Technology moves so fast, it's hard to believe that social media has been used by businesses for a long time. In fact, it is now hard to find a business that is not on social media. Used primarily for marketing and advertising their business, many business owners still don't know how to manage their social media fronts. Following are some of the mistakes businesses make when using social media in business.
- Not interacting with followers - Most consumers look for businesses that are on social media. Social media has actually become the top choice for communication between consumers and the business. Most businesses know the importance of communication in businesses and how social media makes it easier to reach a larger crowd. However, one mistake businesses make is not interacting with consumers on social media. You should always give their customers something to look forward to that will make them want to come back to their pages.
- Not Having Enough Time - Social media marketing takes a lot of time and effort. You have to keep communication channels open and keep giving informational messages that will make your website stand out. The mistake most businesses make is not being on enough platforms or to many platforms. It will be better if a business goes on two or three platforms. Then maximize those three platforms rather than be on lots of platforms where you perform poorly.
- Having an multi-faceted strategy - Repetition leads to boredom. Having multiple sites can be a great benefit to a company, but is boring if the same marketing message is on all the sites. Social media users want variety. Try using the various platforms to advertise different aspects of your business. That way, the posting new content will entice consumers to look at your business more.
- Not responding to comments and reviews - Customers expect businesses to respond to them. So, it is a mistake for business owners to not respond to customer reviews and comments. Customers want to identify with companies that respond to their customers. Responding to reviews will make people feel appreciated, and the business will be seen as caring. Good comments show a business that it is meeting the expectations of their target market while those that are negative guide the company on what to change and how to improve their services.
- Don't ignore criticism - Like everyone else, businesses make mistakes. Customers want to see something authentic about business, and they want a business that is willing to accept criticism. You can learn a lot from positive criticism. So you need to be open-minded when using social media platforms.
- Don't overdue it and do it in order - Customers do not like being bombarded by sales people. This is true with social media as much as other forms of marketing. Social media users do not like hard sells on products and services. You need to build relationships with the social media users to generate more sales. At first, it is advisable to build credibility and market the brand. Then, at some point, the business is expected to have a sales plan for their products and services. Businesses are meant to use social media to build up the customer's confidence in the brand and after that sell products to them.
- Educate a little - Businesses know a lot about the products they deal with. When this knowledge is used on social media, it will attract users who will go on various platforms to interact with the business and learn more. This knowledge should be considered as leverage. Don't give out too much information as customers will not have a reason to go on the platform. And don't delegate this task to someone outside the company. It will show you are inexperienced on social media.
- Test, test and test some more - The only way businesses know if social media campaigns work is to test various versions of their message. Not evaluating social media is a waste of investment. The metrics will enable the company to know if the company is making any progress. Checking metrics will tell the business if they should alter their strategy to increase the sales.
- Social media may not be the best - Social media marketing is gaining popularity since it is affordable and is easy to operate. That makes many companies end up putting too much faith in it instead of looking for other avenues like Internet marketing that pays even more. Using social media is beneficial for business. However, don't forget other avenues of marketing.
- Inconsistent branding - A business should have a consistent brand across all social media platforms. Having inconsistency in different social media platforms makes customers not trust the brand. The credibility of the brand will be in question, and that is not good for the company. If a company is credible, customers are more likely to get products from the company.
- Don't post too much at a time - While it is recommended for companies to post different things on their pages, it is important to ensure they do not overload the pages. And when posting content, ensure that you only post relevant content. The posts should be spread out and planned so that they do not overwhelm the users.
Social media is essential for the growth of a business. Companies should choose the platforms that will work best with them and maximize their use. Using social media platforms in the correct manner is beneficial for businesses especially in the growing digital world.