10 common Mistakes Startups/Business Make on Social Media

If you’re a new business owner , Startup  than establishing a strong social media presence is a must. Like any marketing tool, however, social media is useful only when it's used effectively.

Social media marketing is not about getting online and posting all you can about yourself and your startup. Before you make your presence felt online, it is imperative for you to have a social media strategic plan in place. Your social media efforts need to have a solid foundation and a strategic plan that outlines your goals and details your resources will be just that.

here are 10 social media mistakes and how to avoid them.

1. Not having a target 

Every startup needs a business plan, and your plan for using social media needs to be part of it. The key to setting goals for social media is identifying your target customers, then determining where to find them. If your demographic is women, look to Pinterest, but if you’re aiming for customers under 25, check out Snapchat.

2. Not using metrics

Having a target helps only if you measure how well you’re hitting it. With tools like Facebook Insights and Twitter Analytics, you can track how customers reacted to specific posts, how often your brand is mentioned, which demographics responded most favorably and much more.

3. Using too many platforms

It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of launching your brand, and join every site available. However, trying to juggle Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, Snapchat, and a partridge in a pear tree will lead only to burnout. Start with just a couple of platforms and post regularly.

4. Losing out on traffic

You may do your best work at 2 a.m., but that doesn’t mean your customers will be awake to read it. Make sure you are posting when your base is online. According to Buffer Social, Facebook engagement rates are highest on Thursdays and Fridays and hit a weekly low on Saturdays, whereas click-through rates on Twitter peak on the weekend.

5. Writing too much

The good things you have to say about your startup could fill an encyclopedia, but on social media, less is more. Facebook posts with 250 characters or less get 66 percent more engagement, and although all tweets are necessarily short, those with 100 characters or less still get 17 percent more engagement (again, according to Buffer Social)

6. Misusing hashtags

Hashtags help cut down on characters and craft targeted exposure for your brand, but only if they are used strategically. Tweets with hashtags have double the engagement, but engagement drops when more than two hashtags are used. Photo captions crammed with hashtags are less likely to be read.

7. Not responding to customer complaints

Every business gets occasional complaints, but when a customer posts an angry rant to social media, the rest of your customers are there watching how you handle it. Always respond to complaints promptly and in a professional manner. Ignoring the complaint, deleting negative comments or posting a sarcastic retort will only make matters worse.

8. Not asking for customer feedback

Never pass up an opportunity to find out what customers think, especially when it comes to a future product launch. Customers respond best when given a number of options. Post open-ended questions to get a dialogue started in the comments section, create polls and surveys for anonymous feedback or form focus groups using Google+Circles or Facebook Live Q&A.

9. Promoting too much

While it may seem counterintuitive, promoting your business too much can backfire. According to Social Media Today, just 20 percent of your posts should promote your brand and 80 percent should be other content. If you sell a line of protein supplements, for example, link to news articles about nutrition, share your favorite smoothie recipes and post photos of you and your protein-fueled kids crossing the finish line at your local 5K run.

10. Lacking engagement

Social media doesn’t work if you don’t socialize. Growing your business requires connecting with like-minded individuals via private messaging, commenting, or sharing their content, not just pushing your own. If you aren’t trying to find ways to add real value to the lives of your target audience, you could potentially be making a fatal social media mistake.