Social media marketing is tricky. It can be as easy as using a Facebook business page to help sell a product or service, or be much more complicated than that with paid ads. To make social media work for your business, you’ll need to find the fine line between what works and what doesn’t.
Three common mistakes small business owners make when venturing into the world of social media marketing are:
Overselling
Yes, you are trying to convince consumers to purchase your product or service, but at the same time your marketing efforts (especially online) shouldn’t be painfully obvious or too aggressive. Online marketing is so popular that nearly 70% (66% to be exact) of marketers factor in online marketing when they project their sales goals.
Reserve your strongest sales pitches for times when you can extend extra goodies to your customers (i.e. discounts, promotions or giveaways).
Being TOO Social…
Consumers tend to devalue a brand if they don’t interact on social media as much as other competitor brands. Small business owners, however, should not overexert their brand by increasing their social media presence to the point where it becomes too thin. Just because there are X number of social media networks available doesn’t mean your business needs an account with each one.
Focus on which social platforms get the best results for your organization and strive that to post exactly what your audience wants.
…Or Not Being Social Enough
Unfortunately, the opposite can also be true. Businesses today need some social media presence or they’ll lose out to competitors. This can cause you to miss out on sales and connections with potential customers. Failing to have enough social media presence can lead your customers to feel that you aren’t putting enough effort into customer relations.
Utilizing social media isn’t as easy as it seems. But when social media works, it’s well worth the investment. You just need to take the time to decipher how to use it properly.
To read up on how to make social media work for your business, continue reading: 4 Reasons Social Media Works for Small Businesses.