The whole concept of social media and networking means that you should avoid any mistakes on social media. Social media, while useful, is also a powerful tool that can quickly take down a company. Why is this? Well, problems on social media will spread like wildfire. It might start with one user, but before long it’s been picked up by multiple accounts and the media might have even latched onto it. At this point, no publicity is bad publicity just doesn’t ring true because you can find yourself in the situation where people are actually boycotting your business. That’s why you have to be so careful about what you release online. This is the first mistake you must avoid through social media.
Don’t Post Without Thinking
Take a long look at whatever you’re posting before you publish it online. People are so easily offended these days, and while it might be the minority that take offense, they can be loud enough to seem like the majority. Take the H&M ‘monkey of the jungle’ scandal. A young Black Boy dressed in a jumper being sold on a website quickly damaged the H&M brand due to the perceived subtext of the slogan used. Whether or not the slogan was actually offensive is irrelevant. The fact is that users found it offensive and users are a lot like customers. They are always right, even when they are wrong.
If you do think that something that you’re posting could be taken the wrong way, it’s perhaps best not to post it at all. Otherwise, you can find yourself in the position where a large group of your customers turn away from your business and turns towards the competition.
Don’t Handle It Yourself
Business owners are constantly looking for ways to save money. This is understandable because if you don’t keep your budget under control you are not going to be competitive and a sharp price cut from a competitor could be enough to put you out of business. But, it’s not a question of cutting every cost but rather cutting areas where the cost isn’t a valuable service, and in the case of social media using the services of a social media agency could provide great value. The key thing to remember about social media is that it needs to stay fresh, relevant and exciting. Essentially, you need to keep the interest of the people who are checking it out, and that’s exactly what an agency can guarantee. They will also be able to create a tailored campaign designed perfectly to suit your business.
You could handle it yourself, but there’s no way your reach will be as powerful as it could have been if you take this route. You need to put your best foot forward here. You need experts on your side who knows how to make sure that information about your business is shared as soon as it is released.
Don’t Repeat
If you do insist on marketing through social media yourself, the key mistake people often mistake is repeating the same content across different networks. Why is this a mistake? Well, basically, one piece of content won’t be as effective on one network as another. For instance, you might have one story that you are releasing a new product. On your blog, this should be a piece of content giving in-depth information. On Twitter, you should provide an actionable short piece of text and a link to the blog. On Instagram, the main focus is, of course, going to be an image of the item. Or, if the item isn’t yet ready to show it could be a tantalising tease. By doing this, you will be able to make sure that you maximize the potential of each network.
Don’t Share Without Giving Credit
One of the best ways to gain some attention is to share other news and exciting information from sources across different networks. It’s a great way to gain the interest of a new group and perhaps introduce them to your own company. What you shouldn’t do is try and pass off content that someone else has posted as your work. This could be anything from a tweet to an image. If it’s on someone else’s social profile and it is original, you can bet they consider it copyright. The legality isn’t the issue here. It will attract the wrong type of attention, and it will mean that you miss out on a possible new business lead or a connection with a key individual who could have helped boost your brand.
More Than The Business Name
You will have business profiles with your business brand name, but there should also be social media for the major players of your company. It’s interesting to point out that customers have been shown to be more likely to buy if a business has a face. On the most basic level, if you are selling on eBay, you might get more customers if you have a picture of yourself on your profile. Why? Simply put, customers want to know they are dealing with individuals rather than a massive organisation. The concept of a personalised approach to business is far more appealing to them.
Of course, if you are doing this, the individual social profiles do still have to maintain a level of professionalism. You don’t want to find yourself in a position where people are questioning whether you are fit to run a company and more importantly have access to their personal details.
Using The Wrong Tone
Last but not least, you need to think about the tone of voice and the way that you address or interact with customers through social media. Professionalism does not mean formal. You can address customers in a formal way through social media, but you’re probably far more likely to get positive results if they feel as though it is a true connection. In other words, they want to see more than just a direct sales pitch.
Avoid these mistakes, and you can dodge issues spreading like wildfire across your social networks.