Most companies today, whether small or large, depend on social media to drum up business. Persons in charge of social media marketing are almost always online to post something that will help promote their company or website, with the aim of getting more people interested in their business and eventually, customers or clients.
Top social media marketing mistakes
Businesses, however, can easily lose potential customers or clients as well when they do not handle their social media marketing campaign properly. Below are the top social media marketing mistakes all businesses should take care to avoid:
Publishing or sharing offensive posts. Offensive materials that can be seen or read on your business’s social media sites can easily damage your online presence and reputation. Offensive material that is posted regularly or even just once can decrease the popularity of your brand. The usual types of offensive material include nudity, racist material, and rants about a person or another company.
Sharing poor quality posts and content. When creating and sharing content or posts on social media, it is important that all of these show or demonstrate that your brand is an authority and possesses an expert level of knowledge. Your followers expect your business to be an authority in your niche. As such, your content or posts need to meet their expectations all the time.
Not proof-reading your post or content. You can easily damage your brand’s reputation by having mistakes on your posts, comments, or any other content that you post on social media. Content or posts with poor grammar or bad spelling can make your followers think that you don’t have a legitimate business. If your brand is not seen or regarded as “professional”, your reputation can easily take a nosedive.
Snubbing your followers. Social media platforms were made to make users have an easier time interacting and engaging with other people – including potential clients or customers. If you always ignore your followers, it can place a major strain on your reputation. Not responding to questions and comments, ignoring feedback given by your customers or followers, and not interacting on posts that you are tagged in are perfect examples of snubbing your followers.
Handling negative feedback poorly. There are still some businesses today that make the big mistake of handling negative feedback poorly. Some social media managers can’t seem to refrain from ‘biting’ back with harsh comments – a big no-no in social media marketing. Keep in mind that negativity will only result in more negative feedback against your brand. In such instances, always approach the negative comment with a positive spin.
Over-posting. Too little content is bad but too much content can negatively impact your brand greatly as well. There is a high risk that your followers will eventually start to unfollow you because they don’t want to see their social media feed filled with your posts. To avoid this mistake, regularly schedule posts out across the week, and stick to this schedule. Minimize sharing promotional content to once a week as well.
Overuse of hashtags. Lastly, using an abundance of hashtags can also have a negative effect on your business’s reputation. The overuse of hashtags can make it seem as if you’re spamming your audience. Social media experts say to keep your hashtags to a maximum of two to three per post.