In 2021 it’s rare to find a business that has 0 social media presence. The question now isn’t around whether or not your business should be doing marketing with Facebook or advertising with Twitter. It’s whether or not you’re managing your presence and techniques properly. Social media marketing can be a very powerful tool, but only if you use it the right way. There’s a lot of advice out there on what companies should be doing on social media, but what about what they shouldn’t be doing?
Do you want to avoid some common social media marketing mistakes? If you’re ready to learn from past problems, make sure you avoid making these simple blunders when you’re managing your campaigns and profiles.
1. Starting Without a Strategy
If you’ve been tweeting, posting, and gramming without a plan we can’t blame you. Coming up with an entire digital marketing strategy around social media when you don’t work in marketing can be a little intimidating. Luckily, it’s easy to create a strategy on your own with the right insight.
Start your social media strategy by thinking about your overall goals and target audience.
What do you want to get out of your social media marketing efforts? Don’t think about success just in terms of follower growth. Take company goals, building your sales funnel, and brand awareness into consideration.
Once you think of your goals, take time to envision your ideal target audience. After you have an idea of who you want to attract to your profiles coming up with strategies around content and advertising a lot easier.
2. Not Delegating Responsibility
Let’s face it, social media can be a job on its own. There are some people with dedicated agencies, part-time workers, and even different full-time social media professionals on their team.
Social media can’t be a “whenever you have time” task. People get busy at work and it’s too easy for social media to fall to the wayside. If you expect people to handle social media during downtime at work, you’re never going to get the results you want.
Set aside dedicated time in the workday for someone to devote to social media. If everyone is too busy to focus on social media, that could be a sign that it’s time to bring in some outside help.
3. Focusing on Every Possible Platform
You don’t have to be on every single platform to have a solid social media presence. There are going to some that are better suited for your industry and goals than others.
A business law practice wouldn’t get a lot of value from making Tik-Tok videos, but regular blog posts on LinkedIn backed by a solid sponsored content campaign would be ideal. A boutique bakery that makes gorgeous cakes would find some success on Instagram and Pinterest, but may not want to invest a lot in Twitter.
Take time to think about the strengths and weaknesses of each platform and what seems to work best for your industry. Don’t feel the need to stretch yourself too thin by having an ineffective presence on every platform.
4. Publishing Off-Brand Content
Every post you make on social media doesn’t have to promote your business or brand. It’s okay to talk about related topics or causes that mean a lot to your company. You just want to avoid the mistake of going too out into left field.
The trick to finding different content to post is to think about what your readers would find valuable. If you can find a way to relate posts back to what your followers want you can’t go wrong with content creation.
A Facebook page for a high-end shoe company may post about fashion week or style inspiration from celebrities. That’s content their followers would find valuable and relates to what they sell.
5. Forgetting to Engage
Don’t make the mistake of forgetting about the “social” part of “social media.” It’s far too easy for brands to get into the habit of posting regularly, but they don’t interact with their followers.
Set aside time each day to quickly check your mentions and reactions to your content. Taking a little time to engage with your followers can make your social presence even stronger.
Responding to a positive review or simply liking a post you’re tagged in doesn’t take a lot of time, but it’s incredibly valuable for your company. Those simple actions don’t just show your followers that you’re active on social media. It also shows that you care about their thoughts and opinions.
6. Focusing on the Wrong Metrics
Have you taken time to look at your post reach? That can give you valuable insight into how your content is being distributed and if it’s going to the right people.
What about shares? Posts that get shared a lot show that the content has value to people. That could give you ideas on content to post in the future.
We’d never say that there’s 0 value in post likes and follower counts. They can be a great way to measure the value and success of your content, but they aren’t the only way you can gauge success. Take time to dive into your analytics report to see how your content is really performing.
7. Posting for Posting’s Sake
It’s important to have an active presence on social media. You want to make sure that you’re posting frequently, but it’s also important to make sure that you’re posting with the right intent.
Content that you’re putting up for the sake of having content may not be that great. You’re going to want to post something that has the ability to engage the reader. Having content that doesn’t inform the reader or give them deliberate direction isn’t valuable to your company.
Remember, you don’t have to post every day if you want to be active on social media. Creating high-value posts that go up once a week will do much more to help your social media presence than posting random things each day.
Avoid Social Media Marketing Mistakes for Good
As you can see, it’s pretty easy for even the most passionate users to make social media marketing mistakes. If you want to avoid making a mistake that could cost you time and money, we’re here to help.
Want to ensure that all of your digital marketing is being handled the right way? We’re here to help you with social media, branding, media buying, and more.
Let’s work together to take your digital marketing to the next level. Contact us today so we can talk about the best way to help your company!
