Social media is an important part of your digital marketing strategy, but many people don’t make the most of it. Here are the 10 most common social media mistakes we see people making – and how to do it right.
- Spreading yourself too thin
You don’t need to be on every social media platform. Work out where your customers hang out and build a presence there. It’s a good idea to start with just one platform and establish a strong following there before you add more platforms.
2. Not understanding your audience
It’s important to understand who you’re communicating with through your social media channels. This will help you get the message, content and tone of voice right. Start by coming up with a profile of your typical customer: what gender are they, where do they live, what job do they do and what are their interests? Gear your social media output to suit that person.
3. No strategy
It’s tempting to just start posting without any clear plan, but this can lead to wasted time and effort. Instead, come up with a clear plan for the types of post you want to make and when you’re going to post them. Draw up a calendar of posts and use a tool such as Hootsuite to schedule them.
4. Talking only about yourself
Your goal may be to bring customers to you but if you only post about yourself and your business, they’re going to get bored and possibly drift away. Make sure you share a variety of interesting content in order to keep them engaged.
5. No Visuals
Images are hugely powerful on social media. Whatever the nature of your post, you’re missing an opportunity to grab people’s attention if you don’t include visuals. Try to include a strong image with every post for maximum impact.
6. No perks for followers
Part of why people follow businesses is to be the first to hear about new stock and offers, to get the chance to win competitions and to grab special discounts and other perks. Make sure you scatter these types of post through your social media content to keep people engaged and interested.
7. No variety in your content
If your posts are always pretty much the same, people will get bored. Plan a mixture of different types of posts – for example, updates about your business, competitions, thought leadership, conversation starters, posts about products… sharing a balanced variety of posts will keep your audience interested.
8. No personality
Don’t be afraid to put a bit of character into your posts. Get your tone right and your followers will love it: people want to feel the accounts they feel have a clear, authentic voice and personality. Look back at the profile you’ve made of your typical follower and decide on the best tone of voice to use to speak to them.
9. Failing to respond
Social media is all about engagement, so if your followers comment on your posts, ask questions or tag you, make sure you respond. All your social media efforts can be undermined by ignoring people who try to connect with you, so keep an eye on your accounts and respond as soon as possible to any efforts at interaction.
10. Ignoring the metrics
Having lots of followers doesn’t necessarily mean your social media efforts are a success. What you need is people talking positively about your brand and clicking through to your site. To find out whether these things are happening, use a tool such as Hootsuite to monitor talk about your brand, and Google Analytics to see how many referrals come from your social media pages. Use these findings to guide your social media strategy.
Primedia Marketing are experts at social media marketing in Wales
If you need any help or guidance, please contact us today.
