Kim Jordan The importance of a strong social media presence for small and medium-sized businesses is common knowledge by now. But many people who step up to manage their company’s social postings don’t know all of the best practices to get the best results. We are here to help with tips for marketing your HVAC business, plumbing company, medical practice or other commercial enterprise.
Here are 10 common social media mistakes to avoid, with tips for how to maximize the effectiveness of your digital marketing efforts.
If you rarely post, you risk becoming irrelevant to your audience. If you post too often, it may feel intrusive to them. To strike a happy medium, post about three times per week. This frequency ensures your brand stays top-of-mind without being too “in your face.” If you post more than once per day, consider carefully whether it’s warranted. Every post should serve a purpose and maintain brand consistency.
Don’t share anything on your page without running spell-check and asking someone to proofread it first. Misspellings and grammatical errors are unprofessional and damage your credibility with potential and current followers. If you give the impression you don’t pay close attention to details on your social media channels, customers could conclude you won’t be conscientious with their projects, either.
Hashtags make it easier for users to find information about specific topics. When choosing hashtags for your posts, be sure they match the content. For example, don’t use a popular hashtag like #dogsofinstagram unless your post features a photograph of a cute puppy on Instagram. If you use hashtags to gain more reach but they mislead followers, you’ll damage your online reputation. Generally, you want to include 3 to 5 hashtags that are most pertinent to your topic, but no more than 10 to 15 total. Plus, Gen Z and even Millennials are more likely to use a social media platform to search rather than a search engine. Relevant hashtags are key to your searchability on social media.
Social media posts should be short and easily digestible. They’re intended to grab followers’ attention while scrolling through their newsfeeds. If your followers are interested in learning more, don’t make them hunt down information on their own! Provide a link to the relevant page on your website where they can get more details, familiarize themselves with your company and contact you to learn more or take action. Bringing social media followers to a user-friendly, informative website helps them make decisions—and increases the likelihood that they’ll become customers!
A regular post on Facebook is only shown to less than 6 percent of your followers, which is actually a slight improvement over the years. That means if you have 200 followers on your page, at most 12 of those people will see what you post. That’s a small audience for all of your hard work to provide fresh content. Social platforms have become “pay to play” for businesses: To get more eyes on your content, consider allocating a budget to promote your posts. You can “boost” posts for your services or products to target the audiences you want that content to reach. It is common to see posts do 5 to 10 times better when boosted. Your efforts will be more effective if your messages are reaching the right people.
Ignoring comments on social media is a major no-no. You don’t want your followers (or potential followers) to feel ignored. When you answer them, you show that you care about their comments or questions. Always post a response from your company, whether the follower’s comment is positive or negative. Even hitting the “like” button on positive comments shows your visitors that the company appreciates their feedback. Hiding or deleting negative comments may come across as a lack of company accountability.
Your social media page should not feel like a segment on a home shopping channel. Be interactive and engaging by sharing posts that will interest your audience. In other words, don’t try to sell a service or push a product with every post you publish. Your posts should be “infotaining,” both informational and entertaining. When you publish content your followers care about, they’ll stick with you. Share articles from trustworthy sources, include fun facts about your company or community or launch contests where followers can win prizes. Don’t be scared to be creative!
People who manage a business’s social media often make the mistake of not targeting a defined audience. When you don’t narrow down the followers your posts and ads will reach with paid ads on social media, you can waste a lot of money advertising to people who won’t do business with you. Here are several criteria to consider when creating an audience for your paid boosted posts and ads on social media:
You want to fill your social media profiles with as much information as possible. Include a suitable profile and cover photo, write an “About” section with relevant keywords to your business, link to your website, and display your business hours. You should also be sure to claim your business name as your profile link rather than just using the default. The type and amount of information you’re able to include depends on the platform, so you will need to adjust accordingly. If a platform has the option to add more information about your company, from the types of products or services you offer to your contact information, we recommend you take advantage of that opportunity and use industry-related keywords.
Buying followers or engagement is a growing trend because people think it will make their brand look better or more successful. We’re here to tell you the opposite. Buying followers inflates your numbers without genuinely boosting engagement. It also changes your demographic insights and post analytics to reflect people who are not your target audience. This results in misleading statistics on your top content, preventing you from understanding what your real followers appreciate. Reaching a smaller group of relevant followers is better than reaching a larger audience who has no real interest in your business.
Putting this advice into practice will make your company stand out on social media. If it’s more than you can manage, we have your back. KickCharge Creative’s digital marketing and content team handles social media strategy, posting and advertising for a variety of companies, and we can manage yours, too.
We also specialize in naming companies, designing and developing websites, crafting brochures and print collateral and much more. Contact us online or call us today at 908.835.9000 to talk about how we can help you accomplish your business goals.
