Using social media marketing to its best advantage can benefit your business. It can be a good use of time and a missed opportunity if handled correctly or inconsistently. Errors can make it look like you and your company "just don’t get it." Avoid these nine common social media mistakes, and you'll be on your way to success.
(1.) Posting everywhere the same way: Not only should you vary message length and format to fit the specific social network you’re posting on, but you may also need to vary the topic. When on Twitter, of course, you must be succinct, and on Pinterest, post visual content with a bit of description. Keep in mind that subject matter on LinkedIn (business-oriented content for colleagues or future employees) may require a different angle than it would on Facebook (casual sharing with friends).
(2.) Posting randomly: You need a social media strategy to avoid wasting time and tarnishing your brand image. Cultivate followers with consistent posting on topics pre-planned and on your editorial calendar. Build in some flexibility to deal with current events. Work all your social networks into the plan since reaching clients in various ways keeps things exciting and increases the chance they won’t miss your post.
(3.) Constant broadcasting: It's "social media," after all. You must interact with fans and followers on each network. Ask and answer questions, comment, share others’ relevant content, thank people for their comments, and follow them back.
(4.) Focusing on self-promotion: This is a social media turn-off. Concentrate on creating value for the community, sparking discussions, sharing, and posting eminently sharable content. Present your firm as a friendly resource, and, almost incidentally, you'll become the company to hire when your expertise is needed.
(5.) Posting too much information: You must share your brand’s unique character to stand out. However, sharing your personality on your profiles does not mean giving too much information. Avoid engaging in a hostile exchange and approaching taboo subjects like religion or politics. Engaging in this messaging will damage your brand and leave a sour note on your audiences.
(6.) Posting unoriginal content: Mix it up with original content and content generated by others. All content should resonate with your target audiences. Think about how each message will increase traffic, reach new audiences and continue to build your reputation.
(7.) Buying your community: Do not try to cheat the system by paying for your fan base and “likes.” This approach will create a false community that will inevitably not be interested in engagement. Learning how to grow a natural fan base that enjoys the exchange will be much more rewarding in the long run.
(8.) Posting too often: Regularly staying in front of your audiences by posting content is an essential to social media marketing. However, posting too often can be overkill. Followers may become tired of your presence flooding their social media accounts. Your posting frequency should be based on the size of your following and the level of follower engagement.
(9.) Ignoring social media metrics: If you invest time and resources toward social media marketing, you must evaluate your effectiveness. Are you reaching the right people? Are your audiences driving more traffic to your other content channels? What messages are resonating? If you do not regularly check on the activity, how will you know what your audiences want?
