9 Social Media Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

by James Silverwood, Guest Contributor

As we are all well aware, social media can be great if used correctly and devastating if not. We assume you are keeping an eye on your metrics, but are they telling you the things you're doing are working?

There are some social media marketing mistakes that people often make which really should be avoided; here are the top nine.
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1. Failing to interact with followers
Don't forget that social media is meant to be a two-way street for communication, not just you showing the world what you can do. Many businesses focus on the content they are releasing and forget to interact with the people who are paying attention to it. This means responding to comments and messages, especially if they are negative. Users expect to be able to connect and converse with a brand and ignoring their engagement means it will eventually drop off. 

Lack of engagement is a killer and something you should be working very hard to avoid lest you want the algorithms to bury your posts.

2. Operating your social media without a defined strategy in place
An effective social media marketing plan has clear goals which the plan is working towards. The metrics we mentioned, in the beginning, are how you measure your success.

Social media marketing involves more than just posts and hashtags. If you do not leverage integrations, keep your messaging on brand, and post with purpose you are posting into the wind.

3. Using incorrect tone
This point comes down to understanding your audience, a vital element of any marketing strategy. If you do, you'll be able to speak in a tone that is appealing to them, helping you to connect.

You no doubt have a defined personality for your brand so your tone, which isn't just found in the copy but also imagery and design, helps keep that consistent as well. 

4. Failing to proofread
Yes, spelling and grammar mistakes are annoying and unprofessional, but autocorrect can be much worse, even devastating if it changes your message to something that gives the wrong impression. Save yourself the trouble and proofread - yes, you can edit posts once they are up, but the internet can be an unforgiving place so don't risk it. 

If you are dealing with sensitive content, get feedback from others, because even though you may not make a mistake in the working or grammar, the message might be misconstrued. We live in a time where people are easily offended, you don't want to have to be putting an apology strategy in place over some poor messaging.

5. Being too inconsistent or regular 
There is a rule that you should not post for the sake of posting; it's quality over quantity after all. Post when you have something relevant to say, but spread it out and plan it via an editorial calendar. There is a gentle balance between over-posting and lack of regular engagement. If you use software to schedule your posts to ensure that they do not start to become too anticipated or robotic.
 
6. Not investing in promotions
Like it or not, if you really want to be seen on social media, you may have to spend some money. Investing in a paid promotion for your important content will lead to better engagement, but let's be clear, we don't mean buy followers. Invest in campaigns and boosting particular posts to give it the best chance possible to be seen, if it is of good quality the rest will follow organically.

7.  Vanity metrics
We keep harping on about the metrics, but they really are the key to ensuring that your strategy is working. That being said, the type of metrics you use a crucial as well. For example, the number of likes is not always a good representation that you are on an upward trajectory. 

The rule of thumb is that a vanity metric is any metric that makes you feel good without giving you any useful information about your business.

8. Failing to integrate social media with other marketing strategies
This point kills two birds with one stone as it gives you content for your social channels while proving more significant exposure to that content through them.

If you have a blog, for example, you can use excerpts from it for your posts and link back to it giving it greater visibility while showing your social followers how much of an authority you are in your field.

9. Uniform posting 
Sharing the same content across all platforms is easy, but it's a little lazy and doesn't cater for the differences in platform. For example, Twitter is best for short copy; Instagram is images, etc.

Tailor your posts to the platform, use the appropriate hashtags that are trending on the individual platforms, and give your users a unique experience.

Author bio:

James Silverwood is the digital marketing manager for the social media marketing agency, Bahrain. He helps clients grow their web visibility through all aspects of digital marketing.

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