3 Easy Mistakes You Can Avoid In Social Media Marketing

If you run your own business then you will know how important it is to keep your social media pages populated with information. You also need to make sure that you connect with your customers as much as possible. If you don’t then you may find that you end up losing out, and that you also run the risk of compromising your marketing strategy.

Your Social Media Strategy

If you want your campaign to be successful, then you have to make sure that you keep on building on your presence. You also need to think about your goals and your followers overall because if you don’t then you may find that you are pushing content that isn’t required, nor relevant. If you are not quite sure what your goals are, in terms of social media then you’ll want to think about whether you want to gain followers, likes, sales or leads. If you determine your goals early-on, then you will soon find that it is easier than ever before for you to cement your brand’s legacy. Social media marketing can easily suck hours of productive time from both you and your staff. You may even find that you don’t get anything in return sometimes and this can be incredibly frustrating, to say the least. If you want to get around this then you need to make sure that you set measurable goals, as mentioned above, as well as creating an actionable plan that will help you to achieve them. This will give you the chance to set time limits so that you do not end up wasting time on endeavours which are fruitless.

Mistake One- Not Addressing Negative Comments

Ignoring negative comments is one of the best ways for you to ruin your entire Facebook or social media campaign. The negative comments that people post on your profile might not get much of a response from your other users, but at the end of the day, it can hurt your business overall. You might not be aware of this, but just a few negative comments can go on to influence thousands of other people. They may see the comment or the review, and make absolutely no mention of it anywhere else. At the end of the day though, they may have every intention of not purchasing through your brand as a result and this can really work against you. Respond to any negative comments you have with messages, that will convert your negatives users into positive buyers who are advocates for your brand.

How to Deal with Negative Comments

Did you know that 58% of tweets about negative customer experiences go unaddressed by companies? Responding to any social media mentions, whether they are positive or negative will really help you to engage your followers and it may even help you to give your brand a positive reputation. Take a look below to see some more actionable steps you can take:

• Don’t delete negative comments or mentions
• Ask the customer to email or call you
• Remember that you can’t control the message, but you can control how you respond
• Ensure that employees don’t post personal messages on brand channels
• Don’t hire an agency to act as your customer service team

So, these are just a few steps you can take to try and make sure that you do not harm your brand through negative comments on social media. As mentioned above, you need to make sure that you do not hire an agency to act as your customer service team. The main reason for this is because they might not know your brand or message as well as you’d like, and your customers will often see right through this. If you want to work around that then you need to make sure that you do everything you can to teach your own staff to communicate with your customers, as this will strengthen your brand, the trust that your customers have in you and your staff skills overall. For bigger companies, this might not be as much of an option. This is understandable, so if you have no choice but to hire an outsourced customer service centre, do make sure that they know the message you’re trying to put out and that they communicate accordingly.

It’s also important to avoid:

• Using legal threats to silence your customers
• Avoid using negative feedback in return
• Waiting days to respond to messages

Mistake Two- Being a Faceless Corporation

Another mistake you’ll want to avoid is being a faceless corporation that doesn’t have any kind of human touch. People like people, and if you are too corporate then you may find that your customers see right through this. Social media is all about communication. If you are a faceless corporation then you will be out of place on social media. When you are posting on your social media profile, you have to make sure that you add a human touch. When you respond to a comment on social media, try and make sure that you do not respond with your corporate or stock message. Instead, reply with a message that addresses the person in question on a personal basis.

How to Avoid Being a Faceless Corporation

• Use personalised responses
• Incorporate your brand image
• Avoid using automated messages
• Use your own name when talking to customers

Little things like this can make your brand seem more friendly and it can also help you to stand out amongst the crowd as well.

Mistake Three- Over-Promoting Yourself

Social media really is all about being sociable and communicating well. At the end of the day, people hate those who are always trying to promote themselves too much. When it comes to social media, it’s helpful to be subtle. If you are not subtle, then you may find that you struggle and that you also find it difficult to resonate with your customers. If you want to make sure that you don’t end up over-promoting yourself then here are a few things that you can do.

How to Avoid Over-Promoting Yourself

• Engage in conversation
• Don’t always promote salesy posts
• Try and be helpful and informational
• Write about your skills to the advantage of others

If you are not quite sure how to write about your skills to the advantage of others, then you’ll be glad to know that this is very easy to do. If you are a website designer for example, then write about how to create a good site. You could post about blogs, AdWords or even the use of header images. At the end of the post, finish with your contact details and a call to action. When you do this, you will soon find that you can establish yourself as being an influencer in the industry without having to worry about too much self-promotion.