The world of social media marketing is one that is constantly in a flux, one must constantly be on the move to make the best out the situation. The business world of today is one that thrives on the social media, the relation between brands and their customers is important. The social media is a major player in this sphere and that is why brands that intend to connect with prospects take social media marketing seriously.

 

According to a study by Statista, “90 percent of U.S. businesses use social media for marketing and promotions.”

 

Social media marketing as a process is not without its own conventions. Faulting the principles and conventions that uphold social media marketing can lead to a failure in the expected result. It is in the light of this that this article aims to educate on the mistakes to avoid as a social media marketer. Here are the major mistakes to avoid as a brand that intends to leverage social media:

 

Not Having Any Social Media Marketing Strategy

Social media is intricate, it is complex and that is why you shouldn’t even get started without a strategy. It’s not enough to jump into the red ocean of social media, oh yes! It’s a red ocean. You need to have a plan as to how you want to achieve your goals. This is because they are brands that will outspend and out-man you, how then do you define your own voice in a crowded environment? That’s is why you need a strategy! Click here for the best social media marketing strategy. An effective social media marketing strategy includes an action plan and clearly defined goals. It also describes the types of posts – images, videos, blog URLs, reshares, retweets, hashtags, events, and defining your social media brand tone of voice.

 

Deleting Negative comments

Don’t we all feel like every comment on our social media post should be positive? Especially when it is our business page, but then, there must be voices of dissent and the right thing to do is not to silence these voices but rather to address them. Negative feedback allows for improvement and giving feedback to those who do not agree with you shows a level of maturity. All of these will help your brand.

 

Buying followers

Social media marketers fall into this trap and if there is any worthwhile advice that you should take, it is that you should not be one of them. It is much better to grow slowly but organically, that way, you are sure that all of your followers have something that interests them about your brand. They are all prospects and you can convert as much as possible. Buying followers will take away cash from you and will reduce your chances of conversion.

 

Not being regular

There is a reason why everyone finds solace on social media, it is because there is always something to talk about. If at any point, you are missing from the conversation, there will always be another brand and that is the very brand that people will begin to interact with. You must be regular on social media, following the dictates of your strategy. You can’t afford to be rigid though, there are times you must break out of the cycle and engage your followers too.

 

Allowing plagiarized, unedited content

There are a few things that is worse than being irregular on social media, one of them is allowing plagiarized and unedited content to go live on your social media pages. For one, plagiarized contents breed distrust, your followers begin to doubt your authenticity. It’s a slippery slope, one they may never return from. It is therefore best to acknowledge your source and not allow your followers find out on their own.

 

Don’t lie

Who would ever think that this can be a mistake to avoid, but then it is. Whatever you do in your social media marketing, never lie, do not exaggerate the efficiency of your product. Just state the facts in the most creative way possible.

 

While this list is not in any way exhaustive, if you are able to avoid these simple mistakes, you are on the right track to being a great social media marketer and to use the tool effectively for your business.