8 Social Media Mistakes I See Businesses Making All the Time

In this blog, I will be sharing 8 of the most common social media mistakes businesses are making that I’ve seen.  In my 10 years of business, I’ve seen a lot of things that business owners do that hurt their business on social media. I want to give you these in hopes it gets you on the right path to social media success.

8 Social Media Mistakes I See Businesses Making All the Time

 

1. You’re being too “salesy”, posting only about your product or service.

Social media is about sharing valuable information such as how-tos, answering FAQs about your product or service and more.  This is what builds your credibility and trust with your followers.  Constantly selling may bring a few sales in the short term, but will likely alienate you from your followers in the long term.  

2. Not keeping the ‘social’ in social media.

This piggybacks off the last one.  If you’re always posting about your product or service and being too salesy, you’re missing the boat on social media.  Posting an inspirational quote, asking engaging questions or posting funny (and appropriate) meme can help the engagement on your page. These are called engaging posts to help keep the “social” in social media.

3. Posting your business post first on your personal Facebook profile and not your business page.

I understand the reason people do this is because your Facebook page doesn’t get much, if any reach.  But it’s not playing by Facebook rules and you risk getting banned.  The best way to handle this is to first post on your business page then share it to your personal profile.  That will in itself not only increase the reach of your post but shows your friends you have a Facebook Business page.  It also helps you to look legit as a business owner. 

4.  You’re not using hashtags.

Using a hashtag helps you reach your target audience, and likewise makes it easier for others to find your information. You can create a  unique hashtag as well, it helps your message stand out to the users who find the hashtag valuable.  Be sure to check to see the recommended number of #’s to use for each platform.

5. You don’t have a social media strategy.

Mel, I’ve not had one and I’ve gotten business from my postings.  Yes, you may be able to receive some benefits without one, however having a good strategy will boost your results significantly.  It doesn’t need to be elaborate.  Just write down something you want social media to achieve for you and a plan to what you want to post and how you’re going to get there.  Be sure to track it afterwards.

I recently had to do this for my own social and it worked.  I hadn’t been getting any business from my social media, so I created a posting strategy, implemented it and after a couple of months, I started getting inquiries for social media help.   Need help with this, give me a call 281-701-9743.

6.  You’re posting sporadically.

 Business owners tell me they don’t have time to  post every day.  I get it, we’re all busy!  Hence the reason I get hired!  If you can’t afford to hire a social media expert like me to do it, then I would recommend to post at least once per week and be consistent with that.  You can also use tools such as schedulers (Buffer, Hootsuite) to set up a couple of posts to go out once per week or more if you like.  On the other end of the posting stick, is the issue of posting too much.  You may be driving your followers crazy with that strategy.  I would recommend once or no more than twice a day.

7.  You’re spreading yourself too thin.

Just because there’s a new social platform out there that’s all the rage i.e. Tik Tok…doesn’t mean you have to be on it.  First and foremost, are you’re target customers there?  If so, then maybe start gradually moving towards that platform.  You may need to learn one platform really well before moving over to others and spreading yourself too thin.

8.  You talk at your audience, rather than from their perspective.

When posting, put yourself in the shoes of your audience: As it relates to your product or service: What are they struggling with? What questions do they need answered? Think primarily about what they need from you, not the other way around.

There you have it!  Did you see yourself in any of these?  Do you have any questions about this blog content or any other social media topic?  If so, feel free to call or text me at 281-701-9743.