You’ve created all the social media accounts, but you aren’t seeing an increase in revenue, engagement, or follower count.
What gives? Certainly you couldn’t commit to one (or more) of the most common social media marketing mistakes, right?
Here at Brindle, we’ve worked with enough businesses to know that existing social accounts are not enough to make a difference in company success. These platforms need to be utilized correctly if they are meant to produce results.
The good news is, we’re here to share the most important dos and don’ts of social media marketing for businesses!
Let’s get started.
Here’s how to identify and avoid the 5 most common social media marketing mistakes…
Social Media Marketing Mistake #1: Going In Without a Game Plan
We’ve all been guilty of aimless and inconsistent social posting at one point or another. But not all of us have learned from our social media marketing mistakes.
Posting without a plan means you are posting without an objective. This random and often times sales-y approach to social media for business misses the mark because the mark was never established in the first place.
And yet, businesses create social media accounts with no plan all the time and expect positive results, leads, and engagement. Take it from us: no strategy = no results.
When you’re creating a social media marketing plan, write concrete goals, brainstorm tactics, identify audiences, and evaluate time commitment. All of these factors are vital to a successful social media presence.
Before you make your plan, consider these questions…
- Who am I trying to reach?
- What is my desired outcome?
- How does my audience engage with social media platforms and content?
The who, when, where, and what of your social strategy will be a key component to effective messaging and content creation. Not to mention, when you have a plan, you can assess the success of your strategy by measuring it against specific goals and objectives.
Social Media Marketing Mistake #2: Inconsistency
Inconsistency in social media marketing is an ineffective way to reach and retain followers. In order to build a relationship with your audience, you need to be posting regularly and relevantly.
Didn’t you ever have that one friend who went MIA every time they started a new relationship? Don’t be that friend—in real life or in business!
Your business should be posting consistently, and it should be posting content that your followers want. If you only post when it’s convenient for the business (sales, event participation, etc.), people will notice and tune you out. If you continue to make this social media marketing mistake, it will have a negative impact on the audience-brand relationship you’re trying so hard to build.
We know that consistency is difficult, but it is absolutely necessary to create healthy brand awareness and community. Once you have a content creation plan in place, you can start creating posts ahead of schedule.
There are several automated social media management tools that make consistent posts possible—Sprout Social, HootSuite, and eClincher to name a few. These resources will not only let you schedule a post for a specific date and time, but they will provide suggestions for optimal engagement.
Social Media Marketing Mistake #3: Treating All Platforms the Same
If you’re sending the same content, images, and messaging to all your social media platforms, unaltered, you are making one of the top social media marketing mistakes.
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn were all created for different reasons with varying user experiences. If you’re going to utilize multiple social media platforms, you need to diversify the content to fit each one.
For example, Instagram is heavily focused on visual creative—think fun videos, gifs, or unique images. But if you wanted to post your Instagram content to LinkedIn, your message would likely fall flat.
To avoid this social media marketing mistake, simply do a little research, so you know the purpose of each platform and can adjust your content accordingly.
Social Media Marketing Mistake #4: Too Much Me, Not Enough We
It’s true: your business probably has some really great marketing ideas for social. And you should definitely implement those ideas, but you want to avoid social media marketing mistake #4 by curating content specifically for your audience.
If your followers only see product related posts or calls to action, they might think your brand annoying or pushy. To avoid this perception, deliver balanced content that isn’t so heavy on marketing.
Take your strategy back to the basics with the 5-3-2 content ratio rule. For every ten posts, you should use:
- 5 posts from other sources relevant to your audience
- 3 posts created from your personal content bank
- 2 posts with fun, personal, and relatable content for your audience
Get creative: what is your audience interested in? How can you engage them in conversation?
Mistake #5: Remaining Stagnant
The biggest social media marketing mistake for your business is remaining stagnant. You should be keeping up with moving social trends and marketing practices, so you can reach your audience where they’re at.
For example, traditional sales copy is a thing of the past, but influencer branding is in. Stay up to date with blooming trends and adjust your content to match.
At no point should your social media strategy reach a plateau—with constant tracking and analytics, you can see how your content is performing and improve your strategy to meet objectives. Just like any other aspect of your business, your social media marketing should be growing and impacting your company in a big way.
There are a million things you can do to improve your social media presence, but being aware of the most common mistakes and avoiding them with strategic planning and insight will make a huge difference.
Consider these tips in summary:
- Make a plan.
- Be consistent.
- Know your platforms.
- Balance your feeds.
- Track analytics and trends to maintain relevancy.
Still concerned for your businesses’ social media strategy? Brindle Digital Marketing is a Greeley marketing agency that offers social media content creation, management, and tracking. Learn more about our services here.
Sources:
https://www.creative-copywriter.net/social-media/talking-social-strategy/