One thing we learned during quarantine? Social media is indestructible. Even during a time of worldwide chaos, Facebook, Instagram, and the rest of the gang (we see you, TikTok) served as a much-needed source of entertainment for billions of people. Whether you see this as a good thing or further proof of our collective despair really depends on your perspective.

We see social media for what it is: a means of connection. Social media helped keep many of us together as the world around us was unraveling. It also helped plenty of businesses stay afloat when the situation seemed bleak, at best.

A new season is a great time to buckle down and get serious about your social media marketing. Now that we know the true power of social media, we can kick off the fall season with purpose. Here are a few common social media mistakes businesses are making and why you should definitely avoid these this fall:   

Your goals aren’t clear.

How many business owners approach their social media strategy with the same vigor they do with their selling? Social media has overthrown traditional forms of marketing and is a fantastic tool for acquiring new business if you learn to use it right. Before you can do this, you’ll need to clarify your goals.

Are you hoping to raise brand awareness with your social media content?

Attract new customers?

Make more sales?

Maybe your goals involve a combination of all three. Knowing your goals and never losing sight of them throughout your social media journey will ensure your time isn’t spent in vain.

You’re on the wrong platforms.

Not all social media platforms are created equal. You may be putting all your effort into Facebook while your audience is on TikTok. Maybe you’re posting to Instagram with all your might when your audience is really on Facebook until the wee hours of the morning. Posting to different platforms haphazardly will result in a lot of wasted time, energy, and money. Don’t fall victim to the trap. Choosing the right social media platforms for your business is essential if you want to market effectively.

You’re shamelessly self-promoting.

Social media is about so much more than making money. It’s about truly connecting with your customer, inviting them to experience who you are, what you do, and why you do it. This knowledge and understanding are what lead to a lifelong customer.

One of the biggest complaints users have about businesses on social media is the amount of selling they do. Not every post requires a call to action, nor does every post need to showcase what you have to offer. As a rule of thumb, make sure your posts do one of three things – educate, entertain, or inform. As long as your posting achieves one of these, you’ve offered your audience something they can’t get just anywhere. You’ve offered them something unique.  

You’re not responding to your customers.

No one likes to be ghosted, especially not by a brand. Let’s face it: being ignored by a brand you love and trust can be downright insulting. How dare they?!

At the end of the day — no matter how busy you are — your paying customers deserve your attention. For many, connecting with brands on Facebook or Instagram is a matter of convenience. That means that businesses ought to be doing everything they can to make this communication easy.

But like all good things in life, mastering customer communication takes work. If you are ignoring critical comments instead of addressing them with solutions, putting customer questions on the backburner, or putting social media conversations near the end of your to-do list for the day, you’re doing your customers and your brand a big disservice. Luckily, there’s never a bad time to turn it all around.

You’re coasting with your content.

You know what coasting is like. It’s that thing you do during your last semester of high school. It’s what you do when you’ve got “it” in the bag. The marketing equivalent of cruise control, coasting means you’ve become so confident in your social media following that you begin to take your foot off of the proverbial gas pedal. This is one of the worst things you can do in a competitive market. For every day you are off of social media, competitors from near and far are online and connecting with your audience. In the day and age of content overload, your reputation will only take you so far. Staying on top of your game and at the top of your customer’s mind is key to perpetual growth.

You’re ignoring the metrics.

Ready to make a change this fall? You don’t need to wait until New Year’s Eve to make a few resolutions on behalf of your business. One should be to stop wasting time. That’s it. Stop wasting time on things that don’t serve your business well. This means taking a deep look at what you’ve been doing and whether it’s been working. Are you pouring time, effort, and money into content that isn’t getting seen? Stop it. Find out what’s working and focus on that. Ride it until it no longer serves you.

You’re not repurposing your content.

Make no mistake: social media isn’t always easy. Between strategizing content, creating assets, writing copy, and distributing your message, social media takes a collective effort that can easily get pushed to the wayside. This is because in business there are usually bigger fish to fry. So, while it’s understandable that your social media efforts may be lackluster at times, there are ways to circumvent the silence. The answer lies in repurposing content.

Repurposing content is one of the best ways to keep active on social media without too much effort. Did you create a great video for your business? Take screenshots and use them for photo posts. Have your customers been posting killer product shots and tagging you? Upload them to your own social media. From Facebook reviews to impromptu smartphone shoots, you’d be wise to batch your content and distribute it regularly to maintain a viable social media presence. There is a world of social media scheduling tools to help you do this.

You’re not being of service.

Offering services and being “of service” are two different things. People who are really successful at selling don’t actively set out to sell. Instead, they ask the question, “How can I be of service?” You may have years, perhaps even decades of valuable knowledge in a particular area. If you are the type who is constantly pushing what you sell rather than how you plan to make your customer’s life easier, you are missing out on a big opportunity. Why? Because there will likely always be someone offering the same product or service you are offering. There is only one you, and that is your power.

You’re betting on the boost button.

There was a time when the boost button was all the rage. That boost button was shiny, new, and gave you a false sense of hope. While the boost button may offer the illusion that there are eyes on your posts, that does little to address the fact that those eyes may not be the ones you’re after.

The boost button fails to take into account who your audience is. Your carefully-curated posts may be seen by people who have no intention of purchasing your product. Your product is not even on their radar. On the contrary — a strategic Facebook ads management plan can target audiences on new levels, increasing your chances of making contact with users who are likely to need, want, and purchase your goods.

If you’re guilty of making any of the aforementioned mistakes, forgive yourself. Keep these in mind as you embark on your new seasonal marketing strategy. And if you need help, give us a call.