Social Media Marketing can be a disaster just waiting to happen.
If you’re not careful, Social Media can be a forum for very public brand failures. Even veteran marketers have been known to stumble.
So what can you do? Take a note of these 7 social media pitfalls to avoid.
Firstly, as suggested by Bower Web Solutions:
1. Using a hashtag without understanding what it really means
After the Twitter hashtag, #WhyIStayed, began trending in order to promote awareness and speak out against domestic violence, Digiorno Pizza tweeted this…
ALWAYS do your due diligence on the significance and purpose of hashtags before trying to use them in your post. This is one of the more offensive social media pitfalls- pay attention!
2. Poorly relating or being insensitive to holidays and special events
Often companies create cheesy posts for holidays that are ineffective. However, sometimes they can be extremely offensive if they do not respect the meaning of the holiday. In the example below, where an advertiser sought to leverage Martin Luther King day for commercial purposes, the post was outright ignorant and a Facebook user shamed this as another one of the worst social media pitfalls.
3. Using images without fully knowing their source and meaning
To celebrate July 4th, American Apparel posted a picture their social media administrator believed to be a cloud or some type of firework, but in reality was a picture of the Challenger exploding.
4. Faiing to respond to and resolve customer feedback
Smuckers has donated and supported the production of GMO crops, which they use in some of their products, and received questions from their followers on their Facebook page about it. Instead of responding to the post and explaining their position and belief on the situation, they resorted to deleting the negative posts and in turn created an uproar on social media. One of the easiest social media pitfalls to fix is to simply be nice in your comment section.
5. Only talking about yourself and your products
The purpose of your business for utilizing a social media platform should be deeper than simply adding another medium for generating business sales. It should be a way for you to create truly loyal fans and followers, by giving them an insider’s look into your company. Below is an all too common example of businesses’ social media accounts that lack a deeper purpose and are therefore ineffective.
10 likes from 1,459,815 page followers
Circles Studio adds:
6. Having an intern or assistant do it all
While it’s fine for interns to help execute your social media, it’s vital that there is someone from management that is driving the strategy, planning and content. If not, then your social media marketing can quickly become unaligned with your brand. Just like you wouldn’t send an intern alone to a tradeshow or press conference, you shouldn’t have them posting content online without strategic guidance and oversight.
7. Not engaging with followers
Social media should not be a one-way street. To be successful and build a following that matters, you have to be social! Share others’ posts on Facebook. Ask questions. Answer questions. Retweet. Share articles. Thank people for retweeting your posts. Repin. Like others’ posts. These are all ways to be involved in social media. The more engagement, the better; so don’t forget the social in social media!
Such are the common pitfalls of Social Media Marketing.
If you want to know what you should do in social media marketing, take a look at our online training courses, which will help you to succeed in Social Media.
Here are the current courses (click on the links for more details about each course):
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING COURSES
Facebook Accelerator Programme
So you have a few hundred (or a few thousand) followers on Facebook but now you want to know how to get to the next level? Our Facebook Accelerator seven-part online course will lead you through the steps necessary to supercharge your Facebook presence and get Kiwi consumers engaging with you and your brands.
For more details of the Facebook Accelerator programme, please click here.
The Principles & Practice of Social Media Marketing
This is a thirteen-part eCourse providing a comprehensive introduction to Social Media Marketing, from the Basics to detailed instructions on how to build and run a Social Media Marketing programme.
For more details of the Social Media Marketing online course, please click here.
The Complete Facebook Marketing Course
For those who wish to master Facebook Marketing in its entirety, we’ve created a ten-week online training programme which will take you from absolute beginner on Facebook to highly effective Facebook communicator.
For more details of the Complete Facebook Marketing programme, please click here.
How to Prepare an Effective Social Media Brief
Even if you don’t intend to become directly involved in social media yourself, you may still need to understand the principles, practices and opportunities of social media — for example, if you need to brief someone about running a social media campaign. This programme is designed to provide you with the insights necessary to prepare an effective brief.
For more details of the How to Prepare an Effective Social Media Brief programme, please click here.
How to Use LinkedIn Effectively – For Your Business And Your Career
This is a seven-part online training eCourse providing a comprehensive introduction to LinkedIn, from the basics to detailed instructions on how to use LinkedIn to promote your organisation, build your personal reputation, find a job, recruit prospective employees and even make sales.
For more details of the How to Use LinkedIn Effectively programme, please click here.
ONLINE VIDEO MARKETING COURSE
Online Video is no longer an “up-and-coming” marketing tactic — it’s here, and it’s a powerful way to communicate your brand story, explain your value proposition, and build relationships with your customers and prospects.
Remember the old cliche that a picture is worth a thousand words? According to an estimate by Dr James McQuivey of Forrester Research, one minute of video is equal to 1.8 million words.
So let’s cut to the chase. It’s well past time for you to upskill yourself in online video marketing. That’s why we’re launching our newest short course on the topic.
For more details of the Online Video Marketing course, please click here.
