Social media is still very much misunderstood by many small business owners. Business owners are confused about the value of social media. And if they are using Facebook and Twitter, they don’t always know the best ways to leverage their social media accounts to grow their business.
In this post, we’ll go over 5 very common mistakes so you can avoid them.
Believe it or not, all of the hard work and dedication you’ve put into an online presence are wasted if your social accounts are poorly run. Your user friendly, responsive website and fantastic reviews won’t matter if you don’t have a strong Facebook or Twitter page to back them up.
A survey conducted by Market Force found that 78% of respondents said the posts by companies they follow on social media impact their purchases. Your social media presence has become one of the biggest decision makers for consumers. Run a campaign with best practices in mind in order to cater to this audience.
If you’re managing your own social media accounts for your business, avoid these common mistakes:
Not responding to your followers
Facebook recently changed its algorithm to focus more on business pages’ interactions with their users and not on the number of likes a page maintains. The goal is to get your followers to engage and interact with your posts, so, when they do, answer them!
Make sure you “like” comments from customers and share your feedback with them if they are kind enough to do the same. This will show you’re thankful for their support, and they will continue to be active on your page.
Posting too often
Do you like pulling up your Facebook and Twitter news feeds to see eight posts in one day from the same flower shop down the road? Not really. Don’t take over your fans news feeds with multiple posts per day. This annoys users and ultimately makes them unfollow your page. Posting a few times per week is in your best interest as a business. You’ll still be able to keep people interested in your activities without flooding their timelines with spam-like posts.
Getting too personal
It’s difficult to take your own personality and interests out of social media posts. Facebook and Twitter have become major platforms for sharing opinions and beliefs, but this could be a detrimental mistake for a business page. Show your followers your brand personality and what makes your company unique, but shy away from posts about religion, politics, etc. These are touchy topics and can spark dialog you don’t want on your page. You might also alienate potential customers!
If you maintain a social media strategy and avoid these common pitfalls, you’ll grow your community naturally. Happy posting!
Alternatively, there are plenty of small businesses who don’t have the time or expertise to maintain their own social media strategy. If that’s the category you fit into, contact us, and an Egghead can discuss how we’d be a good fit for a partnership!
