5 Social Media Mistakes Small Businesses Make (And How to Avoid Them)

5 Social Media Mistakes Small Business Make (And How to Avoid Them)

Avoid these common errors and achieve social media success.

Social media presents enormous opportunities for small businesses. It allows you to connect directly with your customers and spread the word about your brand effectively and inexpensively. These days, virtually every marketer recognizes the benefits of social media and an increasing number of small business owners are dipping their toes into the social media waters. Yet, despite social media's growth, there are still many small businesses that don't quite "get" it. And there's a dramatic difference between doing social media and doing it correctly. Here are 5 common social media mistakes that small businesses make and how you can avoid them.

1.    Failing to plan

There's a lot of truth to the old adage, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail." Every business, no matter how large or small, needs to develop a plan, goals, and timeline expectations in order to build a successful social media campaign.

2.    Not tracking the results of your efforts

It's vital to measure the results of your social media marketing efforts to determine what's working and what isn't. Track your social media campaign to ensure that it's helping you reach your goals, and if it isn't, don't hesitate to change course.

3.    Treating it like a traditional marketing channel

Unlike traditional marketing mediums, social media isn't a push marketing channel. Sure, people expect to see the occasional piece of company news or promotional update, but they also hope to interact with your brand in a more casual manner while obtaining helpful information that's relevant to their needs. In other words, share images and articles that would be of interest to your customers, engage in conversations with them, and ask them for feedback. Talk less, listen more. People will be more interested in what you have to say if you take the time to listen instead of try to force your message upon them.

4.    Expecting overnight results

Small business owners often get excited about social media and put tons of effort into it at first, but their passion quickly dwindles and they let it fall by the wayside once they discover that results don't come overnight. There's absolutely no point in starting social media if you aren't going to post and engage with others on a regular basis. After all, the value of social media is that it enables you to build relationships. You need to use it consistently for a year or two to see any results.

5.    Poor branding and design

Your social media profiles represent your brand and are an extension of your business's website. Don't let them look like any old profiles. Enhance your brand image and increase the chance that potential customers will take interest in your business by filling out your profiles completely and branding all of your social media accounts with your logo, tagline, company information, and relevant images. 

 

Generate More Leads and Revenue from Social Media with efelle

efelle is a Seattle social media marketing company that designs fully branded social media account pages for small business owners. We also help small businesses generate more leads and revenue from social media by developing and executing effective social media marketing strategies. To discover just how far social media can take your small business, give our social media marketing experts a call at 206.384.4909 or fill out our online contact form to set up a free consultation.

 

See Also:

6 Social Media Tips for Online Businesses

7 Things That Every Small Business Websites Needs