So far universities don’t offer a degree in social media and creating a social media strategy for your business can be as fun as getting a root canal. Whether you’ve been using social media for a while or you’re just getting started, most businesses are making the same costly social media blunders.
Good news is these blunders have an easy fix. But if you continue doing them, you won’t get the most out of your social media endeavors. And you don’t want that, right? Here are three common social media blunders and how to fix them.
1. Get Leadership to Buy In
Social media is the new kid on the block, and unless you like raised eyebrows or being scrutinized and micromanaged every step of the way, it’s important you have cooperation and consent from all levels of leadership, starting from the top.
How to Fix it: Be prepared with presentations, statistics and information about what your competitors are doing and how social media affects your industry. Leadership buy in will help create an atmosphere that will nurture social media success. Social media needs to infiltrate your company’s culture in every department – not just marketing. Have patience. Don’t forget, there is a steep learning curve when it comes to attaining social media zen.
2. Beware the Social Media Guru
As I mentioned before, there isn’t a degree in social media marketing and business development. Just about anyone can call themselves a social media guru. You can do a Google search for social media experts and get billions of spammy results. Be especially wary of those who promise you first page search results and thousands of “fans” without getting to know your needs first. Gaining momentum in social media takes time – don’t trust any “magic pill” offer.
How to Fix it: If you decide to hire a professional services firm to help with your social media efforts, do your homework first. Research what campaigns potential partner companies have done, ask for referrals from other social businesses and check out what your competitors are doing. When you start interviewing different social media consultants, monitor the conversation. Are they asking you what your goals are? Do they seem genuinely interested in your business? Are they over-promising? Professionals won’t “tell you what you want to hear.” Instead, they will create a personalized plan based on your goals and provide metrics and baselines to monitor your progress.
3. Cross-Posting is Lame
Do not, let me repeat, do not post the same message on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr and LinkedIn. It may seem like a time-saving idea at first but trust me, your followers and fans will notice. Each social media platform is different and the styles of communication differ as well. Tailor your message to the platform.
How to Fix it: Take the time to educate yourself on the different communication styles of each platform and your social media efforts will thank you later. Twitter is a great real-time platform for building one-on-one relationships. Do some searches and follow people in your industry as well as target clients. Watch their online habits and see what they are interested in (other than your services). Start relevant conversations and get to know them. Become a trusted source of information relevant to your industry. Facebook is similar to a cocktail party where you invite people to “like” your page and create conversations based on similar interests. Each platform has it’s own communication style. Give people a reason to follow each of your different social media accounts.
How did your business tackle social media? Did you make any social media blunders? How did you recover? We look forward to hearing from you in the comments below!
