The Three Most Common Social Media Mistakes

Here’s guest blogger Glennette Goodbread’s last post. Today she’s going to share the three most common social media mistakes.

Don’t think you’re alone when it comes to making mistakes when dealing with social media.   Social media can be a lot of work and mistakes are bound to happen.

Here are the three most common mistakes, why they occur, and how to change things so they don’t happen again.

Mistake #1: Messaging/Tweeting about useless things.

What is the purpose of your social media marketing?  If you’re like most people, it’s to build interest in your product and although you ultimately want them to make a purchase, it’s all about relationship.

So why would we care that you’re off to Starbucks?   Do you tell your family members every time you go to get a coffee? No, I didn’t think so. Granted, if you’re at Starbucks and you run into someone who becomes a new client, absolutely tell us and we’ll jump for joy with you.

Instead, pretend that every person who reads your Facebook posting or Twitter Tweet is a potential client that you might see face-to-face.  What would you say to them in person?

Mistake #2: Trying to invent your own social media marketing plan.

Are you nuts?  Why would you reinvent the wheel when so many other people are doing the same thing as you!  The easiest way to achieve success is to imitate what your competitors are doing.  Notice I didn’t say COPY. I said IMITATE.  Watch how they market using social media – then do the same things.

For example, when someone posts a comment, do they respond to it?   Do they offer a lot of free information to get people to check out their web site?  What does their profile say?  What does their profile include?   These are basic things that you can implement yourself, all of which are unique and potentially very profitable.

Mistake #3:  Having the wrong followers.

If you’re selling ice cubes and your followers are Eskimos, you probably have the wrong following.   Granted, when you have a personal profile you can have the entire world follow you (including that person in high school that you really didn’t care for). However, when you’re in business, you want people following you that are potential clients.

Again, let’s go back to the “real world”. You wouldn’t attend a networking event for doctors if you were a landscaper.    You need to be mixing and mingling with your own group, people in your niche.   Use your social media application’s search feature to find others with similar interests that might benefit from what you have to offer (whether it is knowledge or tangible products).

If you’re going to spend your valuable time doing something, PLEASE do it right.   A social media marketing plan is too vital to your business success to not give it the attention it deserves.  If you’ve been doing it wrong, fix it.  If you haven’t started, do it right the first time!  And what are you waiting for?  Your target customer is online waiting for you to strike up a conversation!

Glennette Goodbread is a Christian woman who has been designing and hosting websites since 1999. She’s a techie at heart and loves helping people. Visit Premium Web Design and Hosting today and be sure to say Hello!