Social media has been an amazing platform for sharing ideas, insights and has already impacted many businesses, societies, as well as culture.
Many businesses have the wrong impression about social media marketing. Some think it’s just a tweet-share-profit process, but sadly it is not. This type of mentality will only serves to hurt the brand’s image and by extension, profit. Most businessmen think “How hard can social media marketing be?”
As a matter of fact, most businessmen that jump right to social media marketing without first developing a plan of action is actually strategically placing themselves for failure. Like playing a game of chess, it’s always a good strategy to plan your moves carefully before executing them. So with a smart, well thought out and proactive strategy, most social media mistakes can be avoided.
Here are some of those mistakes:
- Misunderstanding the work that needs to be done
Others think managing a social media account is easy, after all almost everyone has it. Well sadly that isn’t true. A simple tweet may be 140 characters long but all those characters need to work cohesively to inspire the right action from your followers and cause them to tweet right back to your message.
Replying to all those tweets can be very time consuming, it’s not just your everyday job. You need to be at it 24/7. If you’re struggling to manage your social media accounts, you’re going to have to hire a social media manager or outsource to a social media management firm. We at The Fields Agency can help fulfill your online marketing needs, so you can focus entirely on more pressing matters. We can not only help you bring in new customers but also retain old ones.
- Not knowing your audience
Assuming the needs of your audience and relying on gut rather than facts will ultimately lead you to failure in social media marketing. You have to know your audience, kind of like courting a love interest. You need to know what they like and the things that make them smile.
You have to research your target audience and understand their unique needs before investing in your social media plan. So investing with an agency that has the right skill sets and strategy will definitely help you. Here at The Fields Agency, we have just that. Strategic research on your audience to better fit their needs and yours.
- Underestimating the competition
As you build your social media account, similar companies are doing the same. To underestimate your rival’s capabilities and the amount of competition you have is setting yourself up for defeat. The internet is filled with so many competitors that sometimes it can be difficult to get a foothold on your target market. Big and little businesses both struggle to grab your audience’s attention which is why you need to stand out. You need to build an edge that will set you apart from the competition, otherwise you’ll be left behind in the race to grow your brand through social media.
- Not setting goals
Why would you set goals? This is the bar you have to set for yourself, or the standard you have to reach. For instance, hitting 1k likes per month, or 1k followers, these are benchmarks for a goal-driven social media strategy. if you don’t understand your baseline numbers, you won’t have any clear basis for assessing your social marketing campaign’s success or failure.
- Too much marketing too little value
One bad move you might already be making is to put in too much marketing at the expense of your value and content. Many of today’s tech-savvy customers won’t appreciate it if everything you post online becomes a thin veiled sales pitch. You need to post things of value and not put a backlink to your site in all your posts. This is just bad marketing. Be sure to avoid these little pitfalls that could ultimately damage your brand.
- Too many networks, too little content
This is another big problem a lot of businesses face. Throwing a huge thin blanket on all the available social media platforms. This is when there’s not enough content and fluff to cover all the sites. Consistency is key here. Start with a few social media platforms and work your way from there. If you’re struggling with it, you call always contact us for a consultation. Posting 2-3 times per week is a good goal for your brand. Just make sure to post content that is of value and not just irrelevant or unwanted content.
All in all, social media marketing is pretty much an art as it is a science. The trick is to really understand your plan and your audience. So keep at it and move up the ladder to social media marketing glory. If you get stuck along the way, The Field’s Agency is happy to help!