1. Lack of planning
As with any business activity, social media needs planning. A social media marketing plan needs objectives, strategies, a realistic allocation of time and money and a clear understanding of why you are doing it.
2. Not talking to the market
It’s essential to build a relevant audience of customers and potential customers for each social media outlet. Make sure your posts are relevant to their needs, so that your community grows and reacts positively to what you say.
3. Over-promoting your business
Avoid hyping your business too much – if you spend all your time talking about yourself and how brilliant you are, the message will be lost. Look at what other, related businesses have to offer, and don’t be afraid of promoting someone else’s (relevant) products.
4. Neglecting your social media accounts
If you are a small business, you may be too busy to post every day, but remember that if followers see your blog or Facebook account as inactive, they won’t engage with you. Set time aside to deal with your social media accounts at least once a week. If you genuinely can’t afford the time, it might be better not to get involved with social media marketing.
5. Failing to be businesslike
Posts on your business Facebook page should be different from those on your personal account. Avoid being too personal, and unless it’s entirely relevant, don’t share your political or social views.
6. Ignoring what your followers say to you
If someone responds to a blog post, acknowledge it politely – even if it’s critical or disagreeable. Respond positively and quickly to any comments on social networks. If you just ignore what people say, it could indicate that you’re unresponsive – and if they feel that, they’re likely to go elsewhere.
7. Failing to respond to negative feedback
No business is perfect, and dissatisfied customers may sometimes post negative comments about your business. Don’t ignore the comments and don’t delete them, even if you can. Instead, try to deal with the issue immediately and positively – don’t be defensive or aggressive.
8. Too much, too soon
There are dozens of social media outlets available. The temptation is to leap in with accounts on all of them, as well as running a blog, but even for businesses with sufficient resources this does not necessarily make sense. Consider starting with one or two outlets, and building from there.
9. Not measuring
It’s vitally important to measure whether the resources you devote to social media marketing are well spent. Your social media plan needs measurable goals and targets. Check what analytics are available for the social media platform you use, and search online for tools to measure your key metrics.
10. Failing to see what’s right for you
Not all social media is right for every type of business, Facebook and Google Plus are more suited to B2C than B2B businesses, whereas LinkedIn is less relevant for consumer marketers.
