Social media is one of the most pivotal tools for a company; It can easily make or break a brand. Here’s a list of seven common social media mistakes and how to get your social accounts back on track.
- Absence of Defined Brand Tone
A brand’s tone should be established and stay consistent. When a company doesn’t have a defined voice, it makes for a messy feed and potential customers could be turned off from the brand all-together. For example: If an upscale steakhouse is posting memes on their social media pages, you probably wouldn’t take that place so seriously. On the other hand, it might be acceptable for a diner or cafe with a fun. light-hearted atmosphere to post funny pictures or captions, if it is content that’s relevant to the brand.
- Lacking Content Variation
Social media isn’t just about what you post, but also how you deliver it. Nowadays, typing out a simple status will rarely make the cut. Pictures and rich media are more likely to attract viewers, along with interactive posts, links, and user-generated content. According to recent surveys, visual content is 40 times more likely to be shared than a regular text post. So instead of posting a bland text post, think about how an photograph, infographic, or video clip might enhance the meaning of the text.
- Not Utilizing Social Media Features
Over the past few years, many new features have been added to platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. If a brand isn’t utilizing these features, they are missing out on a lot of potential engagement. It’s important to learn about these new tools and what they can do. On Instagram, they have added features which allow users to create polls, add GIFs and stickers, Live video streaming, and a customizable slider that can be used as a rating scale. These features can be enticing for viewers and create a lot more engagement. Boomerang is another hot feature that Instagram integrated into their camera, which can be a more captivating alternative to posting a plain ol’ still photo.
- Not Knowing the Audience
In the world of advertising and marketing, knowing your audience is crucial. When you know who you’re targeting, you know how to deliver your message. If you’re targeting 50-year-olds, you wouldn’t want to waste the resources by trying to reach them through Snapchat because that’s not where the majority is at. When you know your audience, you can also see what types of posts and content they are most receptive to in order to heighten engagement.
- Lack of Engagement
Speaking of engagement, it shouldn’t just be a one-sided street. It’s a social media mistake that is easy to make. Brands should be engaging with their consumers through social media as much as they like consumers to engage with them. Social media is a communication tool, so communicate through it! Responding to comments, compliments, and complaints shows that a brand cares about their customers wants and needs.
- Posting Infrequently/Too Frequently
Posting too much content in a short amount of time is a social media mistake that can come off as spammy, while posting too little will make a page seem vacant. This ties in with knowing your audience and how much they like to see, but 2-3 posts for most industries is a safe number of weekly posts.
- Not Proofreading
This last social media mistake might seem like an obvious one, but triple-check your work before posting to avoid silly typos or syntax errors! A grammatical mistake could cause an attraction, but people will be focusing on the error instead of the content, and that’s not the kind of attention a brand wants. Simply making sure your posts are grammatically correct and typo-free will make the brand that much more reputable.
Sources:
https://www.dreamgrow.com/21-social-media-marketing-statistics/
