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Social media is one of the fundamental promotion channels in today’s online marketing industry. It allows you to connect with your target audience on a personal level, establish your authority as an information source, and give your brand a voice in the social community.

However, several mistakes can prevent you from reaping the full benefits of social media marketing. They may even cause your company to lose face if you fail to rectify the situation fast. To avoid this, here are seven of the worst mistakes you can make in social media marketing:

 

1. Not Having a Consistently Approachable Brand Voice

A lot of online brands are already adopting a humanized and conversational “voice” in social media posts to be more friendly to users. However, it must be authentic and consistent at all times. Make sure you have your entire content team commit to the brand’s voice across every channel. Doing so will make your content more distinguishable and stand out from the rest.

 

2. Being Unresponsive

What’s the use of utilizing an approachable writing voice if you are going to be unresponsive to user interactions? Remember that social media, at its core, is a tool for communication. Leaving your audience with so many unanswered comments and inquiries will result in a “dead” social media page—effectively ruining your brand image in the process. That said, be sure you have someone monitoring the social activity of your page round the clock to respond quickly and expertly to every comment and direct inquiry.

 

3. Being Overly Promotional

Remember that users log in to their social media accounts for entertainment, not for endorsements. Of course, you need to promote your site every once in a while, but you must always have a controlled approach. Focus first on building relationships, spark their curiosity, win their trust, and let users come to your site of their accord.

 

4. No Clear Social Media Goals

Sometimes, companies get too eager to engage in certain online marketing methods that they forget the importance of defining a strategy. Before you start your social media page, make sure you have a clear idea on how to achieve your social marketing objectives and how they will contribute to the overall growth of your website. For example, is it part of your efforts in providing better customer support? Do you only need more traffic to your blog? Answering these questions and documenting your strategy will help you measure the effectiveness of your social media content over time.

 

5. Not Offering Value

Before you expect your social media guests to come to your site and convert into subscribers or paying customers, make sure you offer valuable and actionable information through your social media posts. Understand your target audience’s journey, relate to their problems, and provide solutions without inserting your brand somewhere in the middle. Of course, you should not forget the occasional content promotions such as sharing new blog posts, latest news, and special offers to drive people to your website. Just be sure to tone down the update frequency and avoid spamming your very own social media audience.

 

6. Posting Insensitive or Controversial Information

Every brand wants their content to go viral, but not in the wrong way. Make sure you avoid posting about controversial topics or share opinions that may offend a particular segment of your audience. Keep in mind that you want to cater to all of your followers, not start something that may divide your audience due to their opposing views. If you want your content to go viral, focus on bringing “breakthrough” information that everyone can get productive with.

 

7. Using Hashtags the Wrong Way

Using hashtags is perfect for improving the discoverability of your social media content. However, you must avoid overusing hashtags to preserve a high engagement rate. According to stats, the ideal number of hashtags per post is three, which should be more than enough to let the social audience know what the content is about. Also be sure to double-check how your hashtag reads to avoid misinterpretation.

 

Giving Your Brand a Social Voiceno

Social media marketing is never simple. Aside from proven, data-driven strategies, you also need reliable and field-tested people to manage your account and represent your brand in the social space. If you need help promoting your brand through social media, contact us today and get your free quote!