The New Rules of Marketing

5 Dreadful Social Media Mistakes to Avoid At All Costs!

I've said it before and I am saying it again: Social media marketing can be a terrific way to engage, find and sell new customers on your company. But only if you are doing it correctly! Social media blunders are very easy to step into, and really messy to emerge from. In Social media it really pays off in a big way if you learn to do it correctly. Creotivo.com reports that a full 74 percent of brand marketers saw an increased web traffic after putting in a mere 6 hours each week on social media. So in the interest of not having that occur to your business, listed here are five common social media mistakes to be sure you avoid!

1. Not engaging with your audience - Make sure you are actively engaging your social media audience. Ask questions, conduct polls, share funny stories (hopefully somewhat relevant) and ask their opinions: they'll gladly provide them, and you'll be far wiser and closer to your goals in several ways.
2. Not responding to your customers - There is no quicker way to ruin whatever goodwill and respect you've created in your brand than to ignore your customers. It's far too easy to totally miss customers and prospects posting their concerns, questions or complaints on these very platforms! Don't be that person!
3. Boring, unexciting content - If you can't build up any excitement about your brand, you won't get other people to, either. Convey passion for your brand, excitement about what you're doing, and you'll find this can be infectious. Generating a buzz about your business starts off with you!
4. Always promoting - No one wants to be continually sold to, and social media is littered with companies that have tried. Strive to develop relationship and trust first, after which it will be a lot easier to send an infrequent selling message.
5. No plan for social media - The lack of a strategy for your social media marketing is practically asking for it to fail. You need to understand the why and the how, and which platforms are best for you. (Not all are!) It also helps to know who is your target audience and what kind of tweets they might respond to.  For example:  Men in general are less likely to respond and engage with fashion updates. It helps to arm yourself with a list of topics your target audience might be interested in.

I would be remiss if we didn't share a link to a glaring example of what NOT to do! After the recent Boston marathon bombing, the food site Epicurious sent out a couple of unfortunate tweets.

What I find is that one of the reasons businesses are reluctant to engage in social media is that they do not understand that not all posts (tweets) have to come from them.  It is perfectly ok to share other peoples content as long as you also share the original source.  For instance: Since I am in the "marketing online" business, I constantly scour the Internet for news that I can share with my audience. This is my way of helping my tweeps stay up to date with what is going on so they can implement in their business. 

In closing, Social Media is a wonderful way of promoting your brand, establishing yourself as the authority in your field, staying in touch with your existing customers/clients, connecting with future customers and staying top of mind.  Don't deprive yourself of this opportunity.  All it takes is a little planing, foresight and consistency.

Happy Social Networking...