Tips to Help You Avoid Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes
There is no doubt that over the past few years social media has become a big part of most people’s lives. Of course, for the general consumer, social media has provided a unique and exciting means of communicating with friends and family. It has also enabled them to meet new people, catch up with people they haven’t seen or heard from in years, and let others know what’s going on in their own lives. However, social media has also played an important part in the lives of business owners and managers, representing an opportunity to benefit from highly effective yet affordable marketing.
The growth of social media in both our personal and business lives has been phenomenal, and it is little wonder that so many businesses are eager to make the most of these platforms in order to promote themselves, their brand and their business as a whole. However, not all business professional are aware of the best way to use social media for marketing and as a result, end up making a variety of mistakes that compromises their ability to effectively market their goods and services. While everyone makes mistakes and most people won’t get social media marketing spot on the first time around, there are ways in which you can minimise the chances of making easily avoidable mistakes.
Simple steps to help reduce the risk of making mistakes
There are a number of simple yet important steps that you can take in order to reduce the chances of making some of the most common social media marketing mistakes. As detailed in an tv show from fox news, social media can have a huge positive impact on businesses. However, you need to make sure you avoid potentially damaging mistakes when carrying out your social media campaigns. This includes:
Making sure you have a strategy in place: Social media marketing, like other forms of marketing, needs to have a strategy, so you should make sure you have one in place. Without this you will find it difficult if not impossible to effectively get your messages across to your target audience. You should make sure you have measurable goals and a strong policy when it comes to social media. Clearly defining your strategy will make engaging with your audience far easier.
Limit the number of platforms you sign up to: The key here is not to try and run before you can walk. If you are just getting started with social media marketing it is far better to spend time and effort focusing on one or two social media platforms than to sign up for every social media platform you can think of and then not be able to give any of them 100 percent because you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.
Earn your followers instead of buying them: Over recent years, an unsavory practice of businesses paying for followers has emerged, but this is something that can cause a lot of damage to your business reputation if it comes to light. It is also largely ineffective because they are not true followers. By making sure you build proper relationships with your audience, which is something that is done over time and with a lot of effort, you can earn a good, solid social following.
Be diverse with your content: One thing that your audience won’t want is to have your product, service or brand rammed down their throats by you doing nothing but sharing your own content. Make sure you are diverse with your content by also posting relevant content from other authors as well as content about your own brand that is more light hearted.
Don’t get carried away with hash tags: Social media has resulted in more people using the hash tag key on their keyboard in the last few years than in the last few decades. However, although hash tags can be an effective way of increasing the visibility of your message it is also important to avoid getting too carried away and over-using them, as this simply makes them ineffective and in some cases annoying.
Spread your posts over a reasonable amount of time: Many people get carried away with posting and start practically bombarding their followers, fans and audiences with messages and posts. This is something that can irritate and annoy your followers and can make your posts come across as spam. Rather than doing this, be consistent and regular with your posts but over a reasonable time period rather than one after another after another.
Proof your posts: If you want to avoid your credibility taking a hit, make sure you proof the content you post on social networking sites. The last thing your audience wants to see is one post after another littered with mistakes, typos and errors. Don’t underestimate the importance of proofreading if you want to create and send out posts that look professional and make a good impression.
Engage with your audience: Social media is all about engaging with others, hence the word ‘social’. Don’t abuse the system by simply using it to talk ‘to’ others rather than ‘with’ them. Engage with your audience, respond to questions and feedback, and really get to know them via your social media platforms. This will make a huge impression on others and can help to further cement your success.
These are all effective methods that can help to ensure you get the most out of social media marketing for your business. With social media continuing to form a vital part of any business marketing strategy, learning how to use it effectively has become more and more important for businesses. Not only can social media help to market your brand and business effectively but it is also one of the cheapest marketing methods that a business can use. In addition, it takes far less time to run a social media campaign than it does to implement many alternative marketing strategies.
