Social media gives unprecedented access to people interested in your niche or industry, or the products and services you offer. However, some new users of the networks can get so excited by the prospect of more profits that they actually end up costing themselves through simple yet avoidable mistakes. Here are the top 7 to watch out for if you are a newbie social media marketer.
1. Unclear goals
Do you want sales, subscribers, followers? Plan every campaign around a specific goal, which you can measure by getting the target market to take particular action. By limiting the number of actions available in the message or campaign, you help to reduce returns, unsubscribes, and unfollows.
2. Unprofessional profiles
Make your profile as informative and professional as possible. Include basic information that potential customers or clients want to know, along with info that makes you stand out from your competition. A logo and colors help you to be recognized at a glance, so be sure to add a unique and professional logo to your profile.
3. Following too few people
As soon as you sign on for most social sites, they ask you what you are interested in and give recommendations as to who you might like to follow. Take these suggestions seriously and sign up, because the ones they are suggesting are usually the top participants at the site in relation to your niche.
4. Promoting too soon
Most newbies to social networking are there because they’ve heard it is a great way to reach millions of people. They no sooner sign up with their profile than they start to crank out posts, tweets, and promotions at lightning speed.
Social networks are just that, social. It’s not about you hammering out promotion after promotion. Focus on building relationships and connections that are based on your common personal and/or business interests.
5. Publishing the wrong content
Every social network attracts people who prefer a specific type of content or type of delivery. For example, most Twitter users want very short and to-the-point messages. Most content online is text-based, but many social networks are driven by eye-catching content, such as images and video. Organize your material into folders for each network so you deliver the right type of content to each social media network, based on its specialties and the preferences of their users.
6. Ignoring daily search results
Conduct a quick search each day for a couple of your business’s keywords and/or brand products. Look for mentions of your business, product, and/or your name. Also look for questions and positive or negative comments on other sites.
If you see questions, answer them and/or refer the person to a specific URL for more information. If you see positive comments and reviews, thank them. If you see negative, refer them to your customer service email for more details on what their issue is. The offer of help will show good will to anyone who might have seen it and sort the real customers from those who might be doing nothing more than trying to damage your reputation online.
7. Retaliating
No matter how unfair they have been. Just don’t retaliate in public. It could cost you more than you can ever imagine. Keep it professional at all times.