You could consider this a "what not to do on social media for business." But this article also covers personal social media mistakes you can stop yourself from making...
Guest post by Larry Kim
7 Social Media Mistakes You Don't Have To Make
Business owners, leaders, and donkey marketers would often say that social media marketing doesn’t work. This is because they keep on making the same social media mistakes over and over again.
Moreover, most companies don’t utilize social media into their marketing efforts and just follow the trend of others and in turn, they become quickly discouraged by the lack of positive outcomes.
In fact, according to a report from SocialMediaToday, there are about 47% of social media marketers that think coming up with strategies that support businesses to achieve goals is number one on their list of challenges.
Here are the common social media mistakes leaders make and how to avoid them.
1. Considering social media marketing as ineffective
Often, leaders think social media is only for the tech-savvy and teenagers, this is a common misconception — in fact, about 93% of marketers utilize social media for marketing. This is how much it is being considered in various marketing efforts.
Social media has penetrated all the different layers of today’s society, and planning an effective marketing campaign can put you ahead of your competition.
2. Failing to come up with a solid social media marketing strategy
It could be a huge waste of time if you don’t come up with a solid social media marketing strategy. A lot of companies fall into this trap.
Leaders would try to attract fans or followers, periodically post things on their pages, and share content here and there but not really have an effective and efficient plan — leading to one of their biggest social media mistakes. You don’t want to be listed as one of the donkeys, right?
3. Dismissing negative feedback from followers
To become a unicorn leader in social media marketing, you need to accept the fact that problems will arise every now and then.
Knowing the problem through negative feedback from your followers can be easy to solve, as long as you acknowledge and address it. When someone gives feedback, no matter how bad it may be, it should be used to your advantage to work on those criticisms to improve your products or services.
4. Treating all social media platforms the same
Every social media platform has its own:
- Audience
- Language
- Type of content
- Customs
It is essential to learn how users of these social media platforms participate, communicate, and connect.
Connecting with audiences in an inconsistent way would be counterproductive and ineffective. Posting the same content or message to all your social media handles would not resonate with your audience.
5. Not enough time engaging in conversations
Your social media posts and updates are useless if your fans and followers are not sharing or responding to them. You have to keep in mind that your posts and content should be created and designed to prompt conversations with your audience.
To take advantage of these conversations, you need to utilize conversational web chat and SMS chatbots to revolutionize your customer communication.
MobileMonkey allows users to write one conversation or automation in the OmniChat free chatbot builder. It works on several chat channels such as:
- Native web chat
- Facebook Messenger
- SMS
And more.
6. Making everything about you
Imagine being with a person who only talks about himself — not only is it a major turnoff but it gets really annoying too. This is a social media mistake leaders often make. Talking only about:
- Themselves
- Their products
- Their services
- Their events
- Their projects
The truth is, oftentimes, nobody cares because they eventually lose interest.
You have to keep in mind to speak the language of your audience and tell them what they want to hear. This means posting a high-quality content that is significant to them. This will lead you to success.
7. Not utilizing social media policy
Do you know the main reason why a company-wide social media policy is crucial? To avoid unexpected public embarrassment.
You should utilize and practice a social media policy regardless of who manages your social media accounts — a policy that outlines what is and what is not acceptable. Be sure that all of your employees are aware and will adhere to it.
Conclusion
So there you have it, these seven common social media mistakes that leaders often make are avoidable — especially if you are well aware of them.
Don’t fall victim to these mistakes. Become unicorn leader in social media marketing and learn from the list above to get maximum results.
About The Author
Larry Kim is the CEO of MobileMonkey, the World's Best Integrated Web Chat, SMS & Facebook Messenger Bot Platform for Marketing and Customer Service.
He's also founder of WordStream, Inc., the leading provider of Google Ads, Facebook Ads and keyword tools used by over a million marketers worldwide.
The company employs over three hundred people and manages billions of dollars of ad spend on behalf of tens of thousands of customers. WordStream was acquired by Gannett for $150 million.
Larry is ranked the #8 most popular author on Medium. He's a contributor to CNBC and Inc. Magazine. Key interests include: Chatbot Marketing, Google Ads, Facebook Ads, entrepreneurship and startups. He received Marketer of the Year awards from Search Engine Land, US Search Awards, and PPC Hero.
Follow Larry on Twitter and connect with him on LinkedIn.
