Social Media: 5 Mistakes Businesses Make

Have you noticed the social media logos everywhere you go? From products, to t.v. shows, to advertisements, social media is here to stay. Businesses and brands understand the importance of social, and they scramble to get on it. Other businesses on the other hand fall behind due to a lack of resources or understanding. Whatever way you spin it, times can get difficult and even more frustrating. If you don’t know how to spend your time on social media or are spending too much time on it, let’s discuss what you may be doing wrong and how to fix it.

1. You NEED a social strategy

Let’s face it, the shotgun method doesn’t work. Too many businesses have no idea what they’re doing because they don’t have a clear plan written down. Businesses are using social media, posting up content, and hoping for the best. We’ll help you forecast those results – you’re going to fail. Whether you’re doing social media yourself, have a small team, or have outsourced it to someone else, it is absolutely imperative to have a strategy and measurable results. Without these two elements, you’re going to simply waste your time and money. Instead of kissing your return of investment goodbye, make sure you are identifying these goals.

2. You’re not listening

Are you actually paying attention to what people are saying?. You not only need to be on platforms like Facebook or Twitter, you need to be able to listen to what your target audience is talking about, and what people are saying about your brand or business. Utilize the awesome tools that are out right now. We at Boxless love using Hootsuite. It allows us to set up unique streams and monitor specific keywords. To give you an example, we have a client who owns an awesome printing company. In their streams, they track words like printing, help, advice, and a variation of those words that other people might use on social media. On a late night, someone tweeted “Frustrated with this printing job, I need help!”. With their company being able to respond in real-time, they were able to help the person out who ended becoming a client for them.

3. Your business doesn’t have a schedule

Inconsistency will kill any strategy, no matter where it comes from. If you can’t keep up with something, you won’t achieve your desired results. It’s like going to the gym for a week, taking a two week break and expecting to lose weight by the end of the month. Doesn’t make sense does it? So why would you do it with social media? Get yourself a schedule, and make sure you stick to it. If you decide that you will spend 30 minutes a day on social media, take the time to actually do it. When you are on social media, use it for business related purposes, not for your own personal entertainment. You need to make social media marketing a priority for your business, otherwise you can’t expect anyone to be serious about your strategy. Let your employees know the schedule, and get them involved in your strategy as collective efforts often lead to better results. If you post something at 2:00 p.m. today, make sure you post around the same time tomorrow. It gets your audience in the habit of knowing when to expect your content.

4. You’re not being personal

We see this almost every day. Businesses get online and immediately start posting updates selling their products and services from the time they’re logging in to the time they log out. Even businesses who are asking questions, listening, and engaging with their community often fail to personalize their brand or business. Being human is easier said than done, but it is important for your business to be social, not to “do” social. Imagine how you would engage with your potential customers in person, and do it online in a friendly and interactive way. Have a passion for something? Use it to connect with others who share that passion, goal, or idea. Being personal is about having the capability to relate to others and form connections. Don’t be afraid to do this.

5. Metrics & Data Measurements

This is by far the easiest way to have your social media strategy fail. Businesses start to get social, but they are never able to determine their ROI because they have nothing to measure. If you don’t set goals and track your progress, you won’t be very likely to achieve them in the first place. Once you make goals for yourself and your business, get everybody you can on board. If you’re the only one, then you really need to get your stuff together. Determine what you want to accomplish, how you will get there, and what metrics you will use to measure that success. Are you trying to improve your web traffic? Then make sure you monitor your current and new users, unique visitors, and your bounce rate. These metrics will give you a good assessment of how your web page is performing.

We hope this sheds light on some of the common mistakes that your business may be guilty of on social media. If you have other types of problems or need social media advice, feel free to reach out and follow us on Twitter or connect with us on Facebook!