1. Expecting Short-Term Results
The thing that’s difficult for most business owners to grasp is that marketing (especially social media) is a long-term process that rarely yields a short-term gain. It starts with gaining attention and building up interest. Then, developing desire among those interested consumers and finally getting them to take action. Of course, there are many ways to drive quick results with paid media, tantalizing offers and giveaways, but that will only last so long. If you’re planning on investing in social media for your business, be prepared for the long haul.
2. All of your Page Fans Will See Your Posts
Something a large majority of social media users don’t know is that Facebook’s newsfeed has an algorithm that decides what posts get placed in your timeline based off your actions, pages you like and people you interact with, among other variables. If you publish a post, Facebook will not show it to all of your fans, but rather a very small percentage of your followers and some non-fans. While this may not be favorable for businesses, there are ways to combat the algorithm, such as with engaging content and paid media.
3. Posting Mostly About Sales, Offers and Promotions
Facebook’s algorithm not only chooses what posts get placed in users timelines, but it can also detect posts of a sales-like nature and give them lower priority. Facebook does this so that businesses and brands are forced to drive results with creative and engaging content. With this in mind, remember the 70:20:10 rule when creating content for your social media pages.
- 70% of Facebook posts should add value and build the brand
- 20% should share ideas or content from other sources
- 10% should be promotional, with offers and discounts offered to followers
That’s right, ONLY 10% of your content should be promotional. That may come as a big surprise to many business owners, but this formula is valuable in helping to distinguish your brand while engaging your fans.
4. Getting Your Business on Every Social Media Platform
It’s great when a business owner accepts social media into their marketing and advertising strategy, but jumping into Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Vine, Instagram and Snapchat all at once without a strategy can be disastrous. Each social platform has a unique set of users that might not be valuable to your business. For example, Vine and Snapchat tend to skew to a younger audience. If your business caters to an older demographic, you may want to forego those platforms. It’s better to have one or two social platforms that you rock at, rather than four or five that are sub-par.
5. “My Business Doesn’t Need Social Media”
This is the single, worst misconception that a business owner can have about social media. Social media is a vital part of today’s online experience and it can be used to establish your brand, attract new customers, retain current customers, and give your business a voice and personality. If anything, every business should at least be on Facebook; with over 1.4 billion, (yes, that’s billion with a “B”) active users, your chances of finding people to leverage for your business are very high. With it’s built in ad platform, you’re even able to target consumers who are more likely to interact with your business, down to specific interests, behaviors and even zip codes.
At Brainstorm, we specialize in all areas of social media management, including strategy, content creation, community management and data analysis. Contact us today and let us put our passion, talents and commitment to work for you.