Social Media
Although, may businesses see the value in social media marketing, not all of them using social media effectively. While there is lots of room for creativity in strategic campaign planning there are also some common mistakes small businesses need to avoid when using social media for their business.
5 Social Media Mistakes Every Small Business Should Avoid
#1 Trying to Use Every Social Media
There are so many social media networks out there. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter and Pinterest, just to name a few. While you should consider several social sites, you shouldn’t use them all.
It is recommended to start with 1-2 social networks and try to master those. Once you feel like you have an active community and social media strategy, build on that by exploring another network where your ideal clients are online.
#2 Failing to Identify a Target Audience
Not all social media users are exactly the same. It’s true that 59% of Facebook users are between the ages of 25 and 54 and 71% of Pinterest users are female. Do your homework and know what kinds of networks attract the demographics you’re trying to reach. Then, refine your campaign so that all of your posts are designers to attract and engage you niche market or your ideal customer, so you will see a higher ROI.
#3 Posting Without A Clear Strategy
It’s far easy to waste a lot of time posting entertaining things on social media that don’t help you reach your goals. Outline your social strategy and the type of content will help you reflect that.
If you aren’t sure what your messaging should look like, ask yourself these questions from the perspective of your ideal client:
- What’s in it for me? (Province information that will help in their business or personal life).
- Can you help me with…? (Solve a common problem)
- How does this compare to…? (Review a product or service)
#4 Posting Too Much or Not enough
Unfortunately, there isn’t a magic number that will tell you exactly how often you should post to each of your social media accounts. There’s a lot of research about how often you should post to various social networks which can give some good starting points.
#5 Using Social Media As A One-Way Tool
The beauty of social media is that it allows for two-way conversations. If you use it as one-way tool for pushing out messages, you are missing out on a lot of benefits. Some of these include connecting with your audience on a deeper level, reputation management opportunities and the chance to learn how you can better serve your market’s needs.
