Social media is a marketing strategy adopted by more and more savvy companies that understand the various benefits that they can reap from the platforms’ ever-increasing userbase.
For reference, Facebook alone has around 2 billion monthly users so that gives you a taste of the kind of reach that social media has in our digitally connected world of the internet and mobile phones.
With a huge userbase comes a great opportunity for getting your brand to the eyes of many more than you may be used to with just a well-designed website.
It would make sense, from a digital marketing point of view then, to leap straight onto the platforms of your choice – we’d recommend basically all of them – and start posting the content that represents your brand the best, and even book your slot on one of their bespoke advertising spaces so that your company reach extends even further.
And whilst your enthusiasm would usually be commended and welcomed, it’s appropriate to know that, whilst good social media strategies can make a brand, poorly thought-out social media strategies can break it just as easily.
So, before you get tweeting, Facebook-ing, TikToking, or…Insta-ing(?)… take heed from some of these social media mistakes so you never endure the pain of committing one in the first place.
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Not Establishing a Strategy
What’s worse than a poorly thought-out social media marketing strategy? One that doesn’t exist at all. At least with the former, you try your hand at creating some sort of plan for your social content, but you can imagine the embarrassment that many companies feel when their social media content that had no thought put into it at all fails epically.
It’s like the adage goes, “Failing to prepare is preparing to fail”, and this isn’t any more apt than when it comes to your brand’s social media strategy. It can be difficult to come up with what you’re trying to get across with your social media content, but it’s important to know – or at least try to understand – what is of interest to your audience and whether what you’re getting across holds intrinsic value to them.
These two things alone will bring your target market closer to at least caring somewhat about what you’re trying to sell them, and why they shouldn’t go another day without buying into your brand.
Similarly, how are you going to monitor the results that come in from your social media campaigns if you don’t have a strategy that underlines them? How are you going to measure what has been a success or failure if you haven’t planned out what you want from your social media ventures in the first instance?
If this is something that you have identified in your social media endeavors, consider changing certain aspects to better focus potential customers into your sales funnel, such as advertising other parts of your brand, or different products or services that you provide.
Similarly, if you wanted to increase other metrics such as newsletter sign-ups, then something like a competition encourages this; things that get the audience to interact are golden for your engagement, and then offer one of your products/services as a prize to further advertise your wares – again, giving intrinsic value to the customer.
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Overly Promotional Content
Companies are still committing the cardinal sin of social media marketing – being too corporate and promotional. You’d think, given the fact that platforms like Facebook have been around for over a decade now, that we’d come to a consensus as to how to market on them, but alas.
This is the final Framework warning for companies out there – don’t even step foot onto social media platforms if you don’t plan to bring some sort of personality with you.
Remember that social media is a place for people to turn off and enjoy themselves (insert your screentime result here) throughout the day, not somewhere they expect to be bored to death by companies politely explaining the benefits of their brand. And yet they still expect some advertising – this is, of course, how these companies fund themselves.
The trickery in your social media marketing should be in the sleight of hand way that you present it. In other words, users that see your social media content should not be immediately aware that what they’re seeing is indeed marketing content for your company.
Your best bet is to create engaging, eye-catching written or video content (although social media is slowly growing to become exclusively video if statements from certain executives are to be believed) that embeds trust from its audience into your brand, only through earning the audience’s trust will you ever stand a chance of turning them into a loyal customer.
The biggest thing to remember about social media is right there in its name – social. Figuring out how to strike that balance between a trustworthy expert and a personable brand is daunting, yes, and it will take some time and maybe some help from those who specialise in this, but it is also worth its weight in gold when done correctly.
Mistaking consistency with rigidity
When it comes to social media marketing, there are very few things more important than a consistent posting schedule. This ensures that you have a pipeline of content ready (the length of this pipeline can vary depending on different factors, but we’d recommend two to four weeks’ worth of content ready to go or prepared in some way or another).
It also makes sure that you’re getting the word out on your brand to your audience on a consistent basis, one that increases the chance of you sticking in their head the next time they log in.
Again, it goes back to establishing trust with prospective customers – how are you going to create the sense that you are the best or most expert in your field? Let them know on a consistent basis what it is you do, what your existing customers say about you, and what potential customers can gain from you.
So, consistency is king, right?
Now the next step to mastering this is to ensure that whilst you stay consistent, you don’t fall into the trap of rigidity. What do I mean by this? Well, say you’ve heeded my advice and you’re well on your way to creating a robust schedule for your social media marketing with a four-week plan of content. That’s great, but things happen all the time that can change the outcome of your brand for better or worse.
I guess the best advice in this scenario would be to just keep your eye on the ground and your finger on the pulse. Be prepared to pull some scheduled content if you think something would be better suited. Don’t be afraid to make an executive decision like that, it might just lead to a turning point in your social media marketing, and ultimately, your brand.
Those are just three of the most crucial social media marketing strategy mistakes that you can make, and ones that companies are making every day! Don’t be the next company to have its social media marketing strategy fall flat on its face before its time.
Still don’t think you’ve got the time or resources to create the best social media strategy for your brand? Leave it to the experts.
Framework Marketing is a national digital marketing agency that helps companies grow further than they could ever imagine. Interested in knowing more? Get in touch here!
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