Top 4 Social Media Mistakes

Social media is no longer an oddball marketing tactic, it’s a proven marketing method for thousands of businesses worldwide. With small businesses, major corporations, and Fortune 500 companies all rushing to create their own social media presence, we’re seeing significantly more social media successes.

However, alongside those successes are some embarrassing mistakes. From fake grassroots marketing to paid-for reviews, big brands occasionally make some major errors in the transition to social media marketing. These five mistakes seem to pop up embarrassingly often, so we’re put them together as an anti-template for social media marketers.

1. Online astroturfing

Normally reserved for “grassroots”political campaigns, astroturfing is the process of creating a marketing campaign that appears spontaneous and audience-driven, but is really planned out well in advance by the advertiser.

A standard practice for some offline advertisers, astroturfing rarely ends well in the online world. Social media moves fast, and users can quickly find details about online personalities and so-called “genuine” movements. Create real social media movements, not manufactured enthusiasm.

2. Being a brand, not a person.

People use social media platforms to connect with other people, not other brands. As valuable as an @Microsoft Twitter account could be, it’s unlikely to provide any direct interaction with customers. If your company is using social media for customer support, assign each employee a personal account, not just an anonymous company brand.

3. Moving too slowly.

A large number of offline-only companies are amazed at the speed of online business. Social media moves incredibly quickly, with major news stories traveling across the world in mere minutes. There’s no greater proof than the massive reliance on Twitter for recent news stories and world events. While traditional outlets take hours, sometimes even days to report, Twitter users have pieced stories together in minutes.

There’s a downside to this, especially for small businesses. While social media can promote you rapidly, it can also bring your business down without careful attention. Respond immediately whenever negative feedback hits the airwaves, and don’t let stories travel without your side out there.

4. Spreading your influence.

Social media is all about influence. When given the choice between 100 semi-valuable profiles or one ultra-influential profile, which would your business choose? Obviously, the choice is in the single profile, but thousands of businesses, intentionally or not, end up choosing the hundred.

For businesses with multiple employees, it’s unwise to spread influence across each and every account. Using individual accounts for technical support and customer assistance is a worthwhile strategy, but it’s especially wise to keep one brand-only account for major announcements, promotions, and business events. Ensure that your followers only need to listen to one account, and enjoy greater online influence.

Tags: social media