Your social media strategy sucks. Do something about it.

That’s tough love, but we’re saying it for your own good.

The dangers of social media mediocrity are too extreme to ignore. If your strategy isn’t in line with current digital realities, you risk falling behind your competitors.

And if new customers not being able to find you wasn’t bad enough, you’ll also lose existing ones if you aren’t careful.

Are you worried that your current social media strategy is harming your business more than helping? Fear not. It doesn’t have to be like this.

You can be an industry resource, reach more users, and ultimately generate more leads. The greatest thing about this is that doing so needs a little common sense but not much more.

This article will identify the social media practices holding you back and what you can do about them.

What Are the Consequences of Social Media Mediocrity?

If you want to use social media without putting too much effort into it, that’s okay. Just know, however, that you will lose the trust of your customers. That will lead to lost revenue.

Once you lose revenue, your business stops running. And when that happens, you’re left to fight in the wilderness for survival. So unless defending yourself against polar bears sounds like a fun career change, it’s best to take your company’s social media more seriously.

Worse than harming yourself, mediocrity on social media also damages the reputation of the industry. Suppose companies choose not to present their social media profiles in a way that reflects well. Why would customers spend their money?

Think about it like a job interview. Would you expect to get hired if you came dressed in your PJs? Unless that in the job spec, unlikely.

Not taking social media seriously can also put your business’ security at risk. Social media fraud attacks have jumped by over 40% since 2019.

If you don’t class social media as an important part of your business, you will put yourself in danger of a cyber attack.

What Are Examples of Outdated Social Media Practices?

Arguably the most outdated social media metrics experts measure is vanity metrics. You know, the ones that make you feel good but mean nothing in a business sense.

Likes, comments, and shares without substance all include part of these. If you get employees to comment ‘thanks for sharing,’ that doesn’t mean you provided value to your audience. Account followers also mean very little if none of them are genuinely interested in what you offer.

Focusing only on organic content creation is also a big mistake. Facebook is smart – it knows where to make money. Hence why it has put more of an emphasis on paid advertising.

In the past few years, organic Facebook reach has been declining. Couple this with the number of other businesses also fighting for exposure. You’re fighting a race to the bottom.

Boosting posts is also a mediocre social media practice. Yes, this might get you in front of more eyeballs. But let’s face it—most users find these kinds of posts annoying and scroll past. All you’re doing is throwing money at something nobody wants to see, with no visible ROI.

What Are Examples of Bad Social Media Marketing?

The US Department of Education’s DuBois Misspelling: In 2017, the U.S. Department of Education posted a quote on Twitter from W.E.B DuBois about why learning is important.

That’s great until they misspelled his last name, so it reads ‘W.E.B DeBois’. And they were promoting…education.

Scott Disick makes it obvious that his Instagram post is sponsored: One year before the DoE’s mishap, TV personality Scott Disick forgot to proofread his caption for a promoted Bootea Shake post before sharing on Instagram.

If you work with influencers, make it clear that they shouldn’t copy and paste the caption’s instructions. Or better still, publish the post for them.

Here’s What You Can Do To Stop Being Mediocre On Social Media

Paid social media advertising will allow you to reach more people in a shorter timespan than organic content alone. You will also pay less if more users interact with your content.

To measure paid social ROI, look at metrics such as sign-ups, website traffic growth, and generating leads.

You will also stop being mediocre on social media if you do more to engage your audience. This means less talking about you because nobody cares. Instead, find out problems that users face and how you can solve them.

Once you know both of the above, start putting together and publishing content that meets their needs.

To create high-quality social media content, you need to have an up-to-date strategy. Go through what you’re doing now and decide what is working and what isn’t.

You might need to have a few difficult conversations. If your current social media’ expert’ isn’t performing, you might need to look elsewhere.

Assess whether your poor performance is because of a lack of talent or because you haven’t put in the right amount of time and energy to create a successful strategy.

When it comes to advertising, you shouldn’t let the examples of bad campaigns put you off completely. Be brave, but not stupid.

Checking for grammatical and factual accuracy is a given. But when it comes to your message, don’t act off-brand to attract a younger audience. People can see if you’re trying too hard and will turn their backs.

The Dangers of Social Media Mediocrity Are Avoidable

The social media game is just as cut-throat for businesses as it is for users. Now you know the dangers of social media mediocrity, you’re better prepared to stop them from happening.

Focus more on paid advertising and measuring metrics that matter. If you’re providing value to your audience, they’ll show this in website visits and generated leads.

Don’t forget to update your strategy for safety reasons, too – security risks are real. You can further avoid damaged reputations by creating a social media policy as well.

Ready to grow your bottom line with paid social media ads? Get in touch.