Sunday, January 22, 2012

Top 3 Mistakes Businesses Make In Social Media Marketing

Costly Mistakes Your Company Must Avoid In Digital Advertising

Social media outlets have massive potential to reach droves of new clients with much less effort and expense than traditional marketing. In the US, internet users spend as much time on Facebook as they do on Google. In addition, social networking sites allow your to brand your company and maintain your online image in real time while allowing consumers (your fans and followers) to communicate and give feedback. The accessibility of social media marketing allows anyone to create content without technical hangups and has a pervasive reach into virtually any demographic. It is easy to get started but there are points of etiquette and general business rules that need to be followed for digital advertising campaigns to be successful.
The following is a list of the top 3 mistakes made by companies in their social media ventures:

1. Using your personal profile as a business profile.

The number one rule violation may seem obvious but this is the biggest mistake most companies make, especially those that are new to social media marketing. Sharing personal and business information on the same feed is not only unprofessional but can become harmful to your business by creating an unfavorable image. Simply create a separate profile or page for the company and post only business related content. Facebook allows you to create unlimited fan pages and lets you switch between your business and personal profile on the same account. These steps were taken so that there was no need for more than one account. Most other social media sites have not picked up on this method yet so you must create separate accounts for you business and personal use.

2. Churn out lots of valueless content.

Excluding social media marketing, this is the biggest mistake businesses make when trying to establish themselves online. Creating valuable content is what will initially get your brand attention from users and it will keep them coming back for more. Make sure you update your posts frequently to keep your page fresh and not forgotten. Blogs are a great way to provide relevant, unique content that will give you a group of daily viewers. Content is king and needs to be thought out carefully. The goal is to provide your customers with something useful that they can’t find anywhere else. Why else would they come to you otherwise?

3. Not actively marketing their page.

Many people create a fan page and they think the work is done. However, this is only the beginning of the journey. Now you need people to like and follow your page. Unless your brand already has an established and loyal following, you will have to market your company’s fan page before you will see many people liking the page. There are endless ways to market your social media pages and profiles but paying for placed ads is the easiest if not the more expensive route. Otherwise you can do similar marketing yourself. It is complex to set up but provides a ton of value when it is set up correctly. Many websites offer services that promise to get you 1000 fans but usually provide likes from fake profiles they created in bulk. Have your potential hire explain how they get their fans to like your page before you buy their services.
Keeping in mind these three tenets when creating your social media profiles and pages will go a long way in helping you to establish your company online. The power of social media allows you to acquire many new customers who are interested in your product or services. Your company’s fans will share your links and ask their friends to like your page providing viral word-of-mouth marketing.

1 comment:

  1. I believe that a social media consultant must be attuned to the company goals and aspirations if he or she is to represent them on their social media channels. I also think that outsourcing social media marketing is a good idea for a company looking to specialize in their core business. In any case, most businesses outsource marketing and advertising and I don’t see why social media marketing should be any different. You just need to be actively involved to ensure that you are represented in the way that you want

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