6 Social Media Marketing Mistakes to Avoid

If you’re using social media marketing as part of your business marketing strategy, you’re in good company. According to Business 2 Community, 97 percent of businesses rely on social media to connect with their target audience. But being active on social media doesn’t necessarily mean that you’re using it effectively. Here are six common mistakes to avoid when using platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to market your brand.

1. Not using visual content

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. Or at least 140 characters. Your audience is more likely to pay attention to your content if it contains an image. Instead of cramming every word you can into a post or tweet, change things up with an interesting picture or video to keep your audience engaged.

2. Assuming all platforms are equal

Before you join a social media platform, make sure that your target audience is actually using it. If you want to reach young women, Pinterest might be a great choice, but not so much if you want to reach middle-age men.

3. Overwhelming your followers

Yes, it’s important to get your message out there, but spamming your followers’ feeds or threads is not the answer. Be consistent with your posts, but don’t be excessive. Posting too often is a fast way to lose followers. Quality over quantity is critical when it comes to your social media strategy.

4. Using too much self-promotion

The ultimate goal of social media marketing is to promote your brand. But if every post or tweet focuses on how great your company is, your followers will soon stopg your content. You definitely want to keep consumers updated on the goods and services that your business provides, but pay attention to what your followers are posting and create content that will keep them engaged and interested. Your social media content shouldn’t look like a stream of advertisements.

5. Forgetting to monitor

Don’t expect social media to do all of the work. Make sure that you’re actively engaging with your audience.

“You can’t just blast the world with your ideas, products, and services, then sit back and expect everyone to think you’re so wonderful. That is unrealistic,” Blueberry Baboon CEO Lisa Cash Hanson told Business Insider.

Engage with your audience by posting content that asks questions or provides opportunities to share ideas. Don’t forget to respond to comments and thank followers for re-tweets and shares. Building a relationship is an important part of marketing that will build trust in your brand.

6. Forgetting to proofread

In an ideal world, it would be unnecessary to remind people to proofread before posting. But social media tells us that even businesses sometimes post without thinking. According to Hootsuite, spelling and grammar are easy ways to erode the credibility of your brand. Try to always have at least two pairs of eyes look over any social media content before it goes live.

What about you – ever learned from an early social media marketing mistake? Let us know in comments below or on Twitter!