Social media is a very powerful
tool for companies to use, but only if it’s used correctly. Having a great
social media presence can be a great advantage for companies not only with building
brand equity but also with helping to boost sales. Here are 5 common mistakes
that business make when using social media. If you avoid these mistakes then
your company will be on its way to using social media to it’s full potential!
1.) Just using a platform
because you think it’s the most popular or feel like you have to utilize it.
Only create a social media profile on the platforms that are going to be the
most useful for your business. Make sure the platforms are aligned with the
marketing goals of the company and their initiatives and are going to reach the
correct customer demographics and cater to their needs.
2) Forgetting to plan.
Having a schedule and social media plan is critical to the success of your
social media campaign. If you don’t plan ahead, you will feel overwhelmed when
busy season comes and you’ll be scrambling to figure out what to post. Also
trying to just “wing it” will not turn out well in the end. By developing a
plan beforehand, it will make the campaign easier to manage as well as keeping
consistent across platforms. Some helpful sites that can help you organize your
social media plans are SproutSocial (https://sproutsocial.com/
) and HootSuite. (https://hootsuite.com/
).
3) Not catering the post to the
platform. Social media sites are all used in different ways and they all
have their own specific “language.” When you are posting on each of the
platforms, make sure that the information you are writing in is in the specific
language of that social media site. For example, you wouldn’t use Facebook and
Instagram to necessarily convey the same message. All of the platforms have
different features to them that can be used to reach different audiences.
4) Talking @ people instead of
talking with them. The main reason social media is so great is because it’s
interactive and you can really engage with your audience instead of just
telling them information. By having conversations on social media, you are able
to ask questions and are able to learn more about your demographics’ needs and
wants. Asking questions on social media is a great way to generate
conversation.
5) Forgetting to proofread.
The worst mistake a company can do is to forget to proofread their posts and
information that they put out there in the social media world. It looks
unprofessional and puts a damper on the company’s reputation, which no one
wants! Remember to have more than just one person proofread the post before
it’s put on out there on your profiles.
Written by Kathleen Lawson of Rebecca Adele PR & Events
