More than half of the world is now on at least one social media platform. If you want your business to thrive, you need an active presence with engaging content and posts. But do you know how to achieve those goals?
Unfortunately, there are no shortcuts but plenty of mistakes to be made. Read on as we give 8 outdated social media tactics you need to avoid.
1. Ignoring Automation
Automation can save you a lot of time when it comes to digital marketing, though many businesses tend to ignore it. When you sit down at the start of the month to plan content and posts, you should also take the time to automate.
This will remove repetitive tasks and provide more time for the important ones, such as chasing leads and making money. When you schedule posts, you also reduce the chance of human error as someone can check them for you. With careful scheduling, you will be able to see the best times to post and maintain a presence when you are not online.
Make sure you always follow up on posts. Check back and reply to comments to improve the relationship between yourself and your followers.
2. Only Posting Links
When people follow your social media accounts, they don’t sign up for a constant stream of advertising. It is important that you show a human side reflecting your brand identity. Posting links does not do that; it just tells people you are giving them the hard sell.
There is nothing wrong with posting links. But it should be done sparingly and be embedded in a wider social media strategy. Make sure you talk and interact with your customers, then consider dropping in the odd link or two.
3. Posting the Same Content on Different Platforms
Each social media platform has its own set of rules and operating procedures along with specific audiences. Why would you expect to post the same content on each one and get a good return on investment?
For example, would you post a blog-type article on TikTok? Would you add a fun video of your staff dancing on LinkedIn?
If you don’t have time to create unique content for every platform, then limit your channels. Concentrate on one social media platform that best suits your brand and own it.
4. Going Straight From Follow to Pitch
As soon as someone follows you, or you follow them, it can be tempting to jump straight to the offer. While you wouldn’t follow someone if they couldn’t offer you something of value, such as being a possible conversion, going straight to the business end makes you seem impersonal and can harm your brand identity.
Use social media to build your relationship with followers. Keep newer ones on a list and try to engage with them regularly. Use meaningful comments on their profiles.
Once you have worked on getting them warmed up, you can begin with the soft pitch. Though automating social media posts is great, make sure you don’t automate any replies that contain sales pitches. Yet again this can come across as cold and impersonal.
5. Using Black Hat Tactics
When it comes to social media strategies, there are two camps. The white hat method is common practice, using proper methods. Black hat tactics are shortcuts that involve breaking the rules on social media platforms.
One common tactic is buying likes and followers. These focus on vanity metrics, such as increasing your perceived following. While this may look good, it will provide you with very little in return.
None of these numbers will result in a conversion. Many of them are bots, that will never buy anything from you or tell others how good your company is. They are just a number and you are throwing away your money.
6. Mass Following
One outdated social media tactic is to adopt a technique that involves mass following other accounts. This is often done with the mistaken belief that by following them, they will follow you back. In theory, you should then get an increased number of followers.
The problem with this is that it follows vanity metrics. You may get lots of followers, but your feed will be useless. No one will engage with you and they certainly won’t buy anything.
With social media, there are no shortcuts. Engage and build a following naturally and it will pay off. It is better to have one follower who spends money on your products than a million who spend nothing.
7. Assuming Organic Traffic Will Mean Profit
Everyone spends time getting their search engine optimization on point to harvest valuable search engine traffic. Organic traffic is free and shows your website is functioning well and as it should.
The problem is that social media advertising brings a much higher conversion rate. 26% of users that click on a paid social media advert will end up making a purchase. This means that you need to be investing in quality paid advertising on social media to get the best results.
8. Not Creating Video
There are more ways to engage than just text and images. Video is quickly becoming the preferred type of content. Facebook alone gets 8 billion video views per day.
Video content does take more planning and it is more expensive. But you need to factor this into your return on investment. The right video can bring huge rewards for brand awareness and your profit margins.
Revitalizing Your Social Media Tactics
Now you know what to avoid with these social media tactics, reassess your strategy. Are you currently employing these bad habits? Can you reallocate the time spent doing them to something more useful?
If you need assistance, Drive Social Now should be your first stop. We have social media tactics that drive customers, purchases, and revenue. Contact us here and we can help grow your business in the digital economy.
