Almost every business with an active social media presence strives to have a “viral” moment. We’ve all watched – perhaps enviously – as one brand’s post takes off, exposing thousands of new eyes to their page, products and services with each new like, comment and share.
No matter how great your company’s page, products and services might be, what happens when your social media posts fall flat because you aren’t using the platform strategically? Or perhaps even worse, what happens if your business has a viral post for all the wrong reasons?
To help set you on the right track towards social media success, we’re delving into 6 common social media marketing mistakes your business might be making, plus what you can do to right your wrongs.
Posting Too Infrequently
How many times have you scrolled past an unfamiliar name on social media, only to ask yourself “When did I ever follow that account?” The last thing you want is for your followers to have that reaction when they see a post from your business. If you’ve noticed a dip in your followers lately, it might be because you’re posting too infrequently.
With this in mind, try to create a social media marketing schedule for your business that includes a minimum of three posts per week. This could fluctuate depending on which platforms your business is active on – for example, you may want to increase your frequency to accommodate for Twitter’s fast-paced nature if that is where you are trying to build your following. There is no “perfect” number of social media posts per week for any business, but approximately every other day should be the bare minimum needed to keep your audience familiarized and engaged with your brand.
Posting Too Often
On the opposite end of the spectrum, being too visible on your followers’ news feeds could quickly devolve from your business being a welcome presence to a pesky nuisance. Hearing from your business regularly is ideal, but hearing from your business constantly could lead to a drop in followership and engagement.
If three posts per week is the minimum your business should be aiming for, treat five as the median and seven as the maximum. Post any more frequently than once a day per social media platform and you run the risk of turning off potential customers who find your social media presence annoying. Of course this varies on a case by case basis, and exceptions can be made for special occasions such as a one-day-only sale or live posting from an industry event.
Mishandling Touchy Subjects
Touching on topical events on social media is great. Making light of topical events, on the other hand, might not be. Let’s take the Coronavirus pandemic, for example. Joking around about something that has cost millions of people their jobs, financial stability and loved ones could make your business come across as insensitive – even if that was never your intention.
When approaching touchy subjects, your best plan of action is to remain neutral and informative on social media. For example, airing your political opinions on your business’ social media account is generally frowned upon, but including a certain president’s tweets in a list of social media no-no’s is acceptable for the sake of being educational. As a general rule of thumb, if there is any question as to whether or not your social media marketing content might offend your audience, you probably shouldn’t post it.
Treating Every Platform the Same
One of the primary rules of digital marketing is to maintain a consistent brand voice everywhere your business has a presence online. That being said, consistent doesn’t necessarily mean identical – and shouldn’t when it comes to social media.
Each social media platform comes with its own unique set of nuances that marketers must take into account when creating content. A paragraph-long Facebook post might not fit within Twitter’s 280 character limit, for example, and a funny dog filter on an Instagram post probably won’t have the same warm reception on a more professional platform like LinkedIn. While your social media messaging should always be reflective of your brand, it’s important to tailor your posts individually to fit the type of content your audience expects to see on each diverse platform.
Posting Without a Plan
Social media posts might typically be made in-the-moment by the average user, but businesses need to plan ahead in order to share strategically. Your social media marketing plan serves as your weekly, monthly and/or quarterly roadmap that guides your followers towards taking a desired action that helps your business accomplish a particular objective.
The first step in creating an effective social media marketing plan is to set measurable goals with a timeline – for example, increase email sign ups by 200% by the end of the month. The next step is to create social media content that will help you achieve this goal, along with determining the best time and date for each post. Of course, in-the-moment posts will happen on occasion, but primarily adhering to a social media plan will enable your team to stay on track with the objective of your campaign.
Not Engaging
The name of the medium says it all: in order to be successful on social media, your business needs to be social. If you want your followers to engage with your social media posts, it’s up to you to reciprocate in order to keep them engaged.
Be sure to respond to every message or review your business receives on social media, and respond to any questions or concerns in a timely matter. Even taking the time to acknowledge comments with a simple “like” can go a long way in showing your followers that you are listening.
Are You Misusing Your Social Media Marketing?
If you answered yes to that question, don’t worry – you’re in good company. Social media has been a mainstay in most of our lives for the past decade, but social media marketing itself is still a relatively new concept to many business owners. Even the most seasoned businesses with the strongest social media presence face a learning curve with each new platform, update, and trend that unrolls.
Luckily, that’s where we come in. Creative Click Media’s team of social media pros are well-versed in a variety of strategies to get your business exactly where you want it: directly in front of an active audience of eager followers who could become your newest customers. Chat with us to learn more about how we can help strengthen your business’ social media marketing strategy.
