06 Apr 4 Terrible Social Media Mistakes Small Businesses Make
Stop me if these social media mistakes sound familiar:
“I don’t have time to do social media and run my small business, so I’ll ask one of my employees to do it.”
“My nephew is on all the social media networks – he can do social media for me even though he’s in high school.”
“I love my virtual assistant, so I’ll ask her to handle social media for me.”
“Social media does nothing for my small business, so I really don’t need it.”
Thank god you said stop. Now that I’m done having a heart attack after typing those statements, I’m here to deliver some VERY sobering news: If you are using one of the above tactics to “do” social media for your small business, you are making some huge social media mistakes.
Why? Let’s count the ways. You are:
- wasting a tremendous amount of time and money by using people who are not experts at social media marketing
- definitely not getting the results you want
- squandering opportunities to build a loyal online community who trusts you and looks to you for information – not to mention the products and services you sell
Let’s dive a little deeper into the four huge social media mistakes your small business is probably making – and why it’s hurting your company.
“We can do social media in-house!”
If you have the budget for a full-time, on-staff social media professional, then, yes social media should be an in-house responsibility. If you don’t, then assigning this task to someone who already has other responsibilities will result in a dismal ROI.
Say, for example, you ask Bill in sales to run your social media strategy. He’s awesome at his job, he’s super social, and he’s a Millennial – he’ll do great, right? At first, he runs your social media strategy like a total rock star. His tone of voice is personable, he shares a variety of valuable content, he engages your audience and quickly answers questions. In fact, he creates a whole new face for the brand, and your audience loves it.
However, a few weeks later, Bill notices his commission checks are on a downward trend. He realizes he needs to step it up with sales calls, get out from behind the computer and back in front of prospects, and spend more time following up with customers.
This is when your social media strategy starts its death spiral. Bill simply cannot dedicate time to running social media because Bill already has a full time job. Suddenly, your small business disappears from social media, your audience wonders what’s happening at the company (Are you shutting down? Did all your employees just bail? Can I even trust your brand anymore?). You fall off their radar, and they flee to your competitor, who’s doing an awesome job on social media.
“I’ll just have my 14-year-old nephew run my social media strategy!”
Sure, teenagers know exactly how to use the latest and greatest platforms, they’re the first to jump on the new ones that launch, and they know things like what “on fleek” means (and why it’s lame when brands say it).
But while a teenager has mind-blowing knowledge about social media, they completely lack knowledge about business strategy, content marketing, and social media management.
- Does your nephew know how to approach your audience and what information they find valuable?
- Does he keep up with social media marketing trends?
- Does he have the maturity to handle a customer who is ranting on Twitter?
- Would he get bored engaging with “old people” after a few weeks?
- Might he accidentally post a negative or insulting comment?
While your nephew is indeed awesome, he’s not a business-focused social media expert.
“My virtual assistant can easily handle social media!”
If I had a dollar every time I heard someone say, “Oh, my VA handles my social media,” I’d be retired at age 41 and living in Costa Rica right now – because then I’d ask follow up questions:
- Is your social media community growing?
- Are you getting comments and shares?
- Is your community actively talking about you on social?
- Are they sharing their own stories, photos, videos, and reviews?
- Do they click through to read your blog posts?
And you know what the answer would be to each of those questions? No. Virtual assistants are godsends – they are organized, detailed, excellent at multi-tasking, reliable, and responsible – but they are not social media marketing experts.
“Social media does nothing for my business!”
Small business owners said the same thing about websites fifteen years ago. This line of thinking is a silent killer because it’s nearly impossible to see the damage it’s causing. You don’t know how many sales are lost when a prospective client checks out your LinkedIn company page and sees that your last update was posted in 2013. You don’t see how badly the zero Google reviews hurt your brand’s perception. And because you don’t see it, then it becomes all too easy to dismiss.
A social media strategy that is created and managed by social media marketing experts is an absolute must for any business. If you’re not doing it right, I am willing to bet that your competitors are – and they are attracting and keeping the clients that could have been yours.
Want to see firsthand the results that a professional can deliver? Awesome, because we are offering a three-month trial of our social media management service for only $500 per month for the social media channel of your choice. At the end of three months, you will see measurable results! This offer is only good through April. Email us to get started!
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