Social media is a vital aspect to the success of any business with an online presence. It allows consumers a way to feel connected with a business and is an effective platform for developing relationships with customers. Just having social media is not enough; you need to use it correctly.
To make sure you get the most out of your social media efforts, here are some of the top mistakes to avoid while developing a plan for 2016.
Focusing on Selling and Advertising Instead of Relationships
When using social media, most users don’t like to see advertisements everywhere they look. People use social media to get away from the pitches and commercialism they find in their everyday lives. Social media should be used for social purposes. Invest your time into building relationships with your community. Offer helpful and useful content, not just sales pitches and advertisements. The best way to be successful is to offer content that is helpful to your followers. If people view you as a trusted source of information and advise they will be more likely to do business with you! The key to progressing in business is always helping and not expecting anything in return. Use social as social, not as a sales platform.
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Not Driving Customers to Your Business or Website
On the flipside of using social as social media, many companies don’t use the platform that they have to elicit a call to action. If you don’t provide calls to action in your social media marketing that drives consumers to your website, then you are missing a key opportunity. Before creating a social media plan, you need to figure out what you want social to do for you. Do you want it to steer people to your website? Have people sign up to your email newsletter? Maybe you just want to create awareness for your company. Whatever the reason you need to have a call to action on your social media platforms associated with this action. Helping is key but we are still in this to generate business!
Failing to Measure Effectiveness
Oftentimes businesses who use social media have no idea if it is doing anything to generate business. To use social media effectively you need to know what is working and what isn’t. Using metrics is the key; determining how many Likes/Followers/Retweets/Hits is key to understanding the effectiveness of your social media strategy.
Not Communicating with Visitors
Not responding to comments is one of the biggest mistakes that you can make in social media marketing. This is your chance to provide consumers with great service and show that you value their feedback. It humanizes the company and shows that you are genuinely invested in their wants and needs. If people are trying to engage with you and you are just ignoring them it can appear neglectful. This will negatively effect your potential to gain new clients, not just with the person who commented, but also with those who have seen the comment lay unaddressed. Remember… People do business with people. It’s about establishing relationships based on trust and altruism.
Using too Many Social Media Platforms
The last item that business’s struggle with when developing a social media strategy is spreading themselves too thin. How many social media platforms you can take on and handle depends on the amount of time and resources you are willing to invest. It is better to be an expert at one or two social media platforms than have a tentative presence on many. Stick to what you know and what you have the resources to sustain. There is no use engaging in social media if you are not going to do a good job of it. It makes the company look sloppy and makes the overall brand look weak.
Now that we have gone over a few of the things to avoid when engaging in a 2016 social media strategy, get out there and start creating relationships with your consumers!
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