In case you are getting tired of social media information, I am going to start switching my blog posts up a little. I still have several more posts for this series and I will toss one in the mix every few weeks or so. Enjoy today’s social media post and come back next time for a fresh topic.

The mistake we are focusing on today is not jumping in.

On this series of posts I am identifying social media mistakes business owners make and offering a recommended fix. Scroll to the bottom to check previous posts.

Mistake - You never start. (or you started and stopped shortly thereafter)
I know it is hard to believe, but there are companies who receive very negligible benefits from social media. Some of those are simply companies that have never created and executed a plan and they would benefit from social media if they did. For some companies (such as government contractors) business decisions are made on set criteria, not on Know, like and trust factors.

Your company may be very active on one social media platform. For me it is Twitter; for you it may be Facebook, LinkedIn or Instagram. If one of those other platforms reaches a fair number of your target clients use a third-party scheduling service such as HootSuite or Buffer to start your presence on another platform. (This can also help you stay clear of the social media black hole that steals hours from your day.)

I am currently “active” on three social media accounts: Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. I was posting regularly to Twitter, very occasionally on Facebook and never on LinkedIn. I had plenty of content but I dreaded opening Facebook and I never logged in to LinkedIn except to accept or reject connection requests.

I started using Hootsuite to autopost my evergreen (relevant any time) content such as blogs and videos on a regular basis. It only takes a few seconds more to post to three networks than one. I spend an hour (or two at most) at the end of the month to schedule for the upcoming month. Here are some of my results from doing this.

• I no longer have to keep watching the clock so I will not forget to post at a certain time which enables me to concentrate better when working on projects.
• I am actually posting to Facebook on a regular basis and I do not have to log in several times a day. (I still dread logging in and just can not make myself do it daily to check messages but I do try - sort of.) *I had to stop writing and log in to Facebook because it had been a couple of days and I felt guilty writing about it.*
• I actually have a real presence on LinkedIn and someone left a great comment on one of my blog posts that I immediately started using as a testimonial on my website and other places. I would not have that glowing recommendation if I had not started posting to LinkedIn. (However connection requests are still pretty much the only reason I log in to LinkedIn. I am still fine tuning my Twitter and Facebook strategies before jumping in more to LinkedIn.)

Quit waiting for someday and just do it. Take a class if you need to or schedule a social media strategy session with a marketing coach (like me) that includes help for writing your evergreen posts if necessary.

Come back again next time. I will have a whole other topic. I can not wait to find out what it is.

Until next time...

Have a great day,
Susanne

To effectively market your business, you need to have a plan and stay true to your brand. Sign up for Stop the Social Media Madness online training today.

Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 1
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 2
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 3
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 4
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 5
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 6
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 7
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 8
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 9
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 10
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 11
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 12
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 13
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 14

The mistake we are focusing on today is not staying true to your brand.

On this series of posts I am identifying social media mistakes business owners make and offering a recommended fix. Scroll to the bottom to check previous posts.

Mistake - Your posts are not consistent with your branding. It happens to too many unsuspecting business owners. You start posting on social media and your branding goes out the window. I am not talking about your logo or tagline, (although it is important to utilize them consistently) I am talking about the experience you want your customers/followers to have when interacting with your company.

What type of tone do you use in your current marketing materials, what about on your website or in your personal interactions? Your social media posts need to enhance your brand, not contradict it.

Nobody is going to blink an eye if Paris Hilton posts scantily-clad photos of herself out on the town. It is expected and that is why she gets paid large appearance fees. If she started posting photos of herself going to church (and she may privately be a very religious person who goes to church regularly) it would probably hurt the brand she has created of a fun-loving party girl.

I am very “to the point” as part of my brand. I am not likely to post a Happy Thanksgiving or Merry Christmas message on social media. My theory is, the people I really know understand that of course I am wishing them a happy day and I have too much respect for the rest of my followers to waste their time looking at my generic Happy Whatever Day when everyone else they follow feels the need to do it.

I am also not about to like or favorite your posts. Why? Because it does not help your business in any way. If I am going to bother to interact with your post it will be a share or a retweet. Why? So my followers might actually see your post and choose to interact with you. Part of my brand is to promote my friends and business associates.

