4 Social Media Marketing Mistakes You Can Fix Now
Updated: Apr 1, 2021
One of your goals when using social media as part of your marketing strategy is to promote your brand and increase your online exposure. Social media platforms have grown exponentially over a short period of time, and with this growth come a fantastic opportunity to increase your brand awareness and customer reach.
I see these simple mistakes happen all the time; the good news is they can be easily corrected with the right tools and information:
Failing to target your specific audience:
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again (technically it was Seth Godin who said it first) “If you’re selling to everyone, you’re selling to no one.”
“That’s Bananas! What does that even mean?! EVERYONE needs my product or service”, you may be thinking! What that phrase is saying is that everyone absorbs information differently. If you’re trying to sell to everyone with one tactic, you’ll be wasting your efforts on the 95% of people who aren’t hearing your message, don’t want your product, or just plain hate the way you’re trying to sell to them.
Take the time to write out the traits of your IDEAL CUSTOMER, that one person who pays you on time, sings your praises, values your time, refers their friends… you know, the one you would clone to be your entire customer base if you could!
The next key is to find out how that person likes to engage with businesses on social media. Do they follow you for inspiration? For you to educate them? Do they just want to know more about the behind the scenes of your business? Ask the people who you know that model your ideal customer.
Unwilling to engage negative feedback:
Many people have become savvy online buyers who research products and read reviews before they make purchases. People are relying on reviews from complete strangers to make decisions on their purchases.
It’s a mistake not to respond to negative feedback.
Don’t miss this golden opportunity to engage the person who wrote. With an open mind, you have much to gain about this person’s impression and experience. More importantly, the rest of the world is waiting to see how you, as the business owner, will respond to such a remark!
Keep your comments understanding, polite, and to the point. Try your absolute best to see the other person’s side and try and rectify the situation for them. Ask in return for them to upgrade their review to something positive.
How you handle the response is more important than the actual original comment.
Not creating a strong social media strategy:
I see loads of business owners who randomly post when something reminds them they’ve abandoned their Facebook Page for the past 3 weeks.
Your strategy must be clear and concise, with obtainable goals. Your plan should incorporate means of tracking metrics, social listening, and competitive analysis. Set realistic targets and time-frames.
A good strategy will have an ultimate, measurable goal like “build my following by 500 people in 3 months” or “have 3 new signs up this week”. Review your strategy frequently to keep it current and geared towards your goals. You want to be on top of what works and what doesn’t.
Failing to create the human connection:
People want sincerity, honesty, integrity, and of course, authenticity! Interacting with your users with a genuine human connection shouldn’t be ignored. You’re never too busy to be accessible to your customers, after all, you wouldn’t have a business without them!
Try asking your existing followers what they’d like to see from you. You may gain inspiration, insight, and imagination!
Make sure you’re connecting with other businesses and people for brand awareness. Get your name out there by tagging other businesses you visit or partner with.