Social Media Mistakes That Can Hold Your Business Back

Social media can be a fun method of interacting with friends, family and old school mates, but once you start using social media platforms to market your business, you need to understand that the smallest mistake can cost you your money and reputation. Whether you do social media in-house or you outsource the job to an agency, make sure you avoid these common mistakes.

1. Using the same strategy for all social media platforms

Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn…all of these networks may sound the same to someone who doesn’t understand the intricacies of social media, but they are not. Once you start working on a social media strategy, don’t make the mistake of using the same approach for all social networks. Each one has a different type of audience and works with a different type of content, so you shouldn’t just write one post and share it as is on five platforms, because it will not be as efficient.

2. Not expanding your follower base

One of the biggest mistakes companies make on social media, especially when they do it in-house, is setting up a business page without working on expanding the follower base. It doesn’t matter if you’re a tech company, an online retailer or another type of business. As soon as you create a social media account, you need to start posting interesting content that engages your audience and grows your follower base organically. Otherwise, your page will be forgotten and you won’t be able to reap all the great benefits of being on social media.

3. Lack of interaction with your clients and followers on social media

Posting quality content on social media is great, but remember that the purpose of social media isn’t just to spread the word about your company, but also to act as a communication platform between you and your clients. Don’t ignore their questions and reactions in the comments, because this gives the impression that you’re unreliable. Also, don’t delay responding to messages. Facebook already displays how quickly you reply to messages on your profile and a low response rate will affect your reputation.

4. Inconsistent posting schedule

Although you don’t have to post every day at set times, you should try to maintain at list a bit consistency in your posting schedule. If you start by posting twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon, keep this up. Don’t post three times in one day and then go for two weeks without posting anything, because this confuses the audience and gives the feeling of instability.

5. Not monitoring results

You’ve created social media accounts, you’re posting on a regular basis and you’re interacting with your consumers, but that’s not all. To make sure what you’re doing actually works and it’s not just wasted time and money, you have to monitor the results of your social media campaigns by using the latest analytics and reporting tools. This way, you’ll be able to measure the effects of your actions, find out if they brought any improvement and make adjustments where necessary.