5 Social Media Strategy Mistakes (and how to overcome them)

Hi

I thought I would share some of my findings about what I consider to be the 5 most typical social media mistakes and how to get round them.

1.    Firstly don’t sell or tell

Yes, this may seem obvious but actually the way you need to approach social media communication does differ from the more ‘traditional’ form of communication and we need to think differently about how we approach this.   It is about engaging, sharing, informing and interacting.  Through your conversation with others, you can show your personality and encourage a more informal channel of communication with your business and your potential customers.  So consider what type of information you would like to share and how this may encourage interaction – so ask for opinions i.e. a poll or give away information that may be useful via a pdf or a powerpoint.

2.    Not identifying your target market

You wouldn’t go into any other marketing activity without a clear idea of who you wish to target, well, social media is no different. Yet, it is surprising how many people don’t seem to take this on board.

Engaging in social media has a real cost/resource implication and therefore you need to make sure that time spent ‘engaging’ is productive and effective in the long term.

To get round this, for example, with Twitter, you could start following companies with whom you would like to do business with, you could try starting a dialogue through commenting on their tweets or retweeting or sending a direct message if relevant. You need to know your target market so you can tailor your content/message directly to them.

3.    Not doing a benchmark report

Before you start taking part in social media, or if you have already started – you may wish to consider conducting competitor analysis and find out what platforms your competitors are using, reviewing the metrics available i.e. likes, follows, etc and seeing what it is being used for.  This will at least give you a benchmark for comparison purposes.

4.    Not setting goals or Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)

You need to set goals/KPI’s and by undertaking a benchmark report at least you have a baseline to start with. Examples of KPI’s/goals measurements are number of fans/followers, retention, impressions, sentiment and share of conversation depending on the social media platform used. Brand awareness is always a KPI.  Without goals/KPI’S you have no effective way of measuring your performance and in the long term return on investment.

5.    Not reviewing your results & amending your strategy

I have heard people say they are taking part in social media but they are unclear of what they are/have achieved or meant to be achieving!   The way to get round this is to sign up to a social media metrics platform – this will give the statistics you need to make an informed decision.   In addition to this, if you feel you are not achieving results – then don’t be afraid to change your strategy and style – remember, your social media efforts is for the long term.

Like to know more? Then visit our talks and presentations page to see our most recent workshop presentation on Social Media Strategy or alternatively if you would like help with your social media, please contact us on 02392 480082 or email team@tri-synergy.co.uk

Thanks

Natalie

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