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Top Must-Avoid Social Media Mistakes

Today’s business climate holds incredible power for social media marketing. It has become the center of information for both professional and personal use. The majority of people know how social media works; however, only a minority knows about the mistakes that can be made. Read on and get one-step closer to handling your social media efforts much better.

Failing to Post and Respond
You need to ensure you are posting regularly and the content you post should meet both the needs and interests of your clients. You need to ensure you respond to your clients, and not put them on hold. We all hate being on hold, which is why you should avoid doing this.

Not Being Creative and Not Watching Your Competitors
What you want to do is grab the attention of your clients, which means you need to give them shock, humor, and motivation in your content. They should not refuse your offer and you should try surprising them occasionally. If you visit the sites of your competitors, you can take down notes of the things that are working for them, and implement them into your own.

Not Focusing on Quality Feedback or Being Original
It is likely you may get negative comments. People can speak freely and some may say good things, whilst others not so good. You should focus more on the quality feedback and create any new opportunities from any negative comments. One thing you do not want to do is annoy your customers, so be sure not to do too much, as that can harm your business.

Not Trying Something New or Understanding Your Platform
It is important you are not limiting yourself to one area. You need to come out of your comfort zone and try new things. You also need to see the social network that best fits your business. Use the one that your audience is most active on and save yourself time by avoiding the rest.

Ignoring Data and Paying for Fan Base
You need to track down each new activity that happens on your site. Doing this allows you to see what strategies are both working and not working. You need to avoid unnatural practices and should not buy followers. Follow the above tips and there is no reason to why you would have to buy even a single fan.

Increase Customer Engagement with Social Media

Ever wonder why even the most popular brands have a Facebook page AND a Twitter account AND have a Pinterest presence? Well, it’s because now, social media has become one of the best and cost effective ways to reach customers and keep in constant touch with them. Individual use of social networking websites has increased so exponentially that businesses can now capitalize on its popularity. Here are some tips for your social media marketing strategy:

  • Pick your Network: Know the various social media outlets out there. You don’t necessarily have to have an account with every social media website. Choose which ones you want to have a presence on, keep them focused on your target audience and keep them constantly updated.
  • Active Networking: Business networking really starts with your own personal network. You never know who needs the service that you offer. Reach out to friends, classmates and former colleagues to spread the word.
  • Professional Networking: Along with new customers, every business is also looking to improve themselves. Don’t underestimate the connections you have with others who offer the same services you do. Have a LinkedIn account and do some professional networking- you need a competitive edge and its necessary to know what others are doing to make their business better. Professional collaboration can sometimes help your business immensely.
  • Engage your Audience: Keep your audience constantly updated on what you are doing to produce new customers for your business.
  • Look for Ideas: Public engagement doesn’t just end with you making posts. It also involves reading what your audience has to say. You never know where the next big idea for your next big product may come from. Responses from your customers also allow you to measure what’s working and what is not within your business.
  • Watch your content: Be professional and yourself when posting to your business profile.

Social media involvement can make or break your business. With the right content and engagement, social media can really be an advantage for your business. It is the most direct way to be in touch with your consumers and finding new avenues for your business.

Even At Your Best, Reputation Management Companies Can Still Help Your Business

Lots of companies call reputation management groups because they had a disaster — an employee said something racist on the company Facebook account or your #ourcompanystories hashtag turned into a place for customers to tell horror stories about how one of their cousins found a bird’s foot in your boxed soup. But that’s kind of like looking for insurance just after you were diagnosed with cancer — a foolish use of a powerful tool.

The best time to seek out and hire the best reputation management company you can afford is when things are going well, not when they’re going south. What does a reputation management company do when you don’t have a disaster on your hands? Why, they prevent disasters, of course.

Sure, no one can keep your employees from stupidly misusing the Facebook account — but things like the #ourcompanystories debacle can be easily prevented by an alert reputation manager. Companies that look out for your reputation are experts at spotting not just active PR disasters, but potential PR disasters — the kind no amount of social media expertise can correct once they go public.

Reputation management companies come in a few different types. The lowest level types are the ones that specialize in knocking bad stories off of the news and making sure the SERPs don’t link to many pages disrespecting you or your company. These folks are nothing more than experts in ‘negative SEO’ — the art of tanking someone else’s rankings with black hat strategies. That’s not what you need; it’s reactive and it’s actively unethical.

What you want is a reputation company that will lead your company into the upcoming quarters and years by building a plan to cement your position in the marketplace and your public image. A company that will help you figure out who you appeal to and who you don’t, and work to improve your appeal to the second group. A company, in short, that will manage your reputation — not manage your reputation crises. Those are the best reputation management companies, and your company deserves one.