Thousands of mistakes are made by businesses every day when they’re presenting themselves on social media, and every one is them is a little bit deadly. Read below to find out the major social media marketing mistakes you need to avoid.
1. Don’t expect a huge audience right out the gate.
This is true even if you have a lot of traffic on your website or a large email list. Most social media marketing involves building audiences gradually, not all at once. Don’t be scared if you don’t gain a lot of followers right away. If you keep at it, and follow the other suggestions in this article, they will come.
2. Don’t just stick to Facebook.
To maximize your audience, you have to diversify. Facebook is usually the most significant outlet for social media marketing, but it’s far from the only place you can benefit.
3. Don’t get overwhelmed.
Avoid overfilling your plate. At least in the beginning, stick to two or three social media outlets. Once you’re comfortable then start branching out. Be sure to pick the big players like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn first, unless your industry favors another outlet.
4. Don’t pick the wrong social media services.
If you’re a household product, Pinterest should be a priority. If you’re an artist, Tumblr is probably your best bet. Know which social media outlet is right for the product or service you’re selling by doing your due diligence.
5. Don’t cross-post.
What works for Twitter doesn’t necessarily work for Facebook, and vice versa. Individualize all posts for every one of your social media accounts.
6. Don’t make it all about you.
Think about what you’re posting from your followers’ perspectives. Would they be interested in an endless stream self-promotion? Probably not, so get creative. And remember, you don’t have to create all of the content you post yourself.
7. Don’t leave your profiles bare bones.
You’re going to put a lot of effort into interior decorating, so you should make sure people are impressed by the front of the house. Make sure that you have a profile picture, a cover photo, a wallpaper, a short description, a long description and whatever else the social media sites are recommending that you include to make your account 100% complete.
8. Don’t forget to act like a person.
There are a lot of spambots on social media; don’t do your best imitation of them. Be personable with your posts so that followers think they’re reading the thoughts and comments of a real live human being, not a machine.
9. Don’t just share your stuff.
Creating original content is hard work; compiling existing content is much easier. Take advantage of all the web has to offer by scouring it for articles that your social media followers would find interesting.
10. Don’t rush it.
Don’t treat social media as an annoyance that you need to get off your plate as quickly as possible. You shouldn’t send out hasty updates riddled with spelling and grammar errors. You should also think carefully before you post. Consider if there’s any way your update will be taken the wrong way. If there is, rephrase that update.
11. Don’t avoid negative feedback.
The last thing you should do is delete a negative comment someone posted on your company’s Facebook wall. You have to value the criticism, because it could be a reflection of what a lot of your followers are thinking. Thank the person for the feedback and address their problem however you can.
12. Don’t forget to link to your social media account.
If you’re doing all your social media marketing in a vacuum, don’t expect to net any new followers. Be sure to include links to social media on your website, business card and wherever else applicable.
13. Don’t leave it unattended.
The death knell of social media marketing is to neglect your accounts. If you’re not regularly posting updates your followers will drift away or won’t trust you as an industry leader.
14. Don’t forget that you can schedule posts.
You don’t need to send a tweet at 6:00 a.m. to have it posted at 6:00 a.m. Use freemium services like Buffer or HootSuite to lay out your social media marketing well in advance.
15. Don’t misuse the lingo.
Too many hashtags will turn fans into haters. Research standard practice for every social media service and implement it to prove that you’re not a poser. With all the work you’re putting into social media marketing, the last thing you want to do is come off as fake.
Featured photo credit: mkhmarketing via flickr.com
