8 Mistakes You're Making With Your Business' Social Media Strategy

n 2016, social is everywhere. If your business isn’t active on social media, then you’re missing the opportunity to reach a large chunk of your target audience and to advertise your business. You may even be losing business to your competitors who are on social media. Many businesses understand the importance of being active on social media in 2016 and may even be employing a professional internet marketing company for help, but so few businesses have a solid social media strategy. Have you noticed a lack of growth, engagements, or sales/conversions coming through your social platforms? There could be a reason for that. Here are 8 mistakes you’re making with your business’ social media strategy.

1.  You’re using too many social networks. There’s a plethora of social platforms available for you to use. However, that doesn’t mean you should be on ALL of them. Facebook and Twitter are the most popular and versatile. LinkedIn can be great for the medical industry. However, It would be kind of weird to see most medical offices active on SnapChat. In contrast, SnapChat is perfect for the fashion industry, but LinkedIn can be rather limiting. Some social networks work better for certain industries than others. Rather than using ALL social networks, focus on which ones are the best for your industry and where most of your audience will be. It’s better to focus on building 2 or 3 really great, strong social profiles then having 5 or more profiles that are just “okay”. Always remember, quality over quantity.

2.  You’re posting too much. Sure, it’s important to post on a regular basis, but that doesn’t mean you need to over-do it. Posting once a day is more than enough. You could even get by with posting just 3-5 times a week. Posting 5 or more times a day, however, is not recommended. When you post too often you may come off as being annoying or spammy and you could end up losing followers and engagements.

3.  You’re not posting enough. While you need to be careful of posting too often on social media, you still need to make sure you’re posting enough. How can you expect your content to be seen and remembered if you never post? Rather than having to remember to post regularly, create a series of 10 or more posts at once and then use a scheduling program like Sprout Social, Hootsuite, or even simply Facebook scheduling to schedule the posts to be posted throughout the month. This will help you to easily post on a regular basis without overdoing it.

4.  You’re not actually socializing. Anyone can talk on social media, that’s easy. However, many businesses struggle to actually socialize with their audience. They talk at their audience, rather than to them or with them. Don’t make this mistake. Instead of posting promotional content intended to sell products 24/7, break your posts down and be sure to ask questions and post non-promotional content, too. You’ll also want to engage directly with your audience. Answer their comments and messages and ask them some questions of your own. Social media should be seen as a conversation between your business and your customers or followers. Remember, it takes two to have a conversation.

To read the full article and to see which other 4 mistakes you may be guilty of making with your social media strategy, click here.