Social media marketing is a powerful tool for marketers to connect their online audience. Given the rich data businesses have access to thanks to social media networks, targeting ideal customers has never been simpler. Many brands have built successful businesses thanks to social media. Brands that have created a unique voice online will naturally garner more followers and better engagement than brands that simply follow the herd. In part, this is because Yammer has not created a clear brand voice online. Social media marketers, like business leaders in general, need to understand the target audience. According to a report by Social Media Examiner, 60 percent of social media marketers said that video content was the most important form of visual content. A report by Hubspot showed that 55 percent of people “thoroughly consume” video content, making it the most engaging content type. No two social media networks are the same, and it is a mistake to treat them as such. Each employee in your company has the ability to engage with prospects and customers through social media.
Over 2.6 billion people currently use at least one social media platform. By 2021, that number is expected to increase 15 percent to over 3 billion people.
Social media marketing is a powerful tool for marketers to connect their online audience. Given the rich data businesses have access to thanks to social media networks, targeting ideal customers has never been simpler. LinkedIn offers rich employment data, Facebook and Instagram provide marketers with detailed demographic information and Snapchat makes it easy for marketers to share geographically targeted ads.
Many brands have built successful businesses thanks to social media. Many others have struggled without connect with their target audience online, often because they make one or more os this 10 costly social media marketing mistakes.
1. Committing to too many platforms.
Becoming an expert requires practice and focus. This is true for most marketing activities, including social media marketing. Businesses with small marketing teams should avoid committing to too many social media platforms, and should instead dive deeply into one or two platforms that are well aligned with their business goals.
On Facebook alone, 300 million photos are uploaded per day. Every 60 seconds, 510,000 comments are posted and over 100,000 statuses are updated. Social media marketing requires platform-specific expertise to cut through the considerable noise. However, acquiring this expertise requires time and focus.
By carefully selecting the right social media platforms, even small marketing teams will be able to develop the necessary skills to optimize a handful of key platforms.
2. Neglecting loyal followers.
In his famous TED Talk about how movements get started, Derek Sivers showed that movements are started by the first loyal followers and not necessarily by passionate leaders. Passionate followers help to recruit new followers, and give those new followers reassurance that the movement is valuable.
Similarly, brands should remember to embrace loyal social media followers. If a handful of people are consistently engaging with content, and especially if they are re-sharing it, they should be rewarded. Send them shout-outs on social media or mail them a special thank you gift to encourage them to provide ongoing support.
3. Copying the voice of other brands.
While it might be tempting to simply copy the social media strategy of an existing brand, social media marketers should resist the urge to copy another company’s brand voice. Social media platforms are designed to present users with novel and unexpected content, which is what keeps users engaged.
The psychological principles of social media networks mean that users are expecting variations in content and in voice. Brands that have created a unique voice online will naturally garner more followers and better engagement than brands that simply follow the herd.
Slack is a good example of a company that has worked diligently to create a unique social media voice. As a result, the company has amassed 311,000 highly engaged followers on Twitter alone. Compare this to Yammer, a competing…
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