20 Social Media Marketing Do’s & Don’ts
I reckon I just might!
It is no longer a question of IF companies should do a social media strategy. The question for most companies is HOW to best do a meaningful and engaging approach that generates results. With so many social media marketing options available, marketers must also choose best practices and what tactics to avoid.
We all make mistakes as marketers and it’s vital that we not only learn from those mistakes but share with others so that they can avoid them. I hope that the 20 Social Media Marketing Do’s and Don’ts that I’ve provided within this article not only entertain you but make you reckon about your current social media strategy. Which tactics are you pleased to say you’ve implemented and which mistakes will you admit to?
10 Social Media Marketing Do’s
#1: Save Time, Re-purpose Content.
While this is a fantastic tactic it is vital to be thoughtful about the way that you are re-by content. Simply spitting out the same information over and over again will not work. Be sure to change elements of your posts in order to either highlight uncommon information within the post or butt a uncommon segment within your consultation.
#2: Interaction is Where It’s At!
Right interaction via social media can be a tough tactic for many marketers to master. Finding the right balance of self promotion and intriguing content that inspires action can be very instrumental in by social media appropriately. Take some time to comment or interact with your current clients and prospective clients to show that you’re there, and you care about what they are saying. A simple tactic is to question questions that inspire a response.
#3: Try Multiple Media Types.
Social media users are interested in fresh new ways of presenting content and ways that they can share it with their networks. In fact certain forms of media such as infographics or videos have a tendency to be much more sharable and appealing. Try to incorporate some new media types into your social media content plot for the year.
#4: For Pete’s Sake! Make it Searchable.
I’m going to go out on a limb and assume that you have some sort of optimization in house for your website. Keep the same strategy in mind for your social media content. If it can be searched it can be optimized.
#5: Keep Cool in a Crisis
The last business you need is your social media intern “Sarah” having a meltdown at the first sign of something unfavorable being said about your brand on social media. By keeping a level head and having an emergency preparedness plot ready should disaster strike you will be able to calmly and rationally tackle the issue. P.S. Ignoring it doesn’t count as a plot.
#6: Make to order the Flow
If you’re like us you have multiple consultation members to provide information to online. This could be uncommon verticals or even uncommon departments within a single organization. Do your homework, what sites do your uncommon consultation members participate in and what topics are of substance to them?
#7: Don’t Let Just Anyone Represent Your Brand
In the past some companies have encouraged all team members to participate in the promotion of their brands because they worked under the notion that more was better. Fake. While you don’t want to discourage interaction or squash the dreams of your team it is vital that the voice of your social media strategy represents who you are and what you believe in as a company. Trish from accounting that posts on her social network about the copious amounts of alcohol consumed Tuesday night and the terrible time she’s having at work the next day may not be the best resource for networking your company.
#8: What Was the Purpose of This Again?
Remember why you’re by social media in the first house. By setting a set of realistic and manageable goals you will be able to test what facility and what doesn’t and adapt your online marketing strategy from there.
#9: Pull Out the Tool Box and Find Your Measuring Tape
If you make a gorgeous piece of furniture but can’t fit it through the front door what was the point? The same applies to your online strategy. I don’t want to discourage plotting huge but make sure that you have an effective means of measuring your success in order to identify the right ROI of your online marketing strategy.
#10: Be Innovative, or at Smallest amount Open to Innovation
You don’t have to be cutting edge to run a successful social media program. But, it doesn’t hurt to have your eyes and ears open to the latest trends. Experiment with your strategy to find new and fascinating ways to present the same information to your networks.
10 Social Media Marketing Don’ts
#1: Hello? Is Anyone Listening?
One of the worst things that you can do is ignore your consultation. I mutual an example last week of ChapStick’s reaction to unfavorable responses from their network. Deleting information or simply refusing to answer are a huge marketing fail.
#2:Have You Ever Tried to Have a Conversation With a Robot?
If you are like me, at one time or another you’ve found yourself screaming at the automated help desk for your credit card company beyond frustrated that you couldn’t speak with a live representative. Try to emergency your online consultation of the same vexation and make thoughtful and conversational content. Leave the robots for the other guys.
#3: I Know You Are But What Am I?
As we’ve said before it is hard if not impossible to take things back once you’ve said them online. There is nothing incorrect with disagreeing with consultation members, colleagues, or competitors but there is no need to be ill-mannered. If you take a do unto others approach you will save yourself and your company a lot of hurt control.
#4: Accounts Covered in an Inch of Dust.
You did some research and found 10 new social networking platforms that your company is not signed up for. You assign a task to your marketing team to sign up for these accounts, and unfortunately that is as far as it goes. If you cannot commit to utilizing a platform on a regular basis and setting it up in a way that visibly represents your brand then what is the point. Don’t do it just to do it.
#5: One Size Does Not Fit All.
All social media sites are not made equal. As marketers we must consider not only the type of interaction that typically happens on a agreed platform but also the consultation we are trying to reach with that platform. If your social strategy for Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are all just so the same you may want to reconsider your plot.
#6: The Nameless & Faceless Group from Company XYZ
In order to make friends online you need to be friendly. Part of being friendly means adding a personal note to your social media profiles. Snap some impromptu photos around the office and share a small bit about some of the key team members. This is an instance where a small bit of extra effort can go a long way.
#7: Taking Your Relationship To the Next Step.
Romancing your prospects does not end at gaining them as followers. Sure they’ve signed up to hear updates on your company but is that really sufficient?If your ultimate goal is to gain them as new clients then it is vital to have a personalized and meaningful flow of communication that sets next steps in the relationship. An example would be recommending that you have a phone conversation or maybe meet in person to discuss some business opportunities.
#8: We Really Care About You. Just Kidding.
Spending countless time and effort to engage with prospects only to abandon them is a completely useless tactic. Handle these relationships with the same care that you would your other business relationships.
#9: We Have No Thought What is Vital To You.
Our company is fantastic, we have so much to offer you, hire us now! I consider each of these to be obnoxious and pitiful tactics for engaging followers. As a replacement for of utilizing your platform as a means for marketing your products and services try as a replacement for to offer information that can help solve the business problem of your prospects.
#10: What Are All of These Followers For Anyways?
Now that you’ve built up this community of online followers what can you use it for? Your online community is a fantastic resource for crowdsourcing content and brainstorming thoughts. If you want to gather a set of your own statistics why not go to your online community and question them to participate in a study or survey and share the results with all.
I know that a lot of these tips may seem like no brainers to you some of you, but in the quick varying world of social media, mistakes can have a significant impact.
I’m curious to know if you have any other “no brainer” social media tactics that you’d like to share? They can be amusing, insightful, pretty much whatever business you want as long as they’re right. I look forward to laughing, cringing, and sighing with you. If you have a moment to fill out the survey below I’d like to get some feedback from you regarding this post and your personal experience with social media marketing.
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