7 Costly Social Media Mistakes

We all know that social media gives us unprecedented access to other people interested in your niche or industry. Not to mention the products and services you offer. However, did you know that some new users of these networks can get so excited by the prospect of more profits that they actually end up costing themselves through simple yet avoidable mistakes?

Here are the top 7 to watch out for if you are a newbie social media marketer.

7 Costly Social Media Mistakes

Unclear goals

You want sales, subscribers, followers, yeah? Then you need to plan every campaign around a specific goal, which you can measure by getting the target market to take a particular action. By doing this you are limiting the number of actions available in the message or campaign, you help to reduce returns, unsubscribes, and unfollows.

Unprofessional profiles

You want to make sure that you make your profile as informative and professional as possible. This means you need to include basic information that potential customers or clients want to know, along with info that makes you stand out from your competition. Be sure to use a logo and colors to help you to be recognized at a glance, so be sure to add a unique and professional logo to your profile.

Following too few people

Be sure to take advantage of the suggestions when you sign on for most social sites! They ask you what you are interested in and give recommendations as to who you might like to follow. Sign up, because the ones they are suggesting are usually the top participants at the site in relation to your niche.

Promoting too soon

Did you know that most newbies to social networking are there because they’ve heard it is a great way to reach millions of people? The moment they sign up with their profile then they start to crank out posts, tweets, and promotions at lightning speed.

It’s not about you hammering out promotion after promotion, social networks are for being social! You want to focus on building relationships and connections that are based on your common personal and/or business interests.

Publishing the wrong content

We all know that every social network attracts people who prefer a specific type of content or type of delivery. In other words, most Twitter users want very short and to-the-point messages. Most content online is text-based, but many social networks are driven by eye-catching content, such as images and video. Organize your material into folders for each network so you deliver the right type of content to each social media network, based on its specialties and the preferences of their users. In other words, don’t use the exact same delivery for each social network. Mix it up to match your readers!

Ignoring daily search results

Make sure you conduct a quick search each day for a couple of your business’s keywords and/or brand products. Look for mentions of your business, product, and/or your name. Also, look for questions and positive or negative comments on other sites.

If you see questions, make sure that you answer them and/or refer the person to a specific URL for more information. Do you see positive comments and reviews? Thank them! If you see negative, refer them to your customer service email for more details on what their issue is. The offer of help will show good will to anyone who might have seen it and sort the real customers from those who might be doing nothing more than trying to damage your reputation online.

No matter how unfair they have been, make sure that you don’t retaliate in public!! It could cost you more than you can ever imagine. Keep it professional at all times.