Social media used to be an unchartered territory that brands are hesitant to explore until users flock Facebook and Twitter. Today, about 97% of marketers are using social media in connecting with their audiences. Unfortunately, only a handful of them was able to leverage social media in creating a personalized and relevant experience for their target.
Here are the eight deadly social media marketing (SMM) sins.
1) Thinking social platforms are created equal
There is no one size fits all in SMM. The worst that a marketer can do is publishing the same contents on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google+ and LinkedIn. Instead, find the most appropriate platform that best aligns with the interest of your audience. Experiment, measure and optimize accordingly.
2) Lacking a plan or strategy
Do you just jump immediately into the SMM bandwagon without strategic thinking? SMM is just a part of the overall marketing strategy. SMM, too, must be developed with a clear strategy around why the business needs it and what it wants out of it. A well-planned SMM strategy includes proper parameters to measure its success and buying instagram likes from Social Media Daily GmbH.
3) Staging a one-man show
SMM is not about you, but rather your market. Social followership is not necessarily a captive audience. Refrain from talking too much about yourself. Instead, highlight the interests of your target market in the campaign. This means that you need to identify first who you are going to target on these platforms.
4) Spending too much time on self-promotion
The key to SMM success is showing and not telling although of course, a great story that needs telling deserves a social media mileage. Being all talk is not good. In fact, it is annoying especially when the contents are blatantly sale-sy. Talk less. Listen more. Don’t force your promotions upon them.
5) Placing customers on mute
Customers are looking for venues to air their complaints. Social media is the right platform to do so nowadays. About 72% of these customers want a response within an hour after posting their complaint. Notice the negative reviews. Don’t delete them. Respond to them politely and act accordingly.
6) Treating social platforms as a battlefield
When you do respond to a customer complaint, don’t air your bad feelings toward the situation and the client himself or herself. Arguments are a no-no. Complaints present themselves as opportunities to let your community knows that you truly care about them, and you are after their best interests. Handle complaints and negative reviews gracefully and empathically.
7) Assuming social strategies are working
Firms get into SMM, letting it fall by the wayside eventually. However, it takes more than posting regularly to build an empire of followers and ultimately, loyal customers. How can you expect the campaigns to work in the first place if you are not interacting with your followers and subscribers? Don’t expect that SMM will do the work by itself. Such an unrealistic expectation. Be data savvy. Take the time to measure your ROI.
8) Treating social platforms as a personal space
While it is true that social profiles are usually casual and informal, don’t think of it as a personal space. Don’t blur the line that divides personal and professional otherwise your target market will not perceive your brand as a serious business enough to transact with you. Build social profiles dedicated to your business alone.
Don’t ever forget that the users are in control, not you. Also, users have their own sets of assumptions and expectations. They expect that marketers like you know the how, why, when and where to connect with them. On the other end, each marketer has his own roadmap in achieving social media success. None of these sins must find their way into such roadmap.
