Receiving LOL as a comment when you’re making a joke is a good thing. Having someone on the floor laughing because you really botched something up? Well, that’s not. Many people make the same social media mistakes, though, because they jump on the bandwagon and try to follow others.
Read what some of the most common mistakes are. Are you doing any of these things?
Social Media Mistake #1: Treating Each Social Channel the Same
Consider Snapchat and LinkedIn. They are at completely opposite ends of the social media spectrum, so you can’t treat them the same way. You certainly wouldn’t want to post a selfie with a Snapchat filter on LinkedIn, for example, and people on Snapchat couldn’t care less about the latest real estate figures. Cater to the audience on the specific channel.
Social Media Mistake #2: Not Being Real
Be social on social, really. It’s OK to share links to relevant blogs and social media posts about events or other facts your audience is interested in. If that’s all you’re doing, however, you’ll appear boring, superficial, and even “spammy.”
Social Media Mistake #3: Not Responding to Anyone … At All … Ever
Along those lines, do communicate with your audience on social and on review sites.
However, and we stress this, be very careful about what you say. Avoid anything political. Avoid arguing. Avoid sounding defensive. Avoid sales pitches. Don’t trash your competitors. In fact, just don’t post anything negative if you can avoid it. Err on the side of light, easy, and brief.
Sometimes a simple, “Thank you!” is enough. But do say it. Those two little words go a long way, especially in the social media world.
Social Media Mistake #4: Making Erroneous Comments or Sharing Questionable Posts
Honest mistakes happen. Accept them, correct them, see what could be improved in the future, and move on. However, if you’re regularly sharing information from unreliable sources, spreading rumors, or giving readers “facts” that simply aren’t true, that will reflect poorly on your overall brand. Doing so would tell visitors that you were careless or didn’t do your research beforehand, and that could have long-term detrimental effects on your business’s reputation.
Social Media Mistake #5: Trying to Sweep Negative Comments Under the Virtual Rug
No matter how hard you try and how fantastic your brand is, someone will be unhappy. It doesn’t even have to be your fault; their unhappiness could simply be based on personal preference.
If you therefore receive a negative review or post, thank the individual for the feedback. Say you’ll take their feedback into consideration and would love to have them back in the future. Ask if they have suggestions for improvement. Do take the feedback seriously and try to improve, but don’t sweat it just yet. If you start seeing too many negative comments or a pattern of behavior within your business, take a deeper look into the issue.
If your social media marketing strategy needs a boost, working with a digital marketing agency that knows social should get you on the right track. The right way to handle social media is to be the leader, not the follower. Engage prospects with content they genuinely want to see. Content you share on your social media channels should be related to what your audience is interested in.
Remember, when it comes to gathering leads, it’s not about the number of clicks you get but about the people who are doing the clicking.