Today, a great social media strategy is more important than you ever anticipated. And for anyone who isn’t feeling the pain of his abandonment right now, he eventually will. However, this enlightenment alone is of little use if the social media strategy tools are not used in the desired way. You can be an active player in this game, but aiming alone isn’t enough to get you through, and sooner or later it will penalize you.
If you’ve been in the social media (SM) arena for quite some time but are still waiting to wake up for a field day, read on to learn why your business isn’t socially active and how to avoid it:
1. Short Term Engagement
Social media is fun to begin with, but one of the most common pitfalls businesses witness using social media is a rapid decline in interest. Without regular posts with increasingly useful content, followers will lose interest and not respond. But this is a no-sweat affair. To ensure you always keep your followers engaged, make social media account management part of your daily routine. Also, you don’t necessarily have to spend hours, 10-20 minutes is all it takes to see a considerable difference. And for anyone who finds it hard to commit, there are great SM management companies that can take care of everything on your behalf.
2. More is not always ideal
Your fans/followers want to be up to date with the latest, but that doesn’t mean you overload them with redundant stuff. While sharing memes and viral content is definitely part of a successful social media strategy, it can’t just be random. Posting too much or too little can kill your followers (not literally) and hurt your business. Inform your followers, don’t intimidate them. Creating a perfect balance between the number of posts you should share depends on how interactive the content really is. For example, sports brands’ social media channels need to have instant updates, so in that case there is no limit to how much you can share because your followers want to know everything that’s happening in the world of sports.
3. Post and forget
If there is a lack of engagement on your part towards user comments/questions, know that you have mastered the art of putting down your followers; and this is not good news. You should respect your followers’ time as much as you respect your own. If they are taking the time to answer/ask questions/or seek advice, reciprocate, ALWAYS.
4. Cross-platform publishing
Another unforgivable mistake that companies often make is to publish the same content on all platforms. While Twitter celebrates #, many of them can make your Facebook post unlikable (and, frankly, pointless). Take some time to personalize your captions and skip those extra hashtags, adding a touch of professionalism to them. Read about the trends and modify the text to make it more presentable and relevant. This is paramount to your social media strategy.
5. Characteristics of the non-complete milking profile
Detailed pieces rarely or sometimes do grab someone’s attention in SM. Incomplete profiles only speak of your lack of commitment. Whether it’s the ‘about me’ section on Facebook or your ‘biography’ on Twitter, this is your chance to tell the world what you do and how you do it; make it awesome and write your heart.
6. Text Only Posts
If you’ve been on SM yourself, it’s obvious that visually creative posts work better than regular texts. Visually rich content will attract new followers and keep existing ones entertained. Try and incorporate as many images, videos, charts, infographics, etc. on your posts to see a significant increase in engagement levels. This is one of the most useful features of an effective social media strategy and should be followed religiously.
Whether you are a local business or a global company, having a smart and solid social media strategy will certainly help you grow your customer base and maximize profits. Stay away from the pitfalls mentioned above and use these easy solutions to fix a broken social media campaign.
