Social networking is one of the best ways to build an online business. After all, it is effective and mostly free—what is there not to love here? However, there are a few mistakes that can destroy your social media marketing. These are so common that it is a little sad. Okay, it is a LOT sad. And by avoiding these mistakes, you can give your online campaigns an automatic advantage. Here are a few things NOT to do:
Mistake #1 Joining every social media website out there.
This may sound like a great idea in theory, but in practice, you have a life. You have things to do besides updating and typing. You might think that your schedule will suddenly rearrange itself so that you can spend your days clicking between windows at LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, Yourspace and every-other-space, but it won’t. Even if you could spend all day on your iPhone, it would not help your business even a little. Why? Your customers aren’t using twenty different social networking sites. They are using just one or two. Figure out which those are and focus your energy there. You’ll still be reaching your customers, and you’ll have time to actually run your business as well.
Mistake #2 A lack of connection.
A successful social media campaign will involve a spider web of links, between different social networking sites, your website and your physical locations. It should be a coordinated effort. You have to think of each profile and website as an island. The only way for customers to travel between them is for you to build bridges. Links are your bridges.
Mistake #3 Being a spectator.
This can also be called a failure to have two-way communication. Customers like to deal with actual humans. You are probably already a human, so act like it. Social networking should be an ongoing dialogue between you and your customers. Don’t just post information—respond to comments and have a two-way dialog. Let people know: hey, there is a real person running this business!
Mistake #4 Lack of incentive to return or otherwise follow through.
If you have a lot of traffic and not a lot of interaction, then you are probably committing this social marketing sin. Customers need a reason to Like your page, follow you, join your email list and whatever else you want for them to do. Offer high value—which usually comes in the form of information that they need. In addition, offer periodic coupons and special deals for ‘member’s only’. People need a reason to click, but not a huge reason. Any good reason will do.
Mistake #5 No means of measurement.
There are a few things that make a social media marketing campaign a success. The most obvious are traffic and conversions, but there are other important factors as well. How are people interacting with your campaign? This is also known as: what do people actually do when they visit your social networking profile. You should also look at engagement, which usually can be measured by the amount of time that people linger. Why is running a social media campaign without measurement a fail? Because you will never know how to improve your efforts or even what improvement would look like.
Approach social media marketing in the right way and you can reap the rewards! Commit any one of these mistakes and your ROI will go down.
