Social Media Pitfalls To Avoid

Social Media is a powerful tool for growing your business, and you should definitely be making use of it. How exactly you do that can be as much an art as a science, and each business needs to find its own tailored strategy for achieving success.

There are some universal strategies that are guaranteed to do at least somewhat well, but there are also some universal pitfalls guaranteed to damage the standing of your business. Today we’re going to talk about those pitfalls, how they can hurt you, and how to avoid falling prey to them.

Going In Without A Plan

The most basic mistake you can make when you’re planning your Social Media strategy, is to not have a strategy at all. Taking to social media without a plan means all the energy you’re expending is unfocused, and will more than likely be wasted. You’ll be putting in all the effort with none of the rewards, leaving you in a worse situation than if you’d done nothing at all.

The key to solving this is to make a plan and stick to it. Sit down and figure out what exactly it is you hope to gain from this campaign, and develop a strategy that will help you achieve that goal.

Also remember that consistent posting is one of the keys to success, so make sure you’ve got a regular calendar of content planned.

A clear goal and a path to get there will help to make sure your Social Media strategy leads to the rewards it should.

Trying To Be On Every Platform

Small Businesses are busy places, there’s lots to do and only so many people to do it all. You’re likely familiar with having to juggle a diverse range of tasks, keeping a multitude of plates spinning at once.

If you understand the struggles of this, then it probably won’t surprise you to hear that attempting to build a presence on every Social Media platform is a bad idea.

There’s a near endless number of Social Media platforms out there that you could target, and each new one you add to your plate is another task that needs regular work to keep up with.

Not all of those platforms are going to be worth pursuing in the first place, so consider carefully before committing to using them. An abandoned Social Media account is a bad look, better to not have it floating about to begin with.

Consider your options carefully, and only choose the platform or platforms that will be a good fit for your business.

Failing To Read The Room

There’s no quicker way to sink your reputation on Social Media than to be insensitive. Keep abreast of current events, news travels quickly through the digital world, and what seemed like a great idea last week may not be anymore. In general you should be avoiding politics and other topics of controversy, it’s incredibly easy to be seen as selfish or out of touch.

Basic faux pas can be avoided by always making sure at least two people are involved in the creation of your Social Media content. One to write it, and another to proofread it. Stick to your area of expertise and you should be on safe ground.

Only Selling, Not Engaging

This is a common mistake to make, and a devastating one.

When presented with a new channel through which to market their business, many people will see this as a way to sell their products and services, and do just that. Their content becomes an endless stream of advertisements, and everyone stops paying attention to it. If running ads is what you’re looking for, take out a radio spot.

The best way to use your Social Media presence is to engage with your audience. Use your platform to humanise your brand, show off your company culture, and build a community around it. Ask questions of your audience, answer theirs, and share blogs, articles, and reviews that relate to your business.

Your Social Media should be helping you to build a relationship with your Customers and foster loyalty that will naturally turn into sales over time.

This doesn’t mean you can’t advertise at all, in fact your socials are a great way to promote events, sales, and other limited time offers. Use them to get your community excited, and make sure to interact with those that respond. Engagement is the key.

Failing To Keep Records

Forgetting our mistakes dooms us to repeat them, and forgetting our successes makes it difficult to replicate them. Failing to keep records of the performance of your Social Media content will make it impossible to keep track of what works and what doesn’t.

What time of day should you post your content? How many times a week should you post? Who’s sharing your content? Whose content have you shared? What have you got planned for the future, and how well do you expect it to do?

Being able to answer these questions will make it a heck of a lot easier for you to utilise the full potential of your Social Media platforms. Not keeping records after you begin is a lot like not developing a plan beforehand, it leaves you flailing in the dark, unaware how to proceed. If you’re going to put the effort into trying to do this right, make sure that effort isn’t going to be for nought.

There they are, five traps your Social Media campaign can fall prey to, and how best to avoid them. Social Media can be a lot of work, but if done right, it can be extremely rewarding work. Make sure you’re doing it right, you’ve got enough to do without wasting time on ineffective campaigns.