The Number 1 Mistake in Social Media Marketing

I will jump right into this. Let me start by saying that the number one mistake I see business owners make with social media marketing is that they treat it as a polished work of art. They act like every post is a press release. Below, I will discuss just a few quick points on why it is so important to just be social.

Point #1: People like to buy from people. If you are in the business of selling a product or service (most of us are), then you are more likely to convert a prospect to a sale if they feel some type of trust or emotional connection to you or your business. Social media is one of your only opportunities as a company to engage with your customers on a very personal level. Let me introduce Hashtag Hostess! This social media marketing agency, founded by Angele Black, is fantastic at helping create a personality behind your social media that will keep your audience engaged.

Point #2: Your best source of business is repeat business. This is not news to most business owners, but what many don’t realize is that social media is one of the best ways to boost your customer retention. Social media excels at building brand loyalty because you are engaging with your customers and audience on a daily basis. No other marketing channel allows you to interact with your customers that frequently. So the more you utilize what I talked about in point number one, the more likely your customers will be to ignore the white noise created by your competitors. Again, I use Hashtag Hostess, a social media marketing consultant in Orange County, CA, to help many of my clients with this.

Point #3: Any good social media marketing consultant will confirm this point: the keyword in social media is “social.” People do not usually go on social media to be sold to. They don’t want to see advertisements. They don’t want to be sold to. That doesn’t mean you can’t plug some of your products or services sometimes, but for the most part, you need to be providing some value to your audience. Studies show that social media users will only follow a finite amount of businesses, and you must keep them entertained or be providing value to be one of those that they follow. How do you do that? Again, social media marketing is about being social. Engaging with your audience, posting interesting information and creating a personality behind your page will be the key. Do not make the mistake of making your page sound like a corporate business. That makes you cold. I refer you back to point number one above. People like to buy from people, not cold corporations.