TECHNOLOGY BLOG

In today’s business world, where marketing strategies are being fueled and reshaped by social media, there are a ton of things new players shouldn’t do or resort to. Despite the fact that social media is a lot more enjoyable and usually has less stakes than other conventional marketing channels, it can get confusing and complicated – more so if you don’t observe the proper practices.

Take a look at some of the most common social media mistakes companies commit and find out if you’re guilty. Who knows? Maybe there’s still ample time for you to salvage your company’s tarnished social media reputation and give it a complete 360-degree turn for the better.

Mistake #1: Ignoring Your Followers

Never leave your followers hanging. Don’t just sit around and pretend that your followers don’t exist. Whether you’re dealing with your audience through Google+, your Facebook fan page, your company’s blog or support forums, remember to interact with them. If you don’t, there’s a big chance they’ll leave.
There’s been a never-ending debate on whether brands or businesses should “follow” or subscribe to updates from each of their followers. Well, it really depends. What works for your company may not necessarily work for others. In any case, you don’t have to follow your followers back. You just have to respond to their comments and acknowledge them whenever they leave feedback on your page.

Mistake #2: Over-promoting Your Business
Since social media doesn’t have time, space, and reach constraints like other conventional promotional channels like television, radio, and newspapers, some social media managers resort to the low-ball technique of spamming or bombarding audience’s walls with a never-ending stream of promotional messages and updates. Don’t overdo it lest you want to lose followers, fans, and friends. Don’t be too social – you still need to consider the quality and relevance of the information that you share and post.

Mistake #3: Being Too Formal
Managing your social media campaign is all about striking a balance between corporate versus personal posts. You certainly don’t want to appear like a marketing robot to your clientele, so you need to speak to them in a way that makes them feel like they’re talking to a live human being. Think of how you can relate to your market and how you can get them to relate to you or your topic. Aside from the usual sales pitch or ad copy, you can appeal to your audience on a personal level and capture their attention and concern by posting anecdotes, quotes, or trivia that can hook them. Presenting industry statistics or asking direct questions to your followers are both good means of “breaking the ice” for your social media friends.

Mistake #4: TY4NS
In Internet slang, TY4NS means “Thank You For Not Sharing.” If you don’t have any social bookmarking widgets or plugins somewhere within your company blog, there’s a good chance you’re doing things wrong. If you don’t tweet or share links to interesting online content, you’re downright defying the concept of sharing, which is perhaps the most post popular activity on the social web. Sharing anything engaging to your network is a way of reaching out and saying, “Hey, I found something that you might find useful, because you matter to me.” Make sharing a habit.

But, as with anything, people tend to value quality over quantity. Always take this into consideration whenever posting anything on your social media stream. Devote time and effort to your social media campaign, just like what you would do for every other aspect of your business.

If you want to go the extra mile and make extra dollars, try reevaluating your company’s social media habits. Check out the RingCentral small business blog to find more tips on improving your social media campaigns and digital marketing efforts.