Denver Website Design Company Asks if Your Business Is Making These Social Media Mistakes
March 17, 2021
Everybody makes mistakes, but when you can avoid making a mistake on social media where hundreds or thousands, it’s a good thing. Here are some of the common blunders our Denver website design company sees among our clients—and a bit of information on how you can avoid these same mistakes.
Social Media Mistake #1—Being Overly Promotional on Social Media
Using social media properly is about more than just posting advertisements. Your audience sees enough ads; they want to see other things too. A social media account is not just a billboard for your business. It is a way for you to engage with customers and potential customers. It’s a way for you to gather pertinent information and insight about your customers. Social media offers businesses a way to educate people, participate in relevant industry conversations, and promote thought leadership. You should follow the 80/20 rule in social media: 80 percent of your posts should be fun, informational, or educational; the remaining 20 percent can promote your brand.
Social Media Mistake #2—Treating All Platforms Like They Are Identical
Every social media platform is different, and your social media posts should respect this. For instance, there is a 280-character limit on Twitter. Instagram doesn’t allow you to include clickable links in captions. LinkedIn is for professional networking. What this means is that if you create one generic post and put it across all platforms, your results will likely be underwhelming. This also means you do not need to be on every single social media platform that is available. Stay on those sites that make the most sense for your business. For most businesses, the top three platforms are Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Social Media Mistake #3—Being Unsocial
The literal point of social media is to be social—and to interact with others on a digital platform. This interaction should be used to figure out what your customers want, meet potential customers, and cultivate leads. All too often, companies simply talk at their followers rather than with them. Not responding to comments or ignoring negative feedback makes your brand look bad. Chances are, it’s going to hurt your bottom line eventually.
Along those same lines, however, you should also engage with followers who provide positive feedback. Thank people for sharing their experience with your brand, ask questions, and others seek to create active participation.
To find out more about just how important it is for brands to engage on social media, read this guide put out by Hootsuite. It goes over the algorithms on Facebook and provides an interesting view on the importance of conversations and engagement for increasing your social media reach.
Social Media Mistake #4—Posting Inconsistently
Have you ever looked up a brand’s Facebook page, only to see that they haven’t posted to the page for more than a year? If you’re like most people, you find yourself wondering if they are even in business anymore. Large gaps of time between social media posts can be very harmful to businesses.
It’s not a big deal to miss a few days here and there, but you should have a consistent plan for posting content. Make a plan, then stick with it. It can be useful to create a content calendar of social posts, so you aren’t left with no ideas on what to post. Facebook, in particular, has very sensitive algorithms, and posting frequency is weighed quite heavily.
Social Media Mistake #5—Posting Irrelevant Content
Consistency is about more than just setting up a posting schedule. You also need to make sure your brand voice and your content is consistent. Some social media marketing experts believe that more than 50 percent of people will unfollow a business because they are posting irrelevant content. Don’t step too far outside your lane when it comes to social media posts. For instance, rather than comment on a trending topic that has nothing to do with your company, skip posting that day—particularly if the topic is controversial or tragic. Weighing in on things that are irrelevant can do quite a bit of damage to your brand.
Social Media Mistake #6—Focusing on Quantity Instead of Quality
There is a fine line between posting often enough—and posting too much. Brands that post too much will probably find themselves unfollowed or even blocked.
Spreading yourself too thin across too many platforms can also be an issue. As mentioned previously, you don’t have to put your business on every social media platform. Pick a few that will work best for your niche and focus on posting quality content that your followers will find valuable. You are better off having a strong presence and engaged followers on two platforms rather than a mediocre presence on six platforms.
This is where having goals for your social media presence is essential. If you have goals and a strategy in mind to, say, increase sales by 15 percent, it’s easier to focus on that—and not let yourself get distracted by wondering if your company should be on TikTok.
Social Media Mistake #7—Being Inflexible
Although you can and should plan your social media calendar in advance, be sure to have the flexibility to change things up if you need to post something timely. Evergreen content is good, but you should also post on current events and industry news—as long as it is related to your brand’s messaging. For example, a Denver-based brewpub could run a promotional event after a Broncos playoff game win to take advantage of the buzz surrounding the event.
Learn More About a Successful Social Media Marketing Strategy
Feeling overwhelmed by social media marketing? Have questions about how your business can use it more effectively? The experts at Denver Website Designs are here and ready to help. When our team works alongside your team, they can help your Denver business—and businesses anywhere—create an effective social media marketing strategy and make sure you avoid some of the social media blunders other businesses make. Find out more about a digital marketing strategy for your company by giving them a call at 303-498-9000!
