5 of the Worst Things You Can Do in Social Media as a Business Owner
In the twenty-first century, the World Wide Web has become a great way for anyone to reach an audience. From blogs to online businesses, social media takes on many different shapes and sizes.
To help illustrate what can go wrong in Social Media, I pieced together 5 Social Media “What Not To Do” Tips so that Businesses can avoid these costly mistakes. These are based on working with my Clients, being active in Social Media and some questions that I have got from our Online seminars.
The 5 Worst Things you can do in Social Media as a Business owner:
- Selling all the time: Social media involves many aspects, the first being you should be social and connecting with people, however that does not mean that you have to constantly be trying to sell something every time. If you have a blog, and all you do is sell things to your readers, you will soon see all your readers disappear because they get tired of it. Imagine meeting someone at a party, then they call you up every few days asking you to buy from them. I am sure you would soon block their number (I know I would)
- Ignoring your Users: Using the blog example once again, you have people who are going to your blog regularly (hopefully). It is highly important that you keep in touch with the people that frequent your website. This can be in the form of a regular posting every Thursday or having them sign up for a Newsletter so you can stay in touch weekly with them with even more tips. The idea is to stay Front of Mind.
- Targeting the wrong niche market: It is very important that you target the right people to your Social Platforms so it’s a match between your product/service and customer. For example, if you are a Mechanic on Facebook, discuss the types of cars you work on such as Chevy or Ford. Stay focused on that Market and , as the Mechanic, don’t start blogging about your new favourite Restaurant, unless it deals with cars some how. Stay on one Path.
- Using the right social media platform: Are you using the right platform for your business? There are a lot of choices out there to choose from when it comes to social media such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest and many others? Take the time to figure out what system covers your Audience Market the best or you will be spending too much time on Platforms that will not bring you more business. As an Example, if you are a knitter, you will most likely find that most of your audience is on Facebook and Pinterest. There would be no need to join Twitter or LinkedIn for that Business type. Focus your Energy where you Audience resides. It will pay off.
- Not using social media at all: This is an interesting one. I have met businesses that still feel that Social Media will not end up with a Return on Investment for their Time (ROI). Here is my comment on that: The World Wide Web reaches millions of people, and any business that does not take advantage of it, is truly missing a golden opportunity. Just imagine all the customer contact you are missing out on from the sharing, commenting, and searching that goes on in these Platforms. Did you know that Facebook and Twitter are in the top 5 of all the Search engines for people looking up things? Google is number one of course. Social Media is here to stay. It’s time to figure out where you want to set up Camp.
Social media can be a great Marketing tool for your Business or it can be a double edged sword that can do more harm than good. Use social media effectively and you will reap the rewards. Use it poorly, and people will go elsewhere.
If you are stuck or don’t know where to go next, and want to learn how to use Social Media properly, consider hiring our services to get you on track and up to speed, or using our 1-on-1 Coaching that will get your Platforms and Businesses to the next level in Social Media, attracting new clients and being profitable. For more information and a no obligation quote, contact us at sales@thesocialmediabreakthrough.com or call us at 1-888-634-1465. We are here to help.