By now you’ve probably heard about what social media can do for your business. You may have even gotten on board.
What many Denver business owners don’t realize is the fact that mistakes made with inbound marketing using social media (especially LinkedIn, Twitter and your Facebook Business page) can quickly wipe out any progress made with this type of marketing. So, before you put yourself and your brand out there, consider how you can save yourself some grief—and increase ROI in the process.
Here are 10 common social media mistakes and how to avoid them:
1. You have no plan. Lack of strategy is bad for any type of marketing, and social media is no different. So think about what your goals are first. Do you want to increase leads? Boost brand recognition? Gain x more sales per month? Gear your efforts toward specific goals to avoid wasting resources.
2. You’re not sticking to business. But wait! Isn’t social media all about being social? Yes, but businesses using it for marketing purposes need to keep their eyes on the prize. Friends don’t pay the bills, so save your personal comments, posts and links for your personal accounts, and concentrate on connections you can leverage to reach your business goals.
3. You’re not engaging. Tweet enough, and you’ll soon realize that your posts sound as robotic and auto-generated as they actually are. So, mix in some conversation! Start a discussion, respond to a question or offer a helpful tip. Do it daily if possible.
4. You don’t sound sincere. Overly enthusiastic posts get people’s spidey senses tingling. So, avoid overselling yourself and your brand. If you are creating useful content, responding to your community, and offering value—trust us, you won’t need to yell and scream.
5. You aren’t clear. Your readers are faced with millions of pieces of information each day. If your message isn’t clear and to the point, they are likely to pass it up. Your social media accounts are great places to offer the kind of juicy little snippets that grab attention. Make your headlines and tweets clear, compelling and SEO-powered to get noticed and prompt further action.
6. You’re ranting. There’s a time and place for strong opinions and yes, we all have moods. But, social media is not a private place, and the Internet is forever. So, keep the tone neutral or positive.
7. The “Likes” are going to your head. Social media is kind of a popularity contest, which means that more Likes are better than few. But, don’t get so hung up on the Likes that you forget what they’re supposed to represent. Their real value lies in how many of these people are converting into leads and sales. If your number of Likes is not corresponding to hard sales figures, you need to make adjustments.
8. You’re not consistent. Consistency applies to every aspect of your social media campaign, from posting on a regular schedule to keeping your message uniform. But, don’t forget your voice, as well. Your FaceBook, Twitter, Google Plus, etc. pages are the voice and face of your brand, so keep it consistent—especially if multiple people handle the posts.
9. Your pages are cluttered. It’s understandable to want to add everything plus the kitchen sink to your social media pages. Resist this temptation. Too much stuff on their screens makes people’s heads hurt, so visually streamline your pages and only include relevant SEO-rich information and images. Make every element count.
10. You aren’t measuring results. ROI can be an elusive beast, especially when it comes to social media marketing. Hiring a Denver social media service like DBCdgital can help you stay on track.
