3 Don’ts for Social Media Marketing

Social media marketing is a powerful tool for your business; it allows you to disperse information quickly to a large audience. It’s also a way for current and future clients to get a better understanding of your business. A majority of businesses now have Facebook pages, and many regularly use other platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Vine.

When you are marketing your business online through social media, here are three things you want to avoid.

1. Don’t Make It A Sales Pitch
Today’s consumers are very savvy and have high standards. People look for businesses they can trust and today that means having a digital presence that shows you have stability. If all the content that you publish online sounds like a sales pitch or is focused on self-promotion, it may lead to more annoyance than sales. Instead of trying to drive all your social media content directly to leads, focus on creating quality content. Be interesting and engaging! Share a funny quote or a shocking statistic, for example. Leave the sales pitch for direct marketing and keep your content engaging and compelling.

2. Don’t Exhaust All Avenues
When it comes to creating a digital presence, it’s better to not be on every platform if you’re not sharing valuable or unique information each time – don’t post the same exact message everywhere. Selecting which platforms are best suited for your business will allow you to hone in on your content. Let us know if you need help figuring out what social media platforms are best for your business.

Dove is an example of a large company that does social media marketing well. At the time of writing this post, Dove is most active on Twitter and Pinterest out of all their social media accounts. The content that they publish through these platforms is consistent with their brand identity and engages their users. Check out their bio on their Twitter page – “Dove is committed to helping women realize their beauty potential by creating products that deliver real care. Welcome to the official Twitter of @Dove® U.S.!” Now that sounds like more than just a business that sells bars of soap.

 

Dove is continually striving to improve women’s self-esteem, and they demonstrate that through their social media content. They also use creative hashtags such as #speakbeautiful and #trydry for their dry spray antiperspirant.

Just a few days ago, Dove also created an entirely new Pinterest page for their Self Esteem project. On this page they have multiple boards with tips and tools for young girls and women to build their self-esteem. This content is tailored to reach Dove’s target market, and their Pinterest page is a great example of how to effectively use social media.

So although Dove may not update their Instagram everyday, the content they put out on Twitter and Pinterest still allows them to have an established digital presence that speaks to who they are. When posting on social media, remember that you don’t have to be on every platform from Google+ to Tumblr to LinkedIn. When you are posting, your content should be exciting, engaging, and consistent with your brand identity.

3. Don’t Post Just Because
This is also called over-sharing. If you are posting content only to gain followers or get more likes, then the larger purpose of social media marketing gets lost. And people get annoyed. How much is too much? Square2marketing has a great example of “letting your audience set the pace”. This tactic is helpful because you can get a feel for how often your audience is actually on social media. Pay attention to what your followers are saying and when they are saying it.

Before posting something, run it through a list of questions that will help you filter your content. Here are some practical questions that you can ask regarding social media content:

• Is this information useful and interesting to my audience?
• Does it align with our brand identity and business values?
• Is it relevant and engaging? Does it prompt people to respond?

If the post doesn’t match this criteria, then it’s better to not share it. To avoid the issue of over-sharing, creating a social media marketing strategy is beneficial. By planning out your future content, you have time to think it over and make sure that it will convey the message you want it to.

We all desire to have organic traffic to our websites and a strong online presence. By avoiding the above tactics, you can be truly effective in your social media marketing strategies. Lastly, we’ll end with one more tip and this one is positive.

DO Get Creative
Think of social media as a way to have fun and authentically represent your business at the same time! Start by taking a look at what you typically post, and branch out from there. Try new mediums such as visuals, infographics, or videos. People enjoy seeing a variety of content in their social media feeds, so be sure to switch up how you are delivering your content.
Nutella has been sharing these “Happy Hints” with their followers on Twitter. These short little hints are quirky and sweet (pun intended).

This is a great example of how to effectively use social media for business.

Social media is one our favorite ways to engage with our clients, many of which use social media marketing too! Fill out our contact form if you’re feeling stuck in the area of marketing your business. We are ready to help you get your business out there today!