Using social media in a business capacity can be a very powerful tool if used in the right way, but it could also be a big waste of time and money if not done properly.
1. Not spending time on getting your social media profiles on point.
Think of your social media profiles as your business CV. Make sure that all of your contact details are listed and correct. That you clearly state what you do and how you can benefit your clients. List your services, and prices and make sure visitors to your page can interact with your content by checking the settings on your account.
2. Posting on every platform
It can be tempting to post on every platform out there but if it is not relevant to your business and your customers then don’t bother. You need to be posting where your typical customers are. It is far better to focus on one or two platforms and provide quality content rather than spreading yourself too thinly and providing wishy-washy content that has no bones to it.
3. Paying for followers
Don’t be duped into paying for followers. They add no value to your business pages whatsoever. They won’t interact with your posts and will not buy from you. It is a huge waste of money. Yes, it looks great that you have a ton of followers but it is far better to have followers that value what you do.
4. Not answering comments and messages
The algorithm that sits behind social media posts recognises if you don’t reply to comments and messages, and in response, pushes your post out to fewer people. The more that you respond, the more people will see your post.
5. Not providing interesting, engaging or entertaining content
Provide value to your posts by using a mixture of media such as images, video, stories, reels, and carousels to draw your audience in. Keep content easy to read and make use of bullet points or numbers to break up your text.
6. Poor images
It doesn’t matter how good you are as a business, if the images that you use on social media are of poor quality your audience will switch off from engaging with your business. Imagine a restaurant using a picture of their restaurant that was blurry, badly lit and hard to see what it looked like. Would you book a table?
7. Badly written copy
If you are not confident in your writing skills, use an app such as Grammarly to check your spelling and grammar. Before you post make sure that your writing makes sense and avoid using too many technical terms or acronyms.
8. Not using hashtags and tagging
Search on the internet to find out the top trending hashtags relevant to your business and use the top 10 on all of your posts. Anyone searching for those terms will then see your posts. Equally, tagging people helps the reach of your post too.
9. Not using a call to action
If you are giving your audience amazing content and not giving them a clear call to action then you are potentially missing out on sales. Tip: Facebook and Instagram don’t like external links in posts so use them in your graphics instead.
10. Not posting enough or posting too much
Consistency is key. Research into when your customers are most likely online and schedule your posts around those times. Aim to post 3-5 times per week. Posting too much may have the opposite effect and stop people from following you. Try to hit that happy medium.
If this is something that you need help with, we offer social media management and we do all of this (and more) for you. Feel free to get in touch or book a discovery call below.