Social media offers a remarkable business advantage for integrated marketers. Unfortunately, the sheer number of available platforms, frequent algorithmic updates, and required time commitment often prevent businesses from maximizing social media's benefits. In fact, as Smart Insights outlined recently, there are six costly-and unintentional-mistakes that marketers often make with their social media strategy.
Ideally, social media helps your business improve its positioning in the market, adding value to your outreach, and providing new opportunities for sales and interactions. We've looked previously at tips for selecting the right platforms for your business. Every app/page delivers a unique experience, so experts encourage choosing two or three channels that best align with your business and building a presence there, at least until time and resources loosen.
To maximize your impact, your social media profiles should communicate your business personality. Ensure that your logo and brand are clear, that your messaging effectively communicates what you do, and that you encourage communication. Perform an audit of your existing social profiles if you have any or look at those companies who are performing well in your industry and create an action plan.
Social media is an opportunity to build connections with your audience. If you're not there starting the conversation, they won't be there to participate. There are plenty of analytics tools available to help marketers find when their audiences are active. This data will differ for each organization, but the key is to ensure posting consistency so that your readers know when to visit.
Frequently reviewing your analytics data lets you know if you are hitting the right time/right message/right audience trifecta. Are readers responding when you post? Are your posts relevant? When are they visiting? Being customer-centric is important for standing out in a crowded market, so continually recalibrating your social media to reflect your audience's interests and your performance, is critical.
What worked yesterday may not work today-or tomorrow. Periodic platform changes alter what viewers see, so regularly review your site, stay on top of changes, and re-strategize, as needed. In the past, social media was primarily for promotion, while today it is about engagement. The introduction of new technologies may again change how people use social media, so smart marketers will be prepared to adapt to the changing market, platforms, and demand.
Not Taking Advantage of New Technology Live chat, live streaming, AI and machine learning, while relatively new enhancements to web and social sites are also increasingly becoming the standard. Not only will users expect these add-ons to be incorporated into your social media practice, you will need to build them in to stay competitive. Use live chat for personalized customer care, live streaming for better real-time engagement, and AI for predicting user behavior and responding accordingly.
The customer is key to your social media strategy. Integrated marketers who keep customer engagement and satisfaction high by avoiding these six social media pitfalls will reap the rewards for their businesses.
