Social media undoubtedly is skyrocketing as a digital marketing strategy.
But unfortunately, most of the businesses are not utilizing these platforms to the fullest.
At present nothing can beat the reach, branding, conversions, and sales caused by social media marketing.
Considering the fact that most of the world population uses social media channels, it becomes really crucial to use the channels for marketing any type of business.
eCommerce businesses should not just consider using social media but also make sure they utilize the full potential of social media.
If you are involved in social media marketing but in a wrong way then you can not be guaranteed with positive results.
Biggest and Silliest Mistakes to Avoid in Social Media Marketing
Are you doing the mistakes which are stated below? If yes stop doing them right now.
1. Neglecting social media
As we mentioned earlier, most of the businesses are not aware of the power of social media.
Right from startups to small businesses to full-fledged companies, everybody can effectively follow social media marketing strategies to stay ahead of the competition.
If you think your customers are not on social media then you are completely wrong. Almost every demographic of people you can find on social media.
Case Study – Neglecting social media almost killed our startup
2. Start with marketing without a plan
Social media marketing will reap you with zero benefits without a proper plan of action.
Just posting content, using random hashtags doesn’t mean you are using social media effectively.
This is neither going to attract followers or increase your brand awareness.
You need to first identify your business goals and approach the social media channel accordingly.
Without a strong plan of action, your marketing plan can completely fail.
You need to consider your business goals, create a concrete plan, set up a budget, come up with strategies that will help to attain your goal.
Read – How to create a social media marketing plan?
3. Thinking everyone is your audience
Not everybody on social media is interested in your brand.
If you use serious videos to attract kids or younger audience then your efforts will go in vain.
You need to identify your target audience, understand them better, study their interest and then start with social media marketing. Then only it will turn out to be effective.
Your aim is not just to entertain or engage the audience, it is to turn them into customers who buy your products or use your services.
Read: How to Find Your Target Audience on Social Media: 10 Tips to Follow
4. Treating all social media channels equally
If Twitter and Instagram are about hashtags then Facebook is about engaging content.
If Twitter accepts small caption or limited words of content then on Facebook, you can post almost a short story.
Never treat all social media platforms the same.
Every social networking site has its own customs, language, limitations, types of audience and style of content, you have to create marketing strategies accordingly.
Read: Why Marketers Should Stop Treating All Social Platforms the Same
5. Using irrelevant hashtags
Just because Instagram allows you to post 30 hashtags, don’t just blindly hashtag anything.
Hashtag plays a crucial role in social media marketing, especially on channels like Twitter and Instagram.
Hashtags help your brand to get great exposure but it has a downside too.
SO use it wisely.
Make sure whichever hashtags you use are relevant to your brand.
Use your brand name hashtag, products or service related hashtags and other basic hashtags.
Do not try using any negative hashtag even if it is trending as it can create a bad impression of your brand.
6. Switching to automation
Social media is al about interaction and communication.
If you automate the process, how will the target audience interact with you?
If your posts do not have that personal touch then your content will be treated as irrelevant content and you will start losing followers and potential customers.
If you want your social media marketing to work effectively then start creating personalized, inspiring and genuine content.
7. Not responding to comments
Whether positive or negative, responding to comments is a sign of a genuine brand.
It is one of the most common mistakes committed by any business, leaving comments unresponded. This surely annoys followers and creates a bad impression.
If you receive a negative comment, instead of neglecting or replying to it in a toxic way, try to be polite and assure that you’ll take it as a suggestion and work towards improvement.
Never ever ignore or delete any type of comment, unless it’s too offensive or cheap.
8. Too much of bragging
Don’ make your social media pages just about I, me and myself.
Everything about projects, about your products, about your company, events, all this will not be much appreciated by the audience.
Not all are so much interested in your brand.
You are working for the audience, so make sure you create content for the audience and about the audience.
Engage with customers and respond to their inquiries, instead of just promoting your brand.
9. Not having social media policy
Not having a social media policy can be the most dangerous thing for your business.
No matter who handles your social media accounts, it is very crucial for any business to adopt social media policies that give guidelines about what is acceptable and what is not.
It will set off the limits and avoid any sort of sexual, offensive, racist or obscene content.
Make sure your company employees also comply with your policies.
10. Stop being boring
Who loves boring?
Nobody.
Posting 100 posts of the same type are definitely going to look monotonous. Don’t talk just good or great about your brand, everybody knows the reality.
You can get inspired by other creators but don’t copy them.
Just get inspired and blend it with your creativity and innovativeness to make the post more interesting and stand out from others.
Creating a social media presence among the crowd is not at all an easy task. But it isn’t that difficult if you put in the right efforts and use the right strategies. So keep the above mistakes in mind and make sure you avoid doing that next time when you kick off with social media marketing. Use every social media channel wisely and effectively.
