Social media marketing has become a necessary tool for businesses in nearly every industry. No matter where you turn, customers are popping up on Twitter, Facebook, and even Google+ to mention your brand. Unfortunately, missing a beat on any of these platforms can spell trouble for your company’s reputation.
In 2016, social media management is a critical key to maintaining a visible presence online. However, the reality is that 25% of small businesses still don’t use social media as of 2015. If you’re within that 25%, it’s time to pay attention to how social media management can impact your business.
For the other 75% of business owners who are actively engaging on social media, here are 5 ways you’re sabotaging your presence (and you might not even realize it).
Social Media Sabotage #1: You Haven’t Published a New Post in Months
It’s easy to get behind on updating your social media accounts—especially when you have no idea what to post. However, leaving your social media account to sit idle is a recipe for self-sabotage.
The truth is that an inactive social media account makes the customer think that your brand isn’t savvy enough to keep up with the times. It also makes it appear as if there is nothing important going on in your business, and there are no exciting updates to share.
The good news is that your updates don’t have to always be exciting. In fact, simply sharing helpful, relevant content can help grow your social media following. The idea is to share content that your audience will enjoy and help them solve problems.
Social Media Sabotage #2: You’re Overly Promotional
This self-sabotage sign is one of the most common among small business owners. Other than not posting at all, small business owners resort to only publishing sales and promotions. Unfortunately, this is a technique that very rarely works for drumming up engagement—let alone scoring a new sale.
The advice for this situation remains the same as above; focus on sharing interesting and relevant content in your niche. If you need some direction, Buzzsumo is a very helpful tool that digs up the best content in your industry with the click of a button. The other option is to create interesting content on your own and share the link from your company website.
While it’s certainly OK to post promotional content, don’t plan your entire publishing schedule around it. Limit yourself to 1-2 promotional posts per month and focus on sharing helpful, engaging content for the rest of the time.
Social Media Sabotage #3: You Don’t Answer Customer Comments
Social media allows customers to leave comments and reviews about your company. Depending on your industry or the nature of your business, you can get a lot of traction on your social media accounts.
It’s important to respond to each comment or review, whether it’s positive or negative. This is best practice for reputation management and makes your company look attentive to customers.
Social Media Sabotage #4: You Didn’t Fill Out Your Entire Social Profile
A lot of small business owners fail (or forget) to fill out their entire social profile on Facebook, Twitter, and beyond. This might not seem like a big deal, but leaving a blank profile can actually work against you. The reason for this is because social media platforms also serve as a search engine, where customers might be searching for your product or services.
The best way to take advantage of your social media profiles is to carefully optimize with your keywords. Keep the tone as natural as possible and include your industry keywords as well as geographical keywords, such as plumber Greenville SC.
Also be sure to include your contact information on your social media profiles so customers are able to contact you. You don’t want to lose business because customers can’t find your phone number.
Social Media Sabotage #5: No Strategy
Many business owners also fail to realize that social media marketing isn’t a haphazard posting attempt. In order to get results out of your social media campaign and maximize your ROI, a strategy must be in place.
This often includes using a publishing calendar as well as writing your own content on your blog. Even if you choose not to blog on your website, you should aim to curate the best content possible in your industry to share with your customers.
How is Your Business Performing Online?
The truth is that your social media presence is a significant piece of your digital marketing puzzle. In order to cut through the noise, you’ll need a social media marketing plan in place along with SEO, and even pay-per-click advertising. If you need assistance with one or all of the above, contact your digital marketing experts at Bigfoot Media today.
Want to know how your business is doing online right now?
Use our FREE website scanning tool below to get your visibility score – Takes 45 seconds.
