Social media marketing is a highly engaging way to increase brand awareness, connect with your audience, and promote your products or services. Yet, it isn’t always that straightforward, and getting it right takes time and practice. Making mistakes on social media is inevitable, but you can prepare yourself to minimize the amount of “oops” you commit.
Let’s take a look at common social media mistakes and learn how to avoid them.
You Don’t Understand Your Audience
Without a true understanding of your audience and what makes them tick, it can be difficult to use language that genuinely speaks to them. If they can’t relate to what you are saying on social media, then it will be tough for them to take the desired action.
Instead of making this social media blunder, set aside time to identify specific characteristics about your target audience, such as:
- Demographics – age, gender, ethnicity, household income
- Occupation – homemaker, banker, fortune teller
- Location – domestic, regional, international
- Interests – gardening, space travel, fitness
Once you have all the identifiers nailed down, you will have a better picture of your target audience, including what matters to them. This way, you can craft your messaging in a way that feels more personal and effective.
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You Use the Wrong Social Media Platforms
To be honest, it’s not so much that any social media marketing platforms are wrong, but there may be some that aren’t right for your brand.
Once you understand your audience — as we discussed earlier — it’s easier to think about which platforms they are more likely to spend their time on.
For example, the audience for Facebook skews a bit older than that of Instagram or TikTok. There are slightly more females who use Facebook than males, and slightly more males who use Twitter. These are generalizations, and of course, there are exceptions, but you can use information about the networks to guide your choice of platforms.
When you spend your time on the social media platforms where your audience is most likely to be, then your content will likely see more traction, and you’ll get more bang for your buck.
You Post Irrelevant Information
Posting information that doesn’t connect with your audience is another common social media mistake. Again, it goes back to understanding your audience. Once you do, then you can let that understanding inform your content choices.
For example, if your audience is mainly 30-year-old professional males who love sports, then your content should align with those interests. It should also tie into your brand, so you can help your audience make the connection between what they care about and how your brand is addressing that need or problem.
You Forget to Engage with Your Audience
Social media marketing depends on your attention to keep the machine running.
Your job is not done once the content is published; instead, you also need to be watching for interactions with your content.
If someone comments on a post, for example, make sure you respond to their comment. Not only does it show the audience your brand is present and cares, but when you respond, it also makes your followers feel important to your brand.
Interaction with your audience can also help uncover some insights into how they feel about your brand. Perhaps there are common questions that come up, that you can create a new blog post around and answer those questions. Maybe there are frustrations you can address with a live stream video.
However, you respond to your audience, make sure it’s timely and genuine.
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Go Forth and Be Social
Now that you have an idea of some of the more frequent social media mistakes, you can try to avoid them as you plan your strategy. As long as you spend time learning about your audience upfront, it will be much easier to determine the right social media platforms, publishing highly relevant content, and remember to engage with them.
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Check out Simplilearn’s Advanced Social Media Certification Training, where you’ll be transformed into an industry-ready social media marketer. Combining the disciplines of advanced social media, advanced content marketing, and advanced web analytics, this course will help you elevate your brand and execute successful social campaigns.