The Most Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes

Social media has become more of a necessity than something fun to do during the day.  While you may think that your social media efforts are flawless and perfect in design and execution, you may be mistaken.  It hard to accept, I know, but there may even be some of followers who find your attempts at social media boring.  I know what you’re thinking, not my followers they enjoy every little status update and tweet I post!  I’m sorry to tell you, they may not! 

If you’re like many of us, you may rely on your social media activity as a large part of your marketing campaign.  And if you’ve been doing it for a while now, you’ve probably developed some bad habits that could be causing you to lose followers rather than attract new ones.  To help you avoid making some of the most common social media marketing mistakes, I have put together a list of things you should avoid doing.

• Automation – Don’t get me wrong, I love automation and the amount of time I save by scheduling my posts weeks in advance.  But while it is a good thing for those who use it correctly, it may end up costing you customers if you use it in the wrong manner.  Many people have developed the ability to know when a post was written ahead of time; in some cases they may seem robotic or lifeless.  To avoid this mistake, it is important to allow your humanity to shine through your posts.  Don’t take on a robotic personality, have some fun and allow your followers to see that you are actually a human being.
• Liven Things Up – Social media is a platform that allows businesses to create a human side to their brand, take advantage of that.  Sometimes letting yourself have a little fun by sharing a funny photo or a meme that you’re seen on your own personal feed can go a long way in promoting the fact that there really are people with a sense of humor behind your brand.  If you can remember that your customers like to laugh and have fun as much as you do, you will be well on your way to providing them with the type of content that they will actually enjoy.
• Strategy – After you have started to include some life and personality into your social media posts, you should also pay close attention to your analytics.  These will help show you if your interaction with customers and posts have actually been beneficial.  Analytics are something that you should not avoid when it comes to social media.  They will show you which posts have had the most engagement and what type of content went viral. 

Once you have discovered the type of posts that your customers enjoy, don’t stop.  If the interaction is increasing and your content is being shared, it is a sign that you are on the right path.  Social media can be a tricky world to navigate, but if you follow the steps I have listed above, it should become somewhat easier and more effective.