That is all part of MY brand. You might want to publicly acknowledge every holiday via social media. You may like hundreds of posts each day. There is not a right answer here. It is your brand, decide what you want it to be and be consistent.

Take a few minutes to write down some “ground rules” for your social media posts that are in keeping with your brand. Will you use hashtags? How many? Will you use text abbreviations? Are your posts generally uplifting? Are you a little off color?

It is even more important to have written ground rules when outsourcing your social media. I have a new social media client that has a very different professional voice than mine. I shared a post on her Facebook page with a comment and she was quick to go back and edit my comment because it was too direct. That was exactly what you should do if you see a post off-brand on your feed.

I am writing several posts for her that can be reused indefinitely. I am sending them to her first to edit in her own voice so I can better match it in the future. Do not be afraid to tell your social media person that they need to pay more attention to the details of your brand. If they are unwilling or unable (after a reasonable amount of time) you need to get a new social media person.

My new client likes to share humorous photos and links. I found one that was funny, yet could be interpreted as kind of mean. I sent her the link first to see if she felt it fit her brand. Now because of her feedback I have a clearer picture of what I can share on her business pages.

It is okay to have fun with social media. Take a few minutes to make sure your social media is accurately portraying your business.

Come back again next time. I will have another mistake; and another solution.

​Until next time...

Have a great day,
Susanne

To effectively market your business, you need to have a plan and stay true to your brand. Sign up for Stop the Social Media Madness online training today.

Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 1
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 2
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 3
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 4
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 5
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 6
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 7
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 8
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 9
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 10
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 11
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 12
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 13

The mistake we are focusing on today is believing the Facebook fairy tale.

On this series of posts I am identifying social media mistakes business owners make and offering a recommended fix. Scroll to the bottom to check previous posts.

Mistake - You are not willing to accept you have to pay for Facebook reach.
Once upon a time in a Facebook before its IPO (Initial Public Offering) there were businesses that posted to Facebook and their posts were seen by all their followers that were on at that time. But then one day a corporate executive said, “Hey, we have millions and millions of active accounts. We have been cash flow negative for long enough; it is time to start making some money.”

For the record, I agree with that corporate executive. A business that does not make money will very soon be a bunch of people on unemployment. If you are a business owner your first priority has to be to make money. Your mission may be to help people or save the whales or end global warming and that is wonderful; you can do more good if you have some money.

Now back to our tale…

This corporate executive spoke to other corporate executives who saw the merit in the reasoning and they met for a brainstorming session on how to monetize these millions of free accounts. 

“We will start charging for accounts.” “No. The people will revolt and close accounts in droves. We will never leave MySpace in the dust.”

“We could offer premium accounts that people pay for.” “No. What do we have to offer as a premium?”

“We could charge for the business pages. We are starting to get lots of those.” “No. The businesses will revolt and… Wow, I just got an idea. How about we create an algorithm? We will tell people it is tracking what they interact with and if they are not liking others posts it will quit showing posts from that page or friend. In reality it will show what we choose to present and businesses can buy ads to further their reach. As the ad sales start to gain support, we will adjust the algorithm to make business page posts less and less likely to be seen by their followers. Then we will make the business pay us to show their posts even to the followers who have already liked their page so they would see their posts.”

And Facebook lived happily ever after.

How does this affect your business Facebook page? If you do not have hours of time to devote to Facebook, you will not likely generate quantifiable revenue from it unless you purchase ads. You might have 5,000 likes, but when you hit send that darn algorithm only sends it to the timelines of 50 of them and what are the chances that all 50 will be looking at their timelines at that time?

Facebook is still the 500-pound gorilla, do not abandon it. Get realistic about your expectations. Experiment with ads to encourage people to opt in to your email list, promote specials, or visit your brick-and-mortar store. If you spend $100 in ads that attract $200 in sales, it is a win.

Change happens and Facebook is a business that needs to make money. You do not have to like it but you do have to deal with it and adjust your social media plan accordingly.

Come back again next time. I will have another mistake; and another solution.

Until next time...

Have a great day,
Susanne

To effectively market your business, you need to have a plan and stay true to your brand. Sign up for Stop the Social Media Madness online training today.

Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 1
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 2
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 3
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 4
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 5
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 6
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 7
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 8
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 9
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 10
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 11
Biggest Social Media Mistakes Business Owners Make - Part 12