One of the most important things any brand can remember is that while social media is a marketing tool, it really needs to remain social. It’s people talking to other people.
If you’re finding your engagement low on social media, before you get too frustrated and throw in the towel, have a look at some of the most common mistakes brands make on social media to see if you can turn things around.
Common mistake: Only selling
A one-sided conversation is pretty boring if you’re on the receiving end and, if you’re being honest, you’re more likely to run out of things to say if you’re not allowing a conversation to progress between two people. The same can be said for social media. If you are constantly talking about yourself through a continuous hard sell of your products/services, your target audience will quickly lose interest. It’s not very authentic if all you do is talk about yourself.
Solution: Develop your content strategy with engagement in mind. If you set out to engage people in a more meaningful way, you will find that your loyal brand community will grow as you make connections. Two things to consider are:
- Initiatives that utilize user-generated content – your audience will appreciate that you are taking notice of them.
- Using curated content from other sources other than your own blog and materials every-so-often – this also gives you a chance to connect with others on social media by tagging them in your posts.
Common mistake: Ignoring comments
Brands ignore a staggering 89% of inquiries on social media. That’s a lot of customer inquiries that are going unanswered. Often, with small business owners or small marketing teams (AKA one person who is running the show), it can be easy to let things slip through the cracks. But while you are busy running other aspects of your business, your community will go elsewhere if they feel you don’t value them. Studies show that 70% of people are more likely to stick with a brand if they respond on social media (and not with a copy and paste response!).
Solution: Social media is all about connection and dialogue, so connect and continue the dialogue. Whether on purpose or not, you should never leave a comment…
