Mistakes Commonly Made in Social Media Marketing - #TuesdayThoughts

Social media marketing is a necessity for businesses these days. Everyone wants to be involved and many see that it as a clear way to gain online traction for their business. Social media by it's very nature is a great way to increase your digital impact. However, it can become overwhelming when deciding which platforms to invest in, which direction to take and what to say. Below are some common mistakes that should be avoided - at all costs.

Failure to create a strategy

Just as you need to set your your overall business strategy, it is vital that you create a similar strategy for your social media marketing. It's important to know who you are targeting, what you are want to achieve, how much you can invest and how much time will need to be committed to ensure success. With social media it is easy to spend hours of what you think is productive time but with no real results. Having a clear-cut strategy will help you to gauge what traction is required to achieve your goals.

Spreading yourself too thin

Your business does not need to be on every social media platform. You are likely to achieve better results if you stick to fewer social media platforms but present better content. It is pointless having multiple social media platforms but not using them efficiently or keeping them updated. Focus on the few that you believe will do the most for your business and invest your time wisely.

Not tracking analytics

With social media, timing can be a huge cause for success or failure. Posting content when your followers are busy will result in lack of impressions and interest. Post at a few times of day and see what is most popular. These tend to be before 9am and after 5pm, i.e. outside of working hours. On Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, it is possible to schedule tweets, so use this feature so that content can be posted at the most engaging times. Also, use a variety of relevant hashtags and see what is most successful at which times. It will take trial and error to have the perfect cocktail of timing and hashtags to get the most engagement but be patient.

Treating all platforms as the same

Each platform has its own uses, audience and content that will do well. Each has to be treated as its own and it will take time to understand what works and what doesn't. Twitter posts have to be punchy and grab the attention quickly, however on LinkedIn you can go into more detail and have potential to showcase more of your knowledge. The language you speak on each platform should also be different. More professional or technical posts on platforms such as Facebook are unlikely to do as well as they would on LinkedIn.

Not taking social media seriously

Many businesses still believe that social media is something that is only used by millennials to gossip about their friends. However, if you fail to engage in social media then you fail to gain the attention of 40% of the population. Many businesses have gained so much of their audience through social media and are thriving because of it.

Social media can make or break your business, so don’t turn your nose up at it - give it your best shot. To make sure that you do not make these mistakes, contact me now.

By Amy Carpenter