What are a few common social media mistakes businesses usually make?

Social media has become one of the most powerful tools in a company’s marketing arsenal. The problem is that many businesses don’t quite know how to use it properly. There are a lot of missed opportunities out there. If you’re like most businesses, there’s a good chance you’re making social media mistakes without even realizing it.

We can’t help you fix everything in a single discussion, but we can definitely get you started. Our team of social media marketing experts has put together some of the most common mistakes that we’ve noticed over the years.

Not Having a Social Media Strategy

One of the most obvious social media mistakes that a business can make is not having a social media strategy to begin with. Social media has made it very easy for companies to engage with their target audience in ways that have never been possible before. But, if you don’t formulate a plan and learn how to make that happen, then it might as well not even exist.

Using Too Many Social Media Platforms

There are many social media platforms out there, and some businesses decide to use as many as they can. While that’s not the worst strategy, it’s easy to overdo it. After a while, you can start inundating your own customers with too many separate posts to the point where they lose interest altogether. Plus, it’s hard to keep up with a dozen social media channels at once.

Inappropriate or Offensive Content

It’s true that companies will often get noticed for being edgy, but there’s definitely a limit to this. If you start posting inappropriate or offensive content on a regular basis, you better be ready for some blowback. Certain off-color jokes have been taken very badly by the general populace and caused great harm to a company’s reputation.

Haphazardly Taking a Political Stand

Even just writing this, we’re choosing our words very carefully. It’s no secret that we’re currently living in a very sensitive political climate. Simultaneously, it seems like no one wants to chime in and everyone wants to chime in.

Sadly, you can sometimes get roped into a political controversy without even trying. Our suggestion is to simply avoid being direct unless that’s an accepted part of your brand’s history.

Missing Important Trending Topics

One of the biggest social media mistakes that can cost a company dearly is missing out on a topic or news story that starts trending. You don’t want to look like some kind of “Johnny come lately” who isn’t paying attention to what’s going on in the world and then desperately trying to take advantage of it. Your best strategy is to use the services of a professional marketing agency whose social media manager will stay on point with trending topics.

Ignoring Feedback and Questions

One of the best things about a company’s social media page is that it allows customers to directly interact with the business. They can leave feedback about the business itself or its products or services.

Potential and existing customers can also ask questions. The problem is that too many companies ignore their customers’ posts. You can’t answer every single post if you have a busy page, but try to interact as much as you can.

Deleting/Ignoring Negative Feedback

No one likes to receive negative feedback. Some negative comments can be quite nasty, despite efforts by certain platforms (we’re looking at you, Facebook!) to curtail verbal attacks. But, you should look at these as an opportunity.

If you can respond with professionalism and kindness, and perhaps address their issue or fix any problem they’ve had with your company, you could impress them and anyone else reading the comments.

Promoting Yourself Way Too Much

It’s no secret that social media is a promotional tool. Even people who don’t have a business will use their social media platforms to promote them in a personal way. That being said, if you’re constantly advertising your product or service, or if every post is a pat on the back, you’re making a big mistake. Just make sure that you’re keeping a healthy balance between promotion and friendly chat.

Focusing on Quantity Over Quality

Choosing quantity over quality has been a problem with businesses ever since the first social media platform was formed. If you’re constantly posting on social media and not really saying anything of substance, customers will quickly get bored.

Sure, they may see the notifications, but after a while, the notifications won’t mean much. You should probably only post three or four times each day. But, more importantly, you need to write a high-quality post every single time.

Ignoring What Competitors Are Doing

Too many companies don’t pay attention to what their competitors are doing on social media. This could be a big mistake because they may be engaging in a social media strategy that’s leaving you in the dust. Perhaps they’re engaging with customers in new and exciting ways that you simply haven’t thought of yet. There’s nothing wrong with borrowing some ideas, because we guarantee that they’ve done the same thing with their own competitors, including you, when given the chance.

Not Understanding a Platform’s Nuances

Each social media platform has its own set of rules and guidelines that you must follow, but each also has its own set of nuances. There are certain ways that people act and respond to each other. Some platforms are more informal, while others use emojis and specific ways of responding. Even though you’re representing a business, you need to understand what these nuances are and implement them so that you fit in.

Not Measuring the Results of Your Efforts

If you’re posting on social media and not measuring the results, then you might as well be doing it for fun. If that’s your goal, then so be it, but we’re guessing you want to get more out of it. Each social media platform has its own analytics.

You can also use Google Analytics and other third-party tools. The best strategy is to hand everything over to a professional marketing agency that can take care of posting and analysis in one fell swoop.

Contact P3 Agency to Avoid Social Media Mistakes

P3 Agency provides digital marketing, graphic design, search engine optimization (SEO), social media marketing, and web design in Clearwater and the surrounding areas. If you need help avoiding social media mistakes or would like a free, no-obligation business marketing analysis, give us a call at (727) 474-9064 today.