5 Mistakes You Are Making With Social Media Marketing. You post what you think will be the most incredible piece of content to hit your industry in the last 20 years, wait a few days and then… Nothing. Did you do any market research first to see where your audience (or an audience for your products) actually is before signing up for every social media account you could find? Yes, everyone should be on the “big four” (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+) but realise that each platform will serve your business in different ways. The problem I run into constantly when people start out with social media marketing is that they care about one thing and one thing only: Conversions. But not all social media campaigns are only to get conversions. I’ll say it again — conversions are not the only KPIs worth caring about. For maximum visibility, take it one step further by promoting your contest posts with sponsored posts on Twitter and Facebook. Instead of just sending out ‘buy my stuff’ posts, figure out what people are actually sharing. Know your brand, your KPIs, who and where your audience is, what people are sharing and what they find helpful.
Channeladvisor SEO campaign manager Chris Sciulli spells out the biggest mistakes businesses make in brutal detail. So don’t make them!
So you’re a business owner who has been hearing for years about how you should be out there Booking Faces, Tweeting your InstaPins and everything else the millennials are doing these days.
At first, you resisted. You thought, “You know, that might be great for some people, but I don’t really need that.”
Then you saw the returns, brand loyalty and customer engagement your competitors that invested in social media were getting. You did your homework and saw how social media can complement great brick-and-mortar, SEO and paid search programs and turn your company into a regular multichannel marketing behemoth.
That sounds nice, doesn’t it?
So you go and sign up for all the things: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Tumblr, Pinterest. You’re armed and ready to get marketing!
You post what you think will be the most incredible piece of content to hit your industry in the last 20 years, wait a few days and then…
Nothing.
No one liked or followed your post or pages. So what happened?!
We’re going to visit the top five mistakes brands that are new to social media (and some that aren’t so new) make and discuss what they can do to fix them. While these might not be the most brand-crushing mistakes you can make, these are the most common ones that I’ve seen in my years working in the industry:
Did You Fill Out Your Profiles?
You’d think something so basic wouldn’t be as overlooked as it is, but it happens. Often. A lot of new brands fill in the bare minimum and call it a day. Don’t do that.
Social media profiles usually get ranked in search engines, so your company’s search visibility is one reason to make sure your profiles are complete. Also, your branding is important. Don’t you want your potential customers to know that this is your official site and not some unauthorised page? Your profiles are your chance to show off more about your company and display your expertise — so don’t waste it!
Here’s a tip: think of each profile page as another landing page for your brand. That way, you’ll be less likely to overlook this step in the future.
Accept the Fact: It’s Pay to Play
Social media isn’t what it used to be. There was a time where a brand could post an update and it would be all over people’s timelines, in their newsfeeds and everywhere else — for free. Those days are so far gone, you might as well pretend they never existed. Those days went the way of your MC Hammer pants.
If you want most people — including your followers — to see what you’re posting, you’ll need to spend some money. On all platforms. You could write the best post, have the best sales, or anything else in between but the fact remains: if you’re a brand and you didn’t pay to promote your post, very few people saw it.
There’s no getting around it. Especially with Facebook. A paid social media marketing strategy doesn’t have to be expensive, and if it’s done right, it’ll be worth the investment. That’s why people do…
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