Social media is so much more than just trying to drive traffic to your website. It’s about creating a community around your brand and increasing engagement among clients. Considering 50% of individuals are more likely to buy a product from a company that they can contact via social media, you know you can’t afford not to be on it. Yet, all too many companies are going about it the wrong way. Are you guilty? Our marketing experts at Post Café have put together a list of five social media mistakes (almost) every company makes when starting out in social (and how to avoid them).
Social Media Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
- Product Pushers. When you’re only selling your stuff and pushing your products, you come off aggressive. Instead of constantly asking people to buy, buy, buy, try establishing a relationship with them first by posting a variety of content.
- Monotonous Messages. If your social account is an endless stream of your stuff, your audience may start to ignore you. Include relevant industry news from outside sources, content that you’ve created that is relevant to your audience but not too sales-y (see number 1) as well as fun content that humanizes your brand. And remember to tailor your messaging for each specific social media channel as well.
- Party Poopers. Your customers are on social media…to be social. They expect you to be responsive and human instead of robotic. Remember to have a two-way conversation with your audience and socialize.
- Annoying Anecdotes. Sharing too much, too often can irritate your followers. Your goal should be to establish a strong social media strategy, share your posts consistently and fine tune your schedule to maximize your exposure on each channel. And speaking of annoying, be sure to hashtag correctly. When used correctly, hashtags in social media can really boost brand visibility. But when they’re #usedtoomuch, #hashtags end up being #maddening to #followers. #avoidthisatallcosts #itsafinebalance #trustus
- Fake Followers. Paying for followers will only get you spam. A genuine customer relationship is so much more important than believing @click4followers will help you build your audience. Quantity does not trump quality, so take the time and effort to earn your audience the right way to attract fans who will engage with your posts.
