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Newbie social media marketers approach social media marketing with certain misbeliefs, thinking that it’s too simple not to work. However, using social media for business purposes is a lot different than personal use. Let's talk about some of the most common social media mistakes people make.
There are so many things to learn about planning and executing a successful digital marketing campaign. Where to start? What to do? What not to do?
Note them, give your best to avoid them, and it will save you time, money, and frustration. Without spending time on repetitive or useless tasks, you’ll get better results faster.
Maintaining Too Many Accounts at the Same Time
On the one hand, you shouldn’t focus on one social network. On the other hand, engaging in too many networks at the same time will make success harder to attain. People overburden themselves this way and eventually quit social media marketing, believing that it’s useless.
Instead of setting up profiles on all social networks, pick one or two to start, and learn how they function. Once you master them, it’s time to move on to the next one.
After a while, your social profiles will keep growing organically, so you’ll have to put less effort into each.
Only Sharing Content From Your Website
Going hard with self-promotion will backfire. The purpose of social media networks is sharing relevant, educational, and interesting content. Share valuable content from other people – content that you think your audience will find relevant in any way.
It’s called content curation and it's a great way to increase your follower count and get noticed. Share content posted by the leaders in your niche, mention them in your posts, comment, and interact with them.
Shouting Louder to Get More Attention
There’s a lot of noise on social media, and brands need to cut through it to get heard. However, one of the main social media mistakes is shouting louder to get attention.
For example, a Facebook status update can easily get lost in the hundreds of updates that get posted every minute. And repeating the same update or writing it in capital letters will only annoy your followers. This is not the solution. Instead, be persistent and consistent with quality material.
Just keep posting great content, and over time, more people will start to notice it.
Trying to Increase Follower Count Too Fast
Adding too many new connections each day doesn’t mean that those people will follow you back. Actually, many social networks have certain rules and regulations, and you may risk losing your account if you keep adding too many people every day. It's one of the riskier social media mistakes you can make.
Add or remove about 10 to 15 per day to stay under the radar and grow your profile steadily.
Not Following Back
Following people back is an excellent way to expand your reach and continue growing your following. We recommend doing this, especially when your profile is new.
Of course, if you 100% don't want to follow someone, then don't. Quality still matters as much as — if not more than — quantity; so make it a priority to connect with the right people, and not just more of them.
Important sidenote: Do not, under any circumstances, use the f0llow/unfollow method of getting new followers. This is when people will follow a large number, many of whom will follow back. And then they unfollow all of them. This is spammy, it'll annoy people, and you'll get in trouble with the platforms. Just don't do it.
Going Completely Manual or on Auto-Pilot
Without a social media marketing tool, your social media endeavors will eat up a lot of your time. Also, you risk missing out on interactions, especially when you’re active on several networks.
On the other hand, automating all your social media tasks will remove the human touch. By relying too much on automation, you won’t be able to build trustworthy and meaningful relationships.
The best thing to do is to find a balance. For example, engage with your followers and write comments yourself, but schedule a few posts to free up some time.
Not Using Images in Social Media Posts
Posts with compelling visuals perform a lot better than those without. It’s true for all social media networks. Therefore, whenever you’re about to share something on social media, be sure to add high-quality and interesting images.
While you're at it, don't forget to resize each image to have the optimal dimensions for each unique platform. Using a tool like eClincher, this is quick, easy, and painless.
Not Listening
Communication is not just about you talking. It’s true that, in the past, there was no two-way communication. Marketers used to create and promote slogans and didn’t have a reason to actively listen.
In digital marketing, though, not partaking in social conversations is one of the biggest social media mistakes that you can make. It’s a two-way conversation, and you need to listen as much as you talk. Listen and respond and you’ll start seeing the ROI and exposure you desire.
Assuming That All Your Followers See Your Posts
It's one of the pitfalls newbies in social media marketing fall into, which always disappoints. For example, you have 4,000 fans on your Facebook page. When you post something using your FB business account, only a very tiny fraction of them will see it in their newsfeeds.
Using advertising is the easiest way to increase the number of people who see your posts.
With a good social media management tool, you’ll be able to keep your work on social media in check.
Use it for social media interactions, tracking hashtags and mentions, scheduling and publishing posts, and analyzing your social media performance. It's an all-encompassing tool with a unified dashboard from which you can manage all your social media profiles.
Be wary of these common social media mistakes. Social media marketing is an accessible and cost-effective solution for business success but is definitely not easy or quick.
It takes time for a brand to develop an online reputation and understand that social media management is a multi-way highway. With enough patience, awareness, stamina, and precision, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a social media superhero.
