Social Media Mistakes

Posted by Patrick on February 8, 2010

A lot of times when a company starts a social media marketing (SMM) campaign, they jump in head first with a plan that they are reluctant to change. In 95% of cases this strategy will yield minimal results and the campaign will be deemed a failure. This is a trap that a company new to social media should never be lured into. Here are some of the strategies companies use that generally don't work:

1. Creating Accounts and Expecting People to Find You

“If you build it, they will come.” This can't be any further from the truth for most any SMM campaign. Unless you are a star like Oprah, you are not going to gain a following by just putting up an account. You need to make your customers aware that you are using social media and let them know where to find it. Once they find it you need to provide them with a reason to follow you by engaging your audience with interesting and relevant content.

2. Posting Everything and Anything

When Twitter first burst onto the scene, the trivial facts that make up an individual's day became public whether or not anybody cared. When somebody tweets something like “On the way to the airport to pick up my Grandparents” your first thought is probably about how little you care.  Just because you can post something doesn't mean you should post it. This is true whether or not you using a personal account or in charge of your company's account. Just because you think something is interesting doesn't mean anybody else will, keep that in mind. It may be free to post something but you are still doing Internet marketing, what you post is part of your message.

3. Creating An Account And Not Posting

Though you don't need to post everything, if you don't post something you are not going to gain a following. Why should someone follow your account if you aren't providing them with anything that they are interested in. Whether you provide knowledge, exclusive deals, entertainment, or a way to communicate with customers; your account needs to engage your audience. If you build a following then let your account go stagnant what are you gaining from those customers?

A willingness to adapt and change is crucial to surviving in social media. If you are not initially successful it doesn't mean that your campaign has failed but it does mean you need to change your strategy. Even when you are initially successful in your campaign, the way people engage social media is constantly evolving. To get the most out of your campaign you need to adapt. 

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