5 Social Media Marketing Mistakes You'll Want to Avoid | Social Joey
You have it all worked out! You have your business, you have your social media platforms, you have your content strategy— what else could you need? You’re all set up for success! Right?
Yet, nothing. Nada. You aren’t seeing much social media engagement from your audience. No response. Where are all the retweets, likes and shares?
Does no one see the content you are putting out there?
If you’re feeling like this, trust us—you are not alone! Admitting there’s a problem is the first step toward fixing it and finding success.
Are your social media marketing efforts not getting results? Let’s take a look at some reasons why your posts aren’t succeeding—and what can be done to turn things around!
Problem 1: You Aren’t Building a Community
When you are establishing a social media presence to target your audience, you also want to build a sense of community.
However, if you are marketing to your community in the wrong way, then you are not going to be able to build the following (or trust) you desire for your brand.
First things first, you need to quit thinking of your company as a brand. Your target audience doesn’t want to be friends with a brand.
They want to be friends with something they can believe in and trust. How do you help establish your company as that resource?
You build your community in the right way, which means:
- Being honest
- Being generous
- Listening to your target audience
- Making your business easy to find
- Knowing your target audience
- Solving problems for your target audience
Once your social media posts start proving that your brand has value, then your target audience will arrive. They are just waiting for you to show them!
Problem 2: You’re on Social Media But Not Advertising
While you are posting and trying to gain feedback on your social media platforms, that doesn’t mean that advertising goes out the window.
No, ma’am! Even on social media, you still need to be advertising. That old school marketing method still rings true for consumers nowadays, it’s just different.
If you want to reach your target audience where they are—which is on social media—the best, most cost-effective way to do so is to put some of your budget toward social media advertising.
These days, you can essentially advertise, “boost” or sponsor posts on any platform, including:
- Snapchat
Problem 3: You Fell for the Online Tricks
When it comes to social media marketing, it can be all too easy to fall for schemes that promise tons of followers and lots of likes.
But you cannot cheat the system when it comes to building a social media following, so don’t even waste your time thinking you can.
Even though it’s going to take some time to build an authentic following, it’s an important step in reaching your target audience and building your brand.
Consider this—in the end, it’s far more important to target the right audience and followers than it is to artificially inflate your engagement and follower metrics.
Problem 4: You’re Ignoring Data
If you aren’t measuring your performance, you’re just guessing at how successful it is. Data is an important way to keep track of how you’re doing on social media.
While metrics and analytics aren’t—and shouldn’t be—the be-all, end-all when it comes to your social media content, they can help you truly see what’s happening on social media and how you can improve. By looking at what posts garner the most engagement and impressions, you can see what type of content your audience is most responsive to and adjust your content strategy moving forward to align.
To discover how effective your social media marketing campaigns are, consider starting with:
- Facebook Analytics
- Facebook Insights
- Google Analytics
Remember, while likes and shares are always welcome, there is so much more going on behind the scenes. That, my friends, is the engagement you want to be tracking and taking into account when trying to improve your ROI and market to your audience!
Problem 5: You Are Running Like the “Big Dogs” When You Are Still A Puppy
Oscar Wilde once said, “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness.”
And it’s natural for us to try and imitate or duplicate the efforts of successful people and organizations. However, if you are trying to imitate a company that’s much larger in size and backed by years of history, that might not be the most successful option.
The key to success on social media is creating customized content that both speaks for your brand and makes an impression with your target audience. The tactics that will work for your company in its current state may not be the ones that work for another company.
OK, so you want to be a brand easily recognized like Coca-Cola’s red or McDonald’s golden arches. That’s great—and maybe you can build up to that!
But for now, start building your following within your local community. These things take time, after all.
The Bottom Line
Did you recognize your company in any of the social media mistakes we’ve outlined above? If so, that’s OK—we’ve all been there!
Now that you know, what are you going to do about it? Rather than go back to the drawing board, why not allow our team to help you adjust course and find your best path forward on social media? We’ll help you get things hopping!
Can’t seem to find the right blend of social media content? Let our team of social media ninjas, content wizards and advertising gurus at Social Joey go to work for you!