Approximately 500 million people use Instagram daily, social media marketing is one of the most effective ways to shed light on your business to a huge audience. Most businesses know that, however, only a few use social media marketing to their advantage. You will often notice in digital marketing strategy guides that you should be authentic and create relatable content. But it doesn’t always work in your favour when you try to do that. These businesses could be doing everything right—but they could be doing some things very wrong. Here are seven common social media mistakes that you need to avoid if you want your social media campaign to show great results:
1. Not defining your target audience- Not everyone on social media platforms will fit your brand. Defining your target audience will let you focus your social media marketing efforts on people who are genuinely interested in the product/service you’re selling. However hard you work, if are not certain of your audience, you will gather vague results. Studying your audience is a very significant step to making your product or service a success.
2. Failing to engage in conversations- It does not matter how many updates you add to your social media platforms; if no one comments or shares them, it is all a waste of effort and time. That is why you ought to take time to create content that people want to engage with — content that provokes conversations. If your updates get no reactions, maybe it is time for you to think long and hard about the social media strategy approach that you have chosen. And when you finally get your consumers to react to your updates, be sure to engage back. A conversation is a two-way street. Reply to comments even when they are negative and remember to be polite and friendly, this will lead to a long relationship.
3. Not tracking analytics- Insights into what you have done in the past and the results you got out of it will help you plan for the upcoming duration. Use a good analytics tool and monitor your performance. By tracking your analytics, you will be better placed to create targeted marketing strategies that will improve the quality of your brand following.
4. Treating all social media platforms the same- Each social media platform is different. You must study the language of each platform so that you can speak to the users in a most relatable language. You ought to speak a language similar to the users of the social networking site on which you intend to grow your brand. When you learn to see each social media platform as an identity on its own with its distinct opportunities, you will start to discover brand new ways to leverage these chances to grow your business or increase its awareness.
5. Not curating user-generated content (UGC)- UGC can benefit your Instagram account by 200% within a few months. It helps brands to understand their target audience and their communities better. It helps to build trust. Furthermore, it increases engagement and time spent on your site or social media platform, which is crucial in your digital marketing strategy. It makes your stakeholders feel like they’re a significant part of the communication. It also develops a personal connection with your brand and starts an impactful relationship you’re building with your audience.
6. Not boosting the right posts- Top-performing posts do even better when boosted and are significant in growth marketing. The engagement rate on your existing Facebook posts gives you a good insight into how successful the post is likely to be when boosted. Making sure your posts is reaching the correct target audience is a part of performance marketing that will also give you better traction.
7. Working without a plan- Many people who take their first steps in the world of social media are just following a guide instead of putting together a strategy for social media marketing. Your first step should be evaluating your possibilities when it comes to social media platforms and your business objective. That should influence all of your actions.
Keeping these few points in mind regarding your digital plan will make you more competent. It will keep you prepared for the possible contingencies and more proactive with the brand. It will also give the audience a good sense of your brand persona.
