content is inconsistent or lacking the creative investment that social media requires. Plan ahead and build your content schedule and graphics in advance. Also be prepared to post when major events happen or exciting news for your company occurs. Remember, content matters.
1 – Selfishness – Brands are used to promoting themselves. That’s the way advertising has been done for centuries. Social media is different. You can get away with talking about yourself all day every day, but you’re going to miss opportunities to grow your brand and your brand advocates. Audit your social media platforms and make sure your brand is having a conversation with your audience, not a lecture. Remember, every time someone engages your brand on social media, their friends and family are seeing your brand and learning that their friend is engaged with it. Talk WITH your audience, not AT them.
While it’s exciting to see the awareness of social media and the impact it can have, I encourage you to spend a few minutes checking and ensuring that you’re not making these social media mistakes. If you are, don’t feel bad. You’re certainly not alone. Try our suggestions and let us know how they’ve worked for you!
Now that you know how to avoid the five most common social media mistakes, be sure to check out my post on how social media can save advertisers in today’s fragmented media environment.