Social Media has now become one of the most important aspects of business and digital marketing. Traditional forms of marketing such as television and billboards are now taking a back seat – businesses are concentrating on social media, website advertisements, and email campaigns. These types of digital marketing can provide exceptional returns on investment. Moreover, digital marketing can reach a much large audience and is available 24/7.

Although social media is hugely important for small businesses, many people are still making huge mistakes. These mistakes can damage the effectiveness of their social media campaigns and ultimately lose their business time and money. To help, we have provided 7 mistakes that small businesses often make – hopefully, you can learn from them and avoid making them yourself:

1. Diversifying across too many social media platforms

There are many social media platforms available to use. To name a few we have Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Pinterest and LinkedIn. Some small businesses try to promote themselves on every single platform available – this simply isn’t practical. Moreover, you may simply not be able to devote the time to maintain 5+ social media platforms effectively. Reduce your workload and concentrate on maybe 2-3 prominent platforms. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram are usually the main three that a small business can benefit from – Pinterest could potentially be swapped for Instagram depending on your type of business. Reduce your focus and refrain from diversifying too much!

2. Creating generic content that is unappealing to customer’s

Social media is often used incorrectly by small business – they often make the mistake of quantity over quality. Simply spamming generic mundane posts that have no relevance to customers will not work. Yes, it may show that your social media feed is active which Google likes, but it will not actually yield you any useful results!Your social media content must be appealing and interesting. Let’s say for example you provide an essay writing service. One day, you may post a sample assignment cover page design in your social media post. The next day, you could provide some useful tips on essay writing – be creative and make posts that your customers can benefit from! Don’t forget also to avoid encroaching on copyrights – consider reviewing your work with a plagiarism checker.

3. Creating inconsistent content on a semi-regular basis

In point 2 we outlined how social media content should be appealing and interesting. It should also be posted regularly. As a small business you have to find a middle ground between inactivity and spam – don’t spam hundreds of posts per day, but on the same note, don’t go for weeks without making a social media post at all. Remain consistent and keep your social media information up to date – this will help your metrics and user engagement. Finally, don’t simply post for the sake of posting – ensure that you consistently create useful social media content.

4. Not identifying your target customer/audience

Would you create a product or service without first looking at your target customer? Would you create an advertising campaign without looking at your ideal demographic? No! So why would you think this is acceptable for social media marketing? Many small businesses simply churn out social media content without considering their target customer – this can mean they waste time creating generic posts that do not appeal to the people who are most likely to interact with them!If you have gathered any research data for your business relating to demographics and customers, use it! Apply this research to your social media posts and create targeted content. Tailor the language and imagery used to suit your ideal customers.

5. Failing to interact with customers and responding to comments

Social media is an active form of marketing. Platforms such as Facebook and Twitter give you intimate access to your customers – you can literally message them and interact directly with them. What other type of marketing allows you to do this? Businesses often fall short as they do not capitalize on this interaction factor – they simply create social media posts and never take the time to respond to their customers.Don’t do this! If you receive a reply to your tweet or Facebook post – acknowledge it! Reply to messages, like the comments that your customers leave – show them that you care and value their input! By interacting with your customers, you will reap the benefits and your social media feeds will be healthier for it.

6. Blurring the lines between your personal and business accounts

This is such an important point – your business account is NOT your personal account! Don't use your business social media account to make personal posts. Don't use your business social media account to follow your favorite celebrities – doing things such as this could negatively impact your effectiveness.

7. Failing to look at analytical data

Finally, when using social media, you have access to a multitude of analytical information. There are loads of tools and websites you can use to analyze the performance of your social media posts. You can see how many people are clicking on them, and you can even track the demographics. To make your small business social media operation truly effective, use this data to your advantage!

We hope you have found this guide useful. Don’t let your own small business fall prey to these common mistakes! Make your social media campaign shine and reap the benefits that this type of marketing can provide.