Is Your Business Making These Mistakes on Social Media?

If you’ve been in the digital marketing industry for a decade like we have, you’ve probably seen social media undergo a major transformation. Long gone are the days of overly-edited selfies, picture collages or posting an album of 90 photos after a night out with friends. (Side note: can you believe we actually did that? Embarrassing.)

Today, social media operates as a strategic marketing lever that - when done correctly -  builds major brand awareness and boosts sales all while building engagement with your audience. But let us re-emphasize the whole ‘when done correctly’ part. The hard truth is, social media is constantly evolving and so are the ways to find success on social platforms.

So here are our social media tips to help your business’s accounts thrive in 2022.

1. Don’t fail to plan. Instead, create a social media strategy.

Would you ever run a marathon without training? Would you take a test without studying? What about starting a new recipe without heading to the grocery store? Sure, it’s possible to do all of the above. But is it in your best interest?

In life, preparation is key and running your business’ social media account is no different. While it might be tempting to just start posting your ideas and photos, it’s not sustainable. Before you know it, you’ll be out of ideas, posting inconsistently or posting just for the sake of posting. It’s not strategic, and it won’t benefit your business.

Instead, it’s time to sit down and plan ahead. Determine your objectives for your brand’s account, a viable cadence for posting, and content pillars or buckets that align to your business. Then, brainstorm ideas a few weeks in advance to ensure diverse, strategic and well thought-out content.

A social strategy and calendar helps you avoid inconsistency or repetitive posts, and ensures you’re not scrambling at the last minute to get a post or story up. Plus, it offers you creative room and freedom to make quality content that your audience will resonate with and respond to.

 2. Don’t promote yourself. Instead, create content for your audience.

It’s honesty hour! Here’s a secret: your audience doesn’t follow your account for you, they follow it for themselves. Sure, they might love your business or your product, but at the end of the day, they are curating their own feed with content they want to see. Too often, we see businesses focusing solely on self promotion which fails to benefit your audience. Instead, ask yourself how your business can create content that your audience will be excited about.
Educate them! Inspire them! Make them smile!

Create tutorials, offer ‘how to’ advice, or share tips of the trade. Share quotes, your favorite products, or a video that uses trending sounds. Promote deals and contests. Offer value.

Whatever you post, remember that your audience is the hero. Use your business expertise to make content that puts them first.

3. Don’t ignore your audience. Instead, engage with your followers.

Who here has made the mistake of posting an image or story, then not checking your account for an hour or two? You log back on and find a series of ‘likes’, comments and DMs waiting for you. So many notifications can feel overwhelming, and it might be easy to just put your phone away and save it for later. But now is the time that your audience is reaching out, and if you ignore them, you lose momentum and opportunity.

Instead, plan when you post so that you are available to respond to your audience afterwards. Turn on your notifications, and take a look at what they have to say. As a business owner, this is a unique opportunity to build an informal relationship with your audience. Thank them for their thoughts or start a conversation. Your customers will feel heard and valued. On top of five-star relationship-building, you’ll reap a major benefit from staying engaged: brand awareness. Social platforms prioritize posts and accounts that are engaging. The more you engage back with your audience, the better suited your posts are for platform algorithms and the more likely you are to reach larger audiences.

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Creating a smart social media strategy opens up a world of opportunities for your business. It gives you the space to be creative, fun and informal. It inspires, optimizes and paves the way for new marketing initiatives. But most importantly, it allows you to share what you love: your business.

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