Too many times I see all of these 5 ways to fail at social media implemented!

 

Social networking is everywhere, and everybody is apparently using at least one platform one way or another. We see lots of company-established social media pages that have been abandoned and it appears the reason is  not achieving expected results. The truth is, we see an increasing tendency to set up a page/profile work with it for a month or two, deem it unsuccessful and chalk it up to “social media doesn’t work”.  Unfortunately I see this play out over and over and over again.  Months of time, money and effort FLUSHED!  

 Here are five of the strategies it is critical to avoid…

FAIL #1

The important thing is merely to be on it, as you understand it. So an excellent spot to start would be to set up Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn as many other accounts as you can (because it’s just a numbers game, right?)  and after that never do anything.  Just totally neglect them all.

What To Do Instead

Research your market, decide which platform would be the best place to start.  Each business has different needs and ways of conducting themselves.  All social media platforms are not created equal and for some businesses Facebook would be the best option.  However if you have a business where pictures are the main avenue for spreading the work, perhaps starting with Pinterest is a better choice.  It is critical the first step of research is thoroughly done in order to get the most from your time, money and effort once you start.

FAIL #2

It is societal – anything can be posted by you.

In the event you’re planning to update your social networking pages, be sure to post things which have absolutely nothing to do with your company. Put amusing cat videos up.  Find all the latest trends and post them to all your profiles.

 What To Do Instead

The strategy used to be recommended by all the experts and MANY companies adopted it.  However they are now having a very challenging time attracting their ideal client because there profile does not reflect the actual business.

Do a mix of posts.  What keeps your customers/clients engaged and coming back?  Depending upon the market you may be able to include the latest gossip in your field, entertaining is important.  For local brick and mortar businesses posting about current events in the area can be an excellent choice. Definitely include offers, mix them in with the other informative, engaging and entertaining posts, but don’t over do it.  Nothing but offers will have everyone running the other way.

FAIL #3

Never include the links to your social profiles in your e-mail signature.

The best practice for social media marketing failure is to make all your potential customers and clients go hunting for your contact information. Do not give any hints to people. Be not the hardest person to find on the net.

What To Do Instead

I am continuously amazed at how hard some people make it for me to contact them.  Be sure to insert the links for your social media profiles into your email auto signature.  With most of the social media platforms you can connect one to the other, make sure you connect as many as possible.  Your business cards at a minimum must have at least one social media link. 

FAIL #4

People who fail to plan sub consciously  intend to fail. So having a plan for all the social profiles/pages is a very good method to neglect.  After all, It’s So Much Work!

The last thing on earth you want would be to spend some time building and handling would be social profiles. You will be astonished in the amount of failure in virtually no time can be achieved by you.

What To Do Instead

Create a schedule, whether it’s in a fancy project management program, a spreadsheet or even a text file.  Planning out what you are going to do in advance creates time to think about the strategies and tasks.  Very often when looking for information for one post one can find information that goes with a different topic.  When you have your strategies and posts planned out you recognize something good when you see it.  It is simple to copy and paste a reference, text, picture or video over to the plan to be used later.  Reduces stress and increases productivity.

FAIL #5

Here’s the very best point of all: Simply forget about social media if not one of the above mentioned suggestions look like social media as profoundly enable you to fail at them as you would like to.

Being imperceptible is the most effective surefire method to fail at social networking.

What To Do Instead

 Start using social media the smart way.  If you have no idea what to do or where to start find a coach, trainer or mentor, there are tons available.  You can have a free 30 minute strategy session with me just to get the ball rolling.  http//www.AskCarla.ca  Check out your local schools and universities, many are now offering courses for business owners.  If you are planning on doing all of this work yourself, start small and build.  If you decide to take on too much at once it will become overwhelming and you will quit.

Find out how you can have all of this done for you  Click Here and start taking advantage of all that social media marketing has to offer.