What are the 6 Common Mistakes of Social Media Marketing?

1. No Strategy

Just posting without planning is like trying to get the attention of a crowd at a live concert, where the music is already blaring.  It’s the fastest way to waste time and resources, and the easiest way to create a PR disaster.  A clear strategy will define the goals (brand awareness and increased revenue are your likely goals), clear measurable objectives (100 new enquiries per week or per month).

2. No Target Market

Many businesses are blindly posting, without been specific about which segment of their target market they are wanting to reach out to.  Knowing where your ideal clients are hanging out on social media is the first step to deciding which social media platforms to concentrate on.  It may not be Facebook.  It may not even be LinkedIn.   Furthermore, you probably have three or four types of client that you have defined as your ‘ideal client’, and its a good idea to look at each one individually and work out which social media channel is best to connect with them.

3. Talking without listening

When you post on social media, you need to be ready to respond to the comments and questions, otherwise your prospective clients will assume your not interested in them.  A good Social Media strategy will need a team member dedicated to keeping a watchful eye over your social media platforms, and ideally responding with 30 minutes of a question been posted by a prospective client or current customer.

4. Enlisting Subscribers

Signing up new connections on Facebook or LinkedIn to your email newsletter is the fastest way to offend your target market.  They will sign up when (and if) they choose to.  Desperate business owners sometimes  go home from networking events and add contact details to every business card they’ve collected, so everyone starts receiving their emails.  No one wants unwanted junk mail clogging up their inbox….there are far better ways to start the relationship than this.

5. Random Activity

Posting to social media on an ad-hoc basis will not be enough to engage your target market, and they will stop following you on social media.  Be consistent in your posting.  Savvy companies are blogging a big 1400 word post on their websites once a month, and then stripping down the article into bit sizes Facebook and LinkedIn posts and updates that include the link to read the full article.  Weekly and even daily posts can can easily created from the one big blog post and images, infographics, videos, checklists and lead magnets can all be easily created so your prospective clients and loyal customers get to engage and interact with you daily.

6. Fake Followers

Buying Fans off Fiverr and from other offshore outsourcing companies might make you appear like you have a lot of fans and followers, but when no one responds to your posts and updates, the real potential clients will clearly see that something is not quite right….and they will be suspicious of you from the get go.  You won’t stand a chance in getting them to trust you.