Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn represent new technologies and new worlds for many business owners. And just like anything else, mastering social media takes time.
Unfortunately, the mistakes you make while you’re still “new to the game” can be costly. So today, we are going to highlight five of the most common mistakes that business owners commit in the world of social media.
Are you making any of them?
1) Not engaging. Social media is not meant to be a platform for one-way conversation. To be effective, you need to engage with the community around you. “Like” their posts on Facebook. Respond to retweets and “mentions” on Twitter. Comment on the posts other people make on LinkedIn. If you attempt to use social media as your personal megaphone, rather than a place to engage with community, you’re going to be ignored.
2) Focusing only on sales. Similarly, if you focus exclusively on self-promotion and sales, social media users are quickly going to tune you out. Instead, your primary focus should be on building relationships, and on adding value to your audience. See an inspiring quote that your audience would appreciate? Share it! Post breaking news, insight, and analysis that is relevant to your market. Make sales and self-promotion only a small part of your overall presence.
3) Speaking the wrong language. We’re not talking about English versus Español – we’re talking about technical language versus language that makes sense to your audience. As a lawyer or an accountant, for instance, you are probably used to writing in a highly technical manner. But you can’t take this approach on social media, or your audience won’t be able to follow. Instead, focus on taking difficult concepts and ideas and translating them into simple language that your audience can understand.
4) Disappearing for long stretches of time. Many business owners use social media frequently for a couple of weeks… only to disappear for months at a time. Doing this destroys momentum, brand consistency, and any relationships that you may be developing. If you’re serious about social media, you need to be present consistently. If you simply can’t find the time, tools like Hootsuite can be used to schedule posts in advance—although we recommend using this as a last resort, as there is no substitute for real-time engagement with your audience.
5) Operating without a plan. Finally, you need a social media plan. What are you hoping to accomplish? How will you measure your results? We’ve covered this topic in greater depth here. The bottom line is that if you don’t even know where you are going, you’re never going to get there! So define your objectives and create a plan.
Questions or comments? Get in touch with us today if you’d like to learn more!
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