Why do so many small businesses fail in social media marketing campaigns? How do you ensure your social media is returning the best results for your business?
Social media has penetrated all layers of our society. When used well, social media can be a valuable part of your business’s marketing strategy.
Using a combination of organic and paid social posts can help your business to:
- connect with your ideal customers
- increase brand awareness
- generate leads
- boost revenue and sales
Without a proper understanding of the platforms, or how to engage with your audience, social media can be a costly waste of time.
But, don’t despair. Help is at hand.
The following is a list of 5 common social media fails and how to avoid them.
1. Failure to plan
If you’re failing to plan, you’re planning to fail.
Set a Plan
All destinations start with a road map. Planning and implementing a social marketing strategy is no different.
To succeed in social media marketing, set a clear direction and goal.
Before initiating a marketing campaign, start with the following steps:
- Set SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time specific) goals.
- Identify ideal customer avatar
- Set a budget
- Identify the competition
- Evaluate business ethos and values
Many businesses dive into social media with little to no research. When taking on a new client, I start with having them fill out my Customer Discovery Questionnaire – a set of 15 questions to help me better understand my client, their objectives and pain points.
Taking this vital step ensures I provide my clients with the best viable plan to meet their marketing goals.
2. Failure to attract the right audience
Building a loyal customer base takes time and effort. Your business must establish and nurture its relationship with your customers over a long period. Social media provides your business the platform to share curated content that engage with your ideal customer.
A word of warning: buying fake followers to make the page count look impressive is counterproductive and harmful to your brand.
Social media platforms design algorithms to enhance user experience by identifying and giving priority to posts with greater organic engagement. Fake or bought followers are less likely to engage with posts on your platform. This is bad news for your social media strategy as it affects your page’s ranking. As your ranking drops, the algorithms further restrict the reach of your content to your ideal customers.
Instead of buying fake followers, use targeted campaigns to reach and engage with your ideal customer. Experiment with using different content and analyse results using social metrics.
3. Failure to engage
Far too often, businesses with little understanding of social media fill their feed with promotional content. Unfortunately, this is a surefire way of driving customers away.
To build trust with your audience through social media, create posts that encourage engagement and conversation. This can lead to a boost in:
- website traffic
- leads
- sales
When planning your social media calendar, use a mix of content to drive genuine engagement.
Engage With Audiences
The mix of content includes:
- informative/news worthy
- inspiring
- entertaining
- promotional (including giveaways and discounts)
Be bold. Whilst it’s important to be consistent, don’t be afraid to think outside of the box. But be sure your social media approach is on brand and relevant to your audience.
Optimise engagement by responding to messages and comments made on your page. Social platforms measure the pages’ responsiveness and penalise those which fail to respond within 24 hours.
4. Failure to measure metrics
Your business needs to analyse the impact of its content. To help with this, social media platforms provide metrics. However, some businesses choose to ignore the stats. The data from social media metrics are a clear sign of what’s working and what’s not. Use them to improve your performance and to ensure your marketing efforts are on track.
Analyse Social Metrics
5. Failure to post the right content across the right channels
When resources are scarce and time is short, it’s tempting to take shortcuts in posting the same content across your social media platforms.
Right?
Wrong!
Every social media platform has its own audience, best practices and type of content. The good news is you don’t need to have your business on every platform. Once you’ve identified your audience and narrowed down their characteristics, choose the platform and the content that best engages them with your brand.
Be a Social Media Hero
Have you made any of the above mistakes?
You’re not alone. Social media can be overwhelming.
I get it. As a small business operator, you are very busy. You have a million things to get done in the day.
It is difficult to curate consistent, engaging content. As a result, your social media takes a step back or gets ignored altogether.
Be a Social Media Hero
I can help
I can save you time by writing effective copy for your website, email campaigns, and social media to increase online traffic and visibility, freeing you to get on with what you do best.
Growing your business!
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