10 Social Media Marketing Mistakes that Stop Business Growth

Every business is on the internet these days. And why shouldn’t it be? When the web is the place where the largest numbers of people are present. Ready to become customers. Should any dose of effective marketing come along. Social Media Marketing plays a major role in this new-age story. Working with an affordable HughesNet plan, I’ve experienced its advertising power upfront. And I’ve seen how it can help companies rake in some massive profits. Without the need of a great deal of expenditure.

Social media marketing is easy. As easy as launching an attractive ads campaign on Facebook. Or Instagram. Or Snapchat. Or all these platforms at the same time. There isn’t much of a ‘learning curve’ involved.

But sometimes, things aren’t so simple. Especially when the marketer becomes complacent. And in being so, goes on to miss several growth opportunities.

In this blog, I’ll discuss 10 of these social media ‘hiccups’. So that you, as a potential marketer, can avoid them in your promotional work. And if you’re a professional business executive, then you stand to gain a lot of marketing mileage. Should you choose to work with this information!

Social Media Marketing – Both an Art & a Science:

I like to think of social media marketing as both a science and an art form. It is a science because it requires you to master certain basics. And then go on to proceed in an orderly & systematic fashion.

But it is also an art form. Because it demands a certain degree of creativity for its successful execution.

If you end up doing everything exactly the way everyone else is, then ‘where comes the novelty’? And hence, the profits?

As a marketer, you have to learn to balance these two factors in your online promotions.

Ten Social Media Pitfalls to Avoid:

In this section, I’ve detailed some of the common social media pitfalls that you need to avoid at all costs. If it’s more customer engagement and conversions that you’re interested in.

I’ve divided these pointers into content, channel and feedback-specific categories.

Content:

1. Using Difficult Words in Ads Content
2. Digressing from the Exact Promotion
3. Using Incorrect Grammar & Punctuation

Channel:

4. Ignoring Mismatches Between Business-type & Platform
5. Being Slow in Recognizing Trends
6. Misusing Audience-targeting Features

Feedback:

7. Not Prioritizing Customer Feedback
8. Ignoring Rising ‘Dissatisfaction Trends’
9. Ignoring New Product/Service Line Opportunities

I’ve elaborated on each of these concerns below.

Difficult Words:

The main reason why companies make ads is to inform people about their products & services. But this purpose becomes lost with the use of complicated diction. So the first thing that you need to do when proofreading your ads content is to simplify the wording.

Remember: You’re looking for mass appeal here.

So you don’t want to leave your potential customers scratching their heads. And becoming frustrated with your outreach attempts.

When writing, focus on generating words for a U.S Grade Level 3 audience. Because you never know, your next customer could be a youngster with his (or her) parents’ ear.

Beating about the Bush:

Again, your ads campaign will only be a success if your promotional message gets conveyed. But you can’t do this if you mince your words a lot. Or beat about the bush – hoping your customer will reach the crux of your advert himself.

When writing ads content, you need to be direct and concise in your approach. And on-point.

Remember: Your target audience won’t read through lengthy prose boxes. Or bother with any complicated metaphors.

So do everyone (including yourself) a favor – and don’t fall off track.

Bad Grammar and Punctuation:

Nothing puts off a customer more than poor grammar and punctuation. And if you didn’t know this, there is a difference between using a colloquial and an informal tone of the text. The latter can be done correctly. By sticking to industry standards (as they relate to language use).

Believe it or not.

Whenever you’re auditing ads content, it always helps to use grammar check software. This identifies all the language mistakes in your copy and even suggests corrections.

Mismatches between Business Type & Platform:

Before you launch a campaign, you should study your social media channels. Do they offer exposure to the target audience that would want to connect with your brand? Are they loaded with ad targeting options that let you customize your reach? And are they easy to use?

Take the following facts into account.

Facebook marketing is great for all small to medium-sized businesses. And especially startups working in a B2C sales/production arrangement.

Similarly, LinkedIn marketing is more suited to B2B software promotions.

Instagram marketing is perfect for brands with a lot of high-quality multimedia promotions. Think photography studios and online art galleries.

Pairing the right channel with your marketing campaigns is important. As such, it has a big impact on your brand’s sales profile.

Being Slow in Recognizing Trends:

New marketing trends emerge on the internet and social media like wildfire. And if you don’t get on their bandwagon quickly enough, you can get burnt.

I mean this quite literally.

As a social media marketer, you need to keep track of your competitors. And see if you can replicate their success for your own ends.

Misusing Audience Targeting Features:

Almost every social media channel comes with nifty ad targeting options these days. These allow you (as a brand marketer) to target specific audience sets. Like those that hail from a specified gender, age, or social background. People generally tend to share this information freely on their social media accounts. And so it becomes almost ‘natural’ to connect with them; if you’re offering a desired product or service.

Missing Out on Customer Feedback Cues:

Customer feedback allows you to improve on product/service areas that your consumer-base doesn’t like. Social media is one of the best customer engagement forums where this information is freely available. So taking advantage of this massive resource should be on your mind constantly.

Back when I was involved in marketing the HughesNet internet service, keeping on top of customer feedback helped a lot. If anything, it helped me to correct a lot of service failings faced by the ISP company. And even suggest a new round of user-specific add-ons.

Read Also:

• 10 Social Media Marketing Tools for Creating Best Content
• Important Aspects of Digital Marketing Strategy for a Successful Business