It has only been a few short years since social media became a part of everyday life. However, it has quickly become an essential marketing tool for every business. Much like how websites used to only be for huge corporations and were unnecessary for small and medium-sized businesses, they are now used by almost everyone, and so is social media marketing. Even local independent businesses use Facebook pages for open and closing times, and other advertisements. It’s an accepted truth that if a client can’t find you on social media, they are more likely to go with another business than look for you elsewhere.
Social media marketing is now essential for all businesses. However as a relatively new phenomenon, key strategies are still developing, and best practices are still being debated. A few things are generally accepted in this new and necessary strategy though. And certain mistakes should be avoided at all costs in order to ensure your social media presence is effective.
1. Posting Irrelevant Viral Content
While it may be clear that certain content around the web is guaranteed to get likes and shares, when this has nothing to do with your business, it is unlikely to translate into any tangible benefits for your business. While sharing the odd humorous post is harmless, the bulk of your social media content should be directly relevant to your business. Your clients and followers should be able to learn about you, and should also gain confidence in the services you provide. Simply getting likes won’t benefit your business if your likes are not from your targeted audience of customers, or if they don’t provide any information on what can be expected from your company. Establishing a relationship with your customers is all with the purpose of gaining their custom, not just appealing to their sense of humor.
2. Posting Poor Content
While the pressure of posting regularly may tempt some businesses to rush out low-quality content, or even duplicate existing content from around the web, this is ultimately an ineffective strategy. Posts like these may put customers off your business in general if your posts are sloppy and unprofessional. Plus social media should be used to help promote your content alongside SEO. There is no use improving one without the other, and so posting poor content that will drag down your SEO won’t help with your marketing, even if it means you have something to put on social media.
With this in mind, many businesses outsource their writing tasks to professionals who have the time and experience to produce high-quality content correctly. You can find writers on some sites such as UpWork and Freelancer by posting an ad and deciding on your own budget, as well as interviewing candidates to find the best fit. Other services are more simplified and automated, such as Fiverr or PeoplePerHour, where the professionals list their services as a gig or hourlie, and you just select the service matched with your requirement.
3. Not Finding Balance
When you post, you should be friendly, approachable, and write as if you’re talking to a friend in order to actually engage with your potential customers. However, while having an opinion and taking a stance on certain issues is great, it is also necessary to maintain an element of professionalism. You don’t need to be stuffy or formal, but you should be as professional as possible in order to keep a good reputation in your industry.
4. Failing to Use Online Writing Tools
Before you post anything, you should use various online resources to make sure you’re writing is as good as possible. Some online courses and guides are available online, even in the form of user-friendly video guides. You can check you are achieving the recommended word count of more than 300 words with WordCounter, and before you post anything, you should check it for common mistakes with Hemingway App. Once your post is ready to be uploaded, you need to make sure it has a catchy title that your audience will be tempted to click on which is easily accomplished with Headline Analyzer.
5. Neglecting Their Audience
Some businesses act as though posting content is enough, and that no further engagement with their clients is necessary. This is absolutely not the case – it is utterly essential to engage with the people who like, comment, question, or share your content. Even negative comments deserve a response, as the beauty of this platform is the two-way channel of communication it opens. Failing to use that channel results in your audience feeling neglected.
6. Wasting Energy on Irrelevant Platforms
Solid content marketing requires a lot of time and effort, so maintaining accounts on multiple platforms accordingly multiplies the time and effort required. Don’t waste this energy on social media platforms that won’t prove helpful to you – it’s generally good practice to focus on Facebook, Twitter, and maybe LinkedIn too, depending on what you’re marketing. Some industries may benefit from different sites – it’s a matter of locating your audience online.
7. Not Sticking to a Schedule
Without a doubt, there is a need for regular posts, and your content should include some kind of strategy, so your posts are coherent and frequent. Leaving long gaps between sporadic posts is one of the worst things you can do over the course of your marketing.
Social media is a necessity for businesses today, and the above mistakes should be avoided if you really want your business to grow.
This article is written by Sharon Conwell. She has been a content manager and ghost writer of over 20 online projects. Now she is a part-time educator and an editor at assignment writing service called Big Assignments. She’s specializing in content creation and optimization. She loves coffee, tulips and her Shih Tzu named Bobby. Follow her on LinkedIn.
