Social media marketing is like a double-edged sword. If you are not careful when using it, you can cut your business into pieces.
The problem is, most companies and marketers haven’t figured out how to manage their social media marketing in the right way. Most of them are not fully aware that the ultimate goal of social media marketing is to create a personalised, relevant and enjoyable experience for their audience.
Brands with a socially awkward attitude aren’t just pushed aside. They also miss out on the opportunity on building valuable relationships, which in some cases, end up on a viral list of social media blunders. Whether the message of the said brand is too boring or too exposed, your social media approach should be primary in your consumer’s mind all the time. Here are seven biggest social media marketing mistakes to avoid. Hopefully, by avoiding the following points, you can keep your audience engaged, interested and loyal.
1. One Way Conversation
One way conversation is a big mistake that almost every companies made on the past. The key to social media content is “to show,” not “to tell”. Research has revealed that audiences prefer engaging with visual content over text. Did you know that tweets with image links get an engagement rate 200% higher than those with just 140 characters? Flooding your feeds with line after line of text could cause you to miss out on a huge opportunity to connect with your buyers.
Luckily, it’s easier than ever to share visual content these days, thanks to Instagram, Vine, Pinterest and other “visual” social media channels. Picture really is worth a thousand words, but more importantly, it avoids one way conversation.
2. Combining Direct Sales With Social Media Marketing
Trying to apply your advertising approach to social media marketing is a big mistake. In fact, one reason behind the effectiveness of social media is because so many people tune out traditional media and mass messaging. On social, it’s even easier to mute brands that talk, but don’t listen. With a quick click, consumers can unfollow or remove your content from their feed.
Instead of talking about yourself all the time, make your audience the center of attention by highlighting their interests make your audience the center of attention by highlighting their interests. Your social following isn’t a captive audience, so take a break from broadcasting and start sharing content they’ll actually want to click on.
3. Tweeting Without Thinking
Remember this one?
Staying relevant today isn’t easy as trending topics go from viral to ancient history in a daily basis. So how can marketers keep up? The quick solution is newsjacking. Instead of trying to generate buzz from scratch, brands piggyback on the popularity of top headlines to amplify their own content. However, social media mistakes are often caused by careless actions. Think about your messages carefully before posting them on your social media accounts.
4. Assuming All Social Media Platforms Are Equal
A good social strategy should not be one size fits all. For example, B2B audiences spend most of their time on LinkedIn, while B2C buyers can be found on Facebook. Find the channels that best align with your audience’s interests, then experiment with the type and style of the content you think will resonate most. Test all of your materials to determine what works and what doesn’t, and optimise accordingly. Instead of publishing the same content to every channel, the best social media teams create tailored approaches based on the medium and the message.
5. Muting Consumers
It used to be that if a customer had a complaint about your product or service, they could tell their friends, family or a 1-800 number. Today, consumers can share negative reviews with their entire network with a simple click. Not surprisingly, 72% of customers who complain about a brand on social expect a response within an hour. Still, in some cases, they are lucky to get noticed at all. Whether you have a handful of followers or 31 million Facebook fans like McDonald’s, you can’t afford to ignore your audience. Period.
6. Becoming Less ‘Human’ Towards Your Consumers
In an age where buyers are constantly bombarded with deals, promos and ‘lowest price’ taglines, your brand’s personality is crucial to stand out from the pack. Corporate jargon and automated replies will send your audience running in the other direction, while brands that aren’t afraid to let loose will be welcomed with open arms.
Building a community of brand advocates today isn’t about what you’re selling. It’s about what you’re saying. Luckily, the casual nature of social media makes it easier than ever for us to talk to our audience like humans.
7. Assuming Your Social Strategy Works Perfectly
Nowadays, measuring the true impact of your marketing efforts was nearly impossible. Luckily, marketers today have more data than ever to truly understand how our efforts impact the company’s bottom line. Still, of the 88% of brands using social media platforms for marketing, only about 37% are taking the time to measure the ROI of their efforts. It’s easy to tally likes and retweets to get an idea of how engaged your audience is on social, but those numbers don’t tell the whole story. There are myriad metrics to consider to help put a dollar value on your Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn efforts.
From here, every marketer has a different path, but avoiding these seven social mistakes can help us all steer clear of serious pitfalls.