5 MISTAKES YOU'RE MAKING WITH YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA!

Social media is tricky! It’s constantly changing and evolving but it’s around to stay. Social media statistics show that there are 3.5 billion social media users worldwide. 90% of millennials are on social media of some sort; 77% of Gen X are present on socials ( Oberlo). Basically, if you’re not marketing on social media you’re missing out on a HUGE opportunity, but if you’re on social media and using it incorrectly you could be shooting yourself in the foot even more. The numbers show 71% of consumers who have had a positive experience with a brand on social media are likely to recommend the brand to their friends and family (Lyfemarketing, 2018), so imagine what they’d say about the companies they have a bad experience with! Social media can make, or break your business. We’ve seen companies gain huge amounts of sales on twitter when something goes viral (shoutout the Popeye’s sandwich), but we’ve also seen companies and people get torn apart when something negative goes viral. You want to stay ahead of the curve with your socials and make sure they’re producing great results.

So these are the 5 mistakes you’re likely making with your social channels!

1. You don’t have a social strategy. 
   -Social media has become an everyday part of almost everyone’s  life. But, it is STILL marketing. If you’re utilizing it for business without a strategy ; you’re using it wrong. If you’re creating a social strategy, you need to know who you're marketing towards, what you want from them, and how you plan to get it. Now with creating a social strategy, it is a task within itself for sure. But, to get started , I would recommend starting with these 8 steps from Sprout Social!

   1. Set meaningful social marketing goals- What do you want to achieve with social media? More engagement? More purchases? More bookings? 

   2. Research your target audience- Who is your ideal client?  What networks are they on? For instance, any company geared towards teenagers that does NOT have a tik tok account is seriously not thinking!

   3. Establish your most important metrics- Likes don’t really matter, what’s the reach of the post? How many people are SEEING it? Are they engaging with it? Commenting? Saving it? Sending it to friends? Social posts don’t just get sent into an empty void, they’re interacted with and these interactions matter way more than the likes. 

   4. Analyze your competition- What are they posting? When are they posting? How does it look? What do you like about it? What do you NOT like about it? 

   5. Create and curate engaging content- What type of content are you going to create? User generated content? High quality photography of products? Video and longer form content? A mix of all of the above?

   6. Make timeliness a top priority- Don’t post and disappear! When somebody comments be ready to respond back!

   7. Assess your results and optimize- See what works and adjust what isn’t!

   8. Communicate goals, challenges and wins with your team- Let your photographers know what type of images did the best, but also let them know which ones didn’t! 

2. You’re sharing a business page with a personal page.
   --In rare cases this is fine. I get it, when your business is just beginning it’s easier to just keep everything together. I mean, your customers are your friends and family, right? But if you’re not ready for expansion when it comes, then it’s too late. Newer clients and customers likely don’t care about what you had for breakfast or your Sunday cleaning! Obviously, if your brand is YOU (YouTubers, public figures, etc this will be a little different- that’s where tip 5 comes into play)

3. You have a profile on every network and are barely active on any. 
   -When I hear about a business one of the FIRST things I do is check to see if they’re on Instagram or Twitter. If they have what I call a “Shell profile”, (A profile with 0-3 post over 9 months) I’m usually turned off. If you can't keep up with your social media I quickly form an opinion about your business, and usually not a good one.  It’s better to be highly active on one profile than have shell accounts just sitting on social channels , because you’re overwhelmed with running six accounts. 

4. You're posting the same content on every social network. 
   -Different networks = different audiences. Facebook vs Twitter jokes has been happening for years. But there is truth in them! You use Instagram different than Twitter,  and Facebook differently than Pinterest. All these sites have different purposes and therefore different audiences. Meaning, you need to shake up the type of content posted.

5. You’re not using your profiles to link back to something more!
   Something like…your website! Social media is powerful but unless you’re using it to drive your business to something that is ALL yours, you’re missing out. Notice that when Youtubers post on its socials it’s often followed by “Check out my video on Youtube!” Or “Head over to my channel to see more!”. They’re using their social channels to direct you to ANOTHER avenue of income for them. You social channels aren’t the end of the journey, if you’re using them correctly they should be the beginning!