With more companies going online to make a name for themselves, social media marketing can have a dramatic impact on your business. All it takes is a quick scan of the latest news on Google to see successful social media marketing campaigns. While most people specializing in social media will tell you that social media is the way to go if you want to start marketing online, it also presents many risks, and this means that an effective social media marketing strategy is an absolute must if you want to go the Web 2.0 route.
Creating an effective social media marketing strategy that will yield positive results is as much about what you should do as to what you shouldn’t. Before you jump on the bandwagon, it is very crucial that you understand everything you should avoid when you start a social media marketing campaign.
The don’ts of social media marketing
Not focusing on your network: With social media marketing it is all about the people in your network and they can either make or break your business. If you are only publishing information and sales messages to them, they will desert you and move on.
Ignoring your followers: Your social media strategy should always include a listening process where you listen closely to what your followers are saying. If you are not listening to them, then you are not providing your followers with the information that they want.
Ignoring questions: If your followers are asking you a question, answer it. The question to you might not be as important than you think it is, but to your followers it could be very important. Always be honest and transparent when replying to questions.
You cannot please the whole world: This is just not possible. You can never please everyone all the time. It is not always just about pleasing everyone. How you are handling the minority can often determine the success of your campaign.
Admit mistakes: If one of your followers has a problem, never try to shift the blame onto them, even if it was a mistake that you have made. Always be polite and switch their focus out of the public domain where you can handle the matter personally.
Social media marketing isn’t everything: It is all well and fine being active on social media channels such as Twitter, Pinterest, and Facebook, but do you have followers in person? The offline world can also be a valuable source to build your network.
Social media is a communication medium: If people mention you online or on a blog post that you have written, don’t ignore them. If you are about to release a new product or service, invite them in. If you ignore them, they might go away, and for many businesses this is something that cannot be ignored. Maintain those relationships.
Ignoring your strategy: There are many people who believes in only creating profiles on popular social media channels are enough. Abandoned social media profiles with out of date data is not very good. A profile that was setup a few months ago with no activity on it may show that you are not open and transparent on what is going on. Be active.
Never talk only about yourself: People generally don’t always want to know what you had for dinner, lunch, and breakfast. They might be interested to hear about your accomplishments and the products that you are offering, but it should never be just about you.
A proper social media marketing strategy is really awesome and it is not that difficult once you get started. Re read the tips above to make sure your campaign doesn’t fall flat on its face.
