Top Social Media Marketing Mistakes Companies Make and How to Avoid

In this article, I will highlight and breakdown the top social media marketing mistakes companies make and how you can dodge them.

We live in an age where every company (or at least a huge majority) is present on social media, for better or for worse.

The reason for the comment is that there are still many, many, many companies out there that are really not doing a great job on the social media, for a number of reasons.

Their social media practices resemble a chaotic routine more than the graceful dance of ballet dancer as they stumble from one mistake into another, turning it into a BIG mess.

Today, we will be looking at the most common mistakes companies still manage to make on social media and we will also share a few tips on how to avoid them.

Top Social Media Marketing Mistakes Companies Make and How to Dodge Them

1. Doing it all

If you think that your accounting agency should have its own Pinterest or Instagram page, think again.

If you were looking to promote your homemade jewellery business on LinkedIn, think again.

Some social media outlets are better suited for certain companies, while others work better on others.

The mentioned examples are quite drastic, but there is a huge number of companies that try to do every social media outlet because they think they should.

There is no need for that.

In fact, this way you are far more likely to spread yourself too thin and cause your content and your social media presence to look more like a game than anything else.

Instead of this, why not focus on one or two social media outlets that really make sense for you, like for instance Twitter and LinkedIn for B2B companies or something visual Like Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook if you are selling products to consumers.

Of course, these are just suggestions.

2. The wrong person doing it

Ah, the social media intern.

That mythical being that is brought on to give “that whole social media thing” a try and perhaps, just perhaps, turn everything around.

Well, guess what?

They will not turn it around. This is not saying that social media interns and similar individuals cannot be effective. It is just that they will not revolutionise the way your company exists and bring you thousands of new clients. At least not quickly.

Social media requires time and a human touch from someone who understands your company and who has worked for it for a while. Instead of bringing someone in just to do social media for you, check with your present employees and find out if someone is particularly social media savvy.

Or, try something crazy and have your employees take turns doing company social media.

You can also hire our well-trained digital marketing professionals or Click here to be a well trained digital marketing professional.

If you do wish to handle your company social media, then register for our next digital marketing training.

Just equip your own self with those skills and be your own digital marketing professional. That way you save up money on employing someone. Use those skills to build your business into an empire.

Which brings us to our next mistake…

3. Not tracking the proper results

Perhaps the biggest mistake that companies make when they do social media is not being smart about their results.

For one, they expect too much in too little time. Social media is not as quick to bring returns on investments as some other types of marketing. It is meant to work over time, accumulatively.

More importantly, many companies make the mistake of not tracking the actual results and the metrics that matter. Instead of tracking how many new conversions are directly or at least indirectly tied to their social media efforts, they track likes and favourites and follows, the so-called vanity metrics.

Do not get us wrong, these do have their value, but for the actual ROI and the actual, cold, hard numbers, KPIs like conversions and traffic coming from social media are much better indicators of where you stand.

Most of our agency and past students were once making this mistake.

4. You’re not providing value

People won’t share your content just for the fun of it. Most users are only interested in sharing content that would make them interesting to their followers. This could include entertainment and how-to guides.

The first thing you need to do to encourage your followers to share your content is to provide value. If you provide them with useful stuff, you can expect them to return the favour with likes, leads, and conversions.

This could include entertainment and how-to guides. The first thing you need to do to encourage your followers to share your content is to provide value. If you provide them with useful stuff, you can expect them to return the favour with likes, leads, and conversions.

5. Not using tools

Another mistake that is a common sight in companies that use social media is that they expect their people to handle everything when this is just not possible.

Would you force your sales team to work without an email client or a phone?

You would not.

People need tools to do their job and this goes for social media that companies do to improve their revenue. Social media tools that the companies can use will include huge, comprehensive solutions such as Hootsuite and Bigbangram.

The important thing is to create your set of social media tools and then find the best uses for them.

6. You expect social media to replace traditional marketing channels

Most businesses now understand that social media plays a key role in marketing their products successfully. They spend a lot of time and money on their social media campaigns but they often fail to turn those clicks and likes into sales. In short, they fail to create a sufficient return on their investment.

People don’t go to social media sites with the objective of buying stuff. If that was their intention, they would go to an e-commerce site instead.

Rather than generating sales, social media is more suitable for creating buzz and building your brand. It cannot replace traditional marketing channels.

7. Access to everyone

As a business, you have to be careful who has access to your social media accounts.

You should develop a social media marketing strategy and have a selected team in charge of it, but then limit the access to just them. Opening it to everyone in the company can backfire and in return have a massive impact on your social media reputation.

8. Taking too long to reply to complaints

Many customers use social media as a forum for complaints, as they generally find that they get a faster response from the company. So, businesses should always respond to complaints as quickly as possible.

Not like the airline British Airways, who famously took eight hours to reply to a complaint from an angry customer, making him angrier in the process. In the time that they took to respond, the customer paid to promote his tweet and it was seen by over 70,000 people.

So, businesses should always respond to complaints as quickly as possible. Not like the airline British Airways, who famously took eight hours to reply to a complaint from an angry customer, making him angrier in the process. In the time that they took to respond, the customer paid to promote his tweet and it was seen by over 70,000 people.

In the time that they took to respond, the customer paid to promote his tweet and it was seen by over 70,000 people.

9. Taking the Human Out of It.

Probably the most terrible mistake that companies make on social is that they forget what social media is all about – about people and connections between people.

It’s in the name, really.

Your social media channels are not meant to be ad space and just another way to grow your email list.

This is not saying that you should not promote your company from time to time, but it should not end up being the sole purpose of your social media accounts.

Company social media accounts are meant to bring your business closer to its customers and partners. It is a way to show how your company is different and how it does certain things differently.

It is a lot of things.

Want to find out other mistakes you are making with social media? Why not join our next digital marketing training. If you have not registered, I want you to come, and I want to hang out with you. Let’s make this work. It is filling up fast, and you’ve shown interest in the past.

The digital marketing industry is projected to be one of the fastest-growing industries for business expansion. All you need is to have a passion for digital marketing and basic computer skills. This is one sector that all companies depend on for their existence (As you may know marketing is everything in business).

However, there is a significant talent shortage. This is good news for aspiring students and professionals who are looking to start their own digital marketing business, as well as business owners. If you want to avoid these top social media marketing mistakes for your prospective business, then you should consider attending our digital marketing course for proper enlightenment.

You can read more about social media marketing here