Social media marketing is more than just tweeting a few times each week. Social media is a significant marketing communication platform. It's a digital space that can be utilized for furthering your brand’s digital presence. For these reasons and more, it deserves the same methodical approach as any other marketing channel. Here are some of the top social media marketing mistakes made by brands.
Not organizing your content
You develop editorial calendars to take a more strategic approach to your brand's content marketing. In the same way, content calendars should be developed to manage social media marketing efforts. Knowing what will be published in advance allows you the opportunity to develop supporting material for social media needs. For example you can plan ahead to have a designer help create corresponding social media graphics or videos. And it also gives the entire team an idea of what will be posted on what channels. Content posted to social media platforms should align with the rest of the marketing campaign calendar. Anything posted should serve the additional purpose of supporting broader sales and marketing initiatives rather than just being done on the fly.
Being a selfish poster
A brand’s entire feed shouldn’t just be about the brand itself. Self-promotional content doesn’t adequately speak to your audiences, and it doesn’t fit with the concept of social media in general. Social media platforms are a space to share and engage. That means you should occasionally considering reposting or resharing material from others (thought leaders or innovators that are relevant to your space) or responding directly to accounts that are having intelligent conversation that fits your brand. This, of course, has to be handled with care. You wouldn’t want your brand to accidentally engage with a troll or offensive account. But it’s important to make your brand an engaged member of the greater social community to fully leverage the benefits of being socially active in the first place.
Focusing on quantity over quality
Your social media audience should be relevant. You don’t just need general followers. Having the right followers is more valuable than having a large number of general followers who aren’t actually interested in your content or won’t end up becoming leads in your pipeline. The ultimate purpose of investing in social media marketing is to further business goals, such as communication with potential customers or influencers.
Forgetting to have fun
What’s awesome about social media is that it can be a place to be a little daring and exciting because it’s a different kind of communication platform. The brands that make headlines are the ones that don’t take themselves too seriously or treat social media platforms like basic, traditional marketing platforms. The tone is more conversational because the format lends itself to interactions on a large scale that weren’t previously possible. You can get real-time feedback and responses from your audience.
Forgetting to have diverse review of content
Yes, social media can be a fun space, but too many brands make headlines for majorly messing this up. Perhaps it’s the fast pace of social media. It’s a forum that demands speedy action. To safeguard against making damaging faux pas, your social media strategy shouldn’t be developed in a vacuum. You need diverse perspectives involved in the conversation when content is developed and approved. It shouldn’t just be someone young that you pass off the responsibility to. Inexperienced individuals shouldn’t be the ultimate voice when it comes to developing and implementing social media marketing strategy in the same way you would want someone with experience to manage the general marketing strategy.
The most effective social media marketing strategy is just one offshoot of a larger, cumulative strategy that receives input from business leaders across the board.
Not getting internal buy-in with a company-wide social media policy
Your employees can be your biggest supporters when it comes to social media, especially in the beginning when you’re first building an audience. It’s important to provide regular updates so the entire team feels included and enthusiastic. That way they can anticipate when critical updates will be posted so they can plan to engage and share to further your brand’s reach through their own networks. It’s also important to provide guidance so they know what expectations are for their conduct on social. Your employees are considered an extension of your brand online, so if their social media behavior or lack thereof isn’t aligned with your overall social media marketing identity, it will ultimately reflect poorly on the entire brand.
For more information on developing a successful social media marketing strategy, set up a consultation now.
