Mistakes to avoid when promoting your business on social media
Keeping up brand awareness is a business in itself ... here are some of the most common pitfalls.
# Mistake 1. Working without a plan
Social media success needs a strategy and a plan, especially if you’re serious about using the platform to create brand awareness. If your Instagram page is the first point of contact an audience has with your brand, you must create strong first impressions and post interesting and relevant content. Set goals that can be measured.
# Mistake 2: Inconsistency
You have to keep your momentum going if you really want to see any growth. Plan the week’s posts and get into a daily routine and it will become much easier. If you’re unable to do this because of other work commitments, consider hiring a social media marketing team to get you on your feet.
# Mistake 3: Assuming your audience is everyone
Understanding your target market is critical when it comes to a successful social strategy. For example, do you know what age group is using your platform and have you adjusted your tone accordingly?
# Mistake 4: Not commenting
Don’t be apprehensive about interacting with your followers. Not only do comments boost the algorithm odds, but it gives you a more personal voice and sets up associations with your audience. There are no exact formulas to getting the algorithm right, but you can optimise your posts so that people interact with you, therefore making the algorithm show the post to other subscribers. Another tip is not to delete negative comments; simply reply timeously and in a positive manner.
# Mistake 5: Using irrelevant hashtags
You don’t need to use the most popular hashtags out there – you’ll actually see more growth if you use smaller tags that are more directed at your target market.
* Sources: Adapted from buffer.com and wordstream.com