Go Back Social Media Mistake #1—Being Overly Promotional on Social Media
Using social media properly is about more than just posting advertisements. Your audience sees enough ads; they want to see other things too. A social media account is not just a billboard for your business. It is a way for you to engage with customers and potential customers. It’s a way for you to gather pertinent information and insight about your customers. Social media offers businesses a way to educate people, participate in relevant industry conversations, and promote thought leadership. You should follow the 80/20 rule in social media: 80 percent of your posts should be fun, informational, or educational; the remaining 20 percent can promote your brand.
Social Media Mistake #2—Treating All Platforms Like They Are Identical
Every social media platform is different, and your social media posts should respect this. For instance, there is a 280-character limit on Twitter. Instagram doesn’t allow you to include clickable links in captions. LinkedIn is for professional networking. What this means is that if you create one generic post and put it across all platforms, your results will likely be underwhelming. This also means you do not need to be on every single social media platform that is available. Stay on those sites that make the most sense for your business. For most businesses, the top three platforms are Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Social Media Mistake #3—Being Unsocial
The literal point of social media is to be social—and to interact with others on a digital platform. This interaction should be used to figure out what your customers want, meet potential customers, and cultivate leads. All too often, companies simply talk at their followers rather than with them. Not responding to comments or ignoring negative feedback makes your brand look bad. Chances are, it’s going to hurt your bottom line eventually.
Along those same lines, however, you should also engage with followers who provide positive feedback. Thank people for sharing their experience with your brand, ask questions, and others seek to create active participation.
To find out more about just how important it is for brands to engage on social media, read this guide put out by Hootsuite. It goes over the algorithms on Facebook and provides an interesting view on the importance of conversations and engagement for increasing your social media reach.
Social Media Mistake #4—Posting Inconsistently
Have you ever looked up a brand’s Facebook page, only to see that they haven’t posted to the page for more than a year? If you’re like most people, you find yourself wondering if they are even in business anymore. Large gaps of time between social media posts can be very harmful to businesses.
It’s not a big deal to miss a few days here and there, but you should have a consistent plan for posting content. Make a plan, then stick with it. It can be useful to create a content calendar of social posts, so you aren’t left with no ideas on what to post. Facebook, in particular, has very sensitive algorithms, and posting frequency is weighed quite heavily.
Social Media Mistake #5—Posting Irrelevant Content
Consistency is about more than just setting up a posting schedule. You also need to make sure your brand voice and your content is consistent. Some social media marketing experts believe that more than 50 percent of people will unfollow a business because they are posting irrelevant content. Don’t step too far outside your lane when it comes to social media posts. For instance, rather than comment on a trending topic that has nothing to do with your company, skip posting that day—particularly if the topic is controversial or tragic. Weighing in on things that are irrelevant can do quite a bit of damage to your brand.
Social Media Mistake #6—Focusing on Quantity Instead of Quality
There is a fine line between posting often enough—and posting too much. Brands that post too much will probably find themselves unfollowed or even blocked.
Spreading yourself too thin across too many platforms can also be an issue. As mentioned previously, you don’t have to put your business on every social media platform. Pick a few that will work best for your niche and focus on posting quality content that your followers will find valuable. You are better off having a strong presence and engaged followers on two platforms rather than a mediocre presence on six platforms.
This is where having goals for your social media presence is essential. If you have goals and a strategy in mind to, say, increase sales by 15 percent, it’s easier to focus on that—and not let yourself get distracted by wondering if your company should be on TikTok.
Social Media Mistake #7—Being Inflexible
Although you can and should plan your social media calendar in advance, be sure to have the flexibility to change things up if you need to post something timely. Evergreen content is good, but you should also post on current events and industry news—as long as it is related to your brand’s messaging. For example, a Denver-based brewpub could run a promotional event after a Broncos playoff game win to take advantage of the buzz surrounding the event.
Learn More About a Successful Social Media Marketing Strategy
Feeling overwhelmed by social media marketing? Have questions about how your business can use it more effectively? The experts at Denver Website Designs are here and ready to help. When our team works alongside your team, they can help your Denver business—and businesses anywhere—create an effective social media marketing strategy and make sure you avoid some of the social media blunders other businesses make. Find out more about a digital marketing strategy for your company by giving them a call at 303-498-9000!
