Social media undoubtedly is one of the most powerful marketing tools for most businesses. As a matter of fact, it has proven to be effective in order to nurture relationships, attract customers and gain visibility in the industry. While the importance of social media marketing is not new, companies still make mistakes that can cost them in terms of brand image and customer base. Here is a list of a few common mistakes that marketers make. Take them into account and your social media marketing results will improve.
1. Not Taking Advantage Of All The Social Media Channels
Multichannel social media strategies have proven to be very successful. However, there are important social media channels that tend to be left behind by many companies. For instance, only 66% of the Fortune 500 are using YouTube, 45% are on Instagram, 36% have company blogs, and 33% are on Pinterest. Avoid this mistake by exploring all social media platforms and creatively thinking of opportunities they might provide for your business.
2. Focusing On Quantity
According to Buffer, posting less increased their reach and engagement 3 times. Surely, it might be that you are producing a lot of content and you have a lot of things to share. However, quantity is not always equal with quality. Make sure you spend time considering what to post and what not to post. To provide more value to your followers, try limiting your posts to one or two per day and share only the best content you have.
3. Poorly Dealing With Negative Feedback
Nine out of ten brands tend to make this mistake. There’s nothing worse than responding to negative comments with lame excuses or ignorance. Instead of apologizing or ignoring negative feedback, take it as an opportunity for improvements. Remember, social media is a great tool that enables quick and direct conversations with your customers. Use it to learn more about the problem and ensure a better product experience next time.
4. Creating Too Many Hard Marketing Messages
Being inauthentic and focusing on hard sells can only work against you. Your followers will see through hard sells and plain promotions in your posts. Nowadays, customers are expecting personalized and relevant information from the brands they follow. Take it into account and always provide value.
5. Randomly Spending Ad Dollars
While Facebook marketing is cheap, it doesn’t mean you should blindly spend money to boost posts and increase engagement. Without a real strategy, this money will be wasted. Before investing into social media ads, lay the groundwork. Make your goals clear, identify your audience and have a purpose.
6. Not Tracking Analytics
Ultimately, there’s almost no point in using social media without gaining actionable insights. You should always track and evaluate your performance on social media and continuously work on improvements. Use Google Analytics and Capsulink to track your links, analyze the traffic and measure the popularity of your posts.