5) Quantity Over Quality
There is a strong tendency to focus on raw numbers to measure your success – How many followers do you have on Twitter and how many fans on Facebook? The catch is that you can have 10,000 connections in your network and not make a dime from them if they aren’t the right people. So instead of raw numbers, focus on increasing the amount of highly target connections that you have. For example, if you have a maternity store don’t worry about your count of total followers and instead focus exclusively on building relationships with new mothers-to-be.
4) The Wrong Place
There lots of great social media outlets – but that doesn’t mean that they are all right for you. “They built it, so I will come” is a dangerous way of selecting where you will invest your company’s social media efforts. There is an overwhelming number of online venues available for you, so pick the ones that are most popular with your niche market and focus your efforts there so that you can make the biggest impact.
3) Not Connecting
Social media is like a coffee shop conversation occurring online. At its heart, it is about getting to know each other and building a connection. This means that you need to engage your network with questions, not simply one way communication. You need to search for feedback. And when you get that feedback, you need to respond. You know, just like you would in a coffee shop.
2) Selling
Social media is ultimately about connecting (see above). It is about getting to know your customers, allowing them to get to know you, and building a relationship. Bombarding your network with sales, discounts, and buy 2 get 1 free offers is a sure way to make them tune you out. So when you are running that amazing sale, sure, let your online friends know about it. But keep the majority of your content fun, informational, and the sort of stuff that you would want to read yourself.
1) R.O.Ignored.
There are a thousand and one marketing avenues open to you today, and it is your duty to pick and chose the ones that give you the biggest bang for your buck. With all marketing you need to track the impact that it has on your sales. This is all the more true with social media. Simple tracking software such as Google Analytics will allow you to see how much traffic you are getting each day from your social media efforts. And setting up a unique phone number (via Google Voice) will allow you to track any calls coming directly from your social media profiles. By tracking your ROI you can ensure that you are getting all the value available out of social media.
