14 Dumb Social Media Mistakes Not to Make
Posted by Matthew Loop | 0 Comments
Here are the common (and all too costly) social media promotion mistakes that brands, entrepreneurs, and business must avoid making in order to multiply monthly sales volume and profits.
1. Thinking that having a website constitutes marketing online
The same holds true for a Facebook fan page. Having those are great; however, you MUST know how to be able to send a flood of qualified traffic to the site (and be able to convert them) if you ever hope to get new customers.
You could have the best product and website in the world, but if people don’t know about it, you’re screwed. Having a website is not the same as proactive Internet promotion. It’s only the start.
2. Assuming that all website traffic is created equal and having unrealistic expectations
An example of this would be Google search traffic versus Facebook advertising traffic. While both can be extremely effective for generating new sales hand over fist, realize the marketing, ad creation, and destination pages have to be structured differently. There is a certain (and predictable) way to ensure success with any traffic source.
3. Subscribing to the notion that social media marketing is unprofessional
This perception is hurting A LOT of brands and entrepreneurs right now and has prevented them from harnessing this highly powerful business growth platform. Professionalism is dependent on how well you position yourself online in your marketplace. There are a number of factors that determine this, and I went over many in this book.
Many brands are still on the sidelines while customers are leaving them behind. Conventional advertising is all but dead. Just know that people want to get to know their brand and see that there are real people behind the curtain.
If done right, no other outreach medium showcases this better than social media.
4. Expecting Facebook page “fans” to automatically convert to paying customers
The truth is, you must build relationships with most prospective clients first before they’ll ever do business with you. Now, there are direct-response methods that you can use to dramatically accelerate this process, but the majority of entrepreneurs and brands don’t use them.
On this same note, the number of fans you have is not directly proportional to the paying customers you can expect. Too many “gurus” have pushed this nonsense for years.
5. Searching for the “magic bullet” tactic that will get you all the sales you want
There are dozens of strategies to combine when using social media marketing effectively. There is no quick fix. Anyone that has built a business or large brand from the web (including myself) never hit it big overnight. Social media can change your life, but it takes work and commitment.
6. Going ALL-IN without a well-structured, systematic, daily/weekly task list
Without a plan, social media promotion can be a HUGE nonproductive time suck. This is where many business owners go off the cliff. Because some of the marketing can be done without spending money on traditional advertising, a lot of brands assume that it must be simple. The truth is, it’s not.
7. Not tracking your website analytics AND how well your site is actually converting online visitors into sales
What gets measured gets improved. You must have a baseline to compare your stats to. It’s important to know how many visitors are coming to your site, how long they’re staying there, where they’re coming from, what pages they’re frequenting, the site bounce rate, etc.
8. Getting caught up in the latest “shiny object” promotion tactic and not focusing on core fundamentals
Certain social media strategies have worked like magic for years and will continue to work. Traffic generation and building relationships hasn’t changed as much as fly-by-night consultants want you to believe.
If you’re not getting the results you want, it’s probably not because you’re missing the latest and greatest tactic. Focus on the foundational principles.
9. Becoming overly preoccupied with Google and minimizing all other aspects of social media marketing
Google is just one aspect, yet many brands look at a #1 Google ranking as the pinnacle of Internet success. This is not smart and certainly doesn’t guarantee new customers and sales.
10. Inconsistent communication, outreach, and promotion
This is the kiss of death. When you stop and start, you lose traction. If you’re a business, this makes you vulnerable to your competitors. If you’re a celebrity, long absences come across as if you don’t really care too much about your social media fan base.
There are proven ways to seamlessly delegate in-office without spending a lot of time, money, and effort. Remember though: “busy work” does not necessarily constitute strategic outreach.
11. Updating in the third person
This point is specifically for celebrities and public figures. It’s in very bad taste to have another person update your Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Fans expect you to interact with them. Even the busiest entertainers and artists are personally updating their accounts daily. It takes a couple seconds.
The only exception to this is if you have a team member posting an update with an image, video, or link to a public appearance, current project, etc. For the most part, though, it should be your voice to maintain authenticity. You need to personally update the accounts.
12. Thinking social media is optional for your brand or business
Would you believe there are still major companies, small businesses, and entrepreneurs that are hardly (sometimes not even at all) doing social media! It’s 100 percent necessary now. If you don’t use social media and have an OVERWHELMING presence online, potential clients look at you as suspect. Translation … they trust you less. Research has proven this time and time again.
This year and beyond, you MUST master the art of social media outreach or you’re in for a rude awakening as times change. Each day that passes is an opportunity missed. Act fast, act now!
13. Hiring a social media manager and expecting growth
This should be painfully obvious, but many fall into this trap. A manager manages. It’s unreasonable to expect a manager to have the mind of an entrepreneur in order to grow your brand or company. Managers have never built million-dollar companies from scratch with social media.
You need strategies that develop relationships, grow your influence, make an impact, create buzz, generate goodwill, and multiply revenue. There’s a time and place for a manager once you have proven yourself and bankable promotion methods are in place.
As a social media profit strategist, I help brands, businesses, and public figures uncover hidden profit centers so they can reach, serve, and earn more. I also teach them the tactics, tools, and resources that are working now to produce massive growth.
14. Thinking you can do everything alone without professional guidance
You’re an entrepreneur and/or business owner, not an experienced social media expert. Know your limitations and when to get help. This can save you headaches, frustration, and wasted time and money.
If Internet promotion were easy, every brand would have a BOOMING bottom line. If you look around, you’ll see in short order this is not the case. The window of opportunity is shrinking as the web evolves.
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About the Author
Matthew Loop is an author, speaker, investor, philanthropist, and the highest paid social media revenue strategist in North America. He helps brands, startups, and small business owners multiply their influence, impact, and income by harnessing the power of the Internet. Since 2005 he’s trained over 21,000 clients in 25 countries. Millions have viewed his free business growth tutorials online. Connect with him on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
