The most recent estimates put the number of social media users at 2.1 billion people worldwide, making it by far one of the most lucrative platforms for reaching customers. The ability to engage customers, target ads, create a brand, and manage a following has turned the traditional world of business on its head and made a lot of unsuspecting nerdy people rich (and some poor, too).
Even with all of the advancements and changes in the social marketing world, there are still some basic blunders that many people are making that should be avoided at all costs. So here are 3 more social media marketing mistakes that could cause your business to suffer.
1) Caring too much about reach
Any marketer worth their salt will know that simply buying likes, followers, or friends isn’t going to do much to help your cause, and in many cases could hurt your SEO or business. But there are still many people who put too much time and effort into expanding their reach (the amount of people that have the possibility of seeing your posts).
What many don’t realize is that the algorithms on Facebook and other sites adjust what users see based on a myriad of factors. Who has time to look at all of those photos of people’s pets, and interact with a business, too? Chances are that even if your reach is far, that most of your friends won’t see what you post anyway because their walls are adjusted to different preferences. What you should concentrate on is quality. That is, quality content, quality friends, and quality timing (see #2).
2) Posting content too often
Using your social media to promote your business is a great idea, but overdoing it is one of the most common social media marketing mistakes. Many people don’t even return to pages once they like them, and if you are crowding their view, it could be detrimental to your overall game. According to TheSocialBusiness, brands that posted only 4 or 5 times per week received 71% higher user engagement. This is most likely because it seems more natural, is more concentrated, and doesn’t annoy the users much. On top of that, posts at peak times are far more likely to be interacted with. For example evenings on Facebook or midday on Twitter are much better for customer engagement.
3) Not scouting the enemy
Watch Game of Thrones long enough and you will see that any good leader is going to know the enemy before committing to anything. Same thing can be applied to your social media strategy. See who the top ranked businesses are in your niche, scope out what they are up to, and try to replicate anything you think can be brought over successfully. See how their profile looks, when they post, how engaged they are, and what their content is like. When a North Carolina pharmacist saw the success of Coca-Cola, he made a sugary cola drink and called it Pepsi. The rest is history.
Harnessing the power of social media to engage your audience, grow your brand, and ultimately drive sales should be a major objective of any company. Using marketing the right way can be extremely profitable, but doing it wrong could mean a lot of wasted time and money. Make sure to take heed of these warnings, and not fall into the trap of making these 3 common social media mistakes.
For help with your social media marketing campaign, trust the experts at BlueHat Marketing.
