Given that 500 million people use Instagram daily, social media marketing offers incredible reach for businesses. While this is common knowledge, few businesses truly master it.
Social media guides often advise authenticity and compelling content, yet following this advice doesn’t always yield impressive results. This explains why countless business pages on Facebook have a meager following. These businesses might be doing everything right—or they could be making crucial errors.
Here are eight common social media pitfalls to sidestep for a successful campaign:
- Lacking a plan
- Assuming a universal audience
- Buying followers
- Striking the wrong tone
- Using irrelevant hashtags
- Ignoring the comment section
- Deleting negative comments
- Being uninteresting Once you’re finished here, check out our related post: 7 Budget-Wasting Facebook Ads Mistakes (and How to Avoid Them)
1. Operating Without a Strategy
Many social media newcomers follow guides blindly instead of crafting a comprehensive strategy. Begin by understanding social media’s potential for your business goals. This understanding should guide all your actions.
Running a social media campaign without knowing your audience, how to promote posts, or the next steps is akin to driving without knowing your fuel level or destination. This mistake can completely derail your campaign and render your efforts futile.
2. Misconstruing Your Audience
Knowing your audience is paramount for effective planning. Many businesses oversimplify their audience, leading to a distorted understanding.
Most are under people who use Instagram are 18 to 34 years old, placing them within the Millennial generation. However, relying on stereotypical generalizations about Millennials will doom your campaign.
Instead, delve deeper into your audience. Your target isn’t all Millennials, but those interested in your brand. This not only allows for precise targeting but also informs your tone and content.
3. The Lure of Purchased Followers
Buying followers violates all social media platform guidelines. However, as organic followers dwindle, this illicit activity becomes tempting. Who can resist a thousand followers for a mere $5?
While alluring, this practice could sabotage your social media presence. Purchasing followers contradicts Facebook and Instagram algorithms.
Every post reaches a small segment of your audience initially. The more likes and comments it garners, the more valuable the algorithm deems it, leading to broader distribution.
Imagine having 500 organic followers and then buying 1,000 more. Two-thirds of your audience now comprises inactive accounts with numerous subscriptions. They have no interest in your posts and won’t engage.
The prevalence of fake profiles created to inflate follower counts became so rampant on Facebook that even official ads resulted in fake likes.. This sparked a scandal as businesses suffered from these artificial likes, compelling Facebook to delete over 2 billion fake accounts. Why did major brands pressure Facebook?
These fake accounts hinder algorithmic post promotion, resulting in reduced visibility for your genuine followers. This defeats the purpose of seeking followers in the first place.
Remember, your goal is conversions, not just follower count. Buying followers only diverts you from this objective.
4. Missing the Mark with Tone
Individuals enjoy freedom on social media, using their profiles to share their lives with friends. Brands, however, operate under greater scrutiny.
An overly formal brand voice risks disengaging your audience. However, an even graver error is trying too hard to be casual or, worse, offensive.
Attempts at humor can backfire, as illustrated by an ad featuring a scantily clad woman as a lazy attempt to attract customers. It’s not funny; it’s simply offensive.
Image source Sunny D’s Twitter account feigns depression. Did they genuinely believe it was humorous? Or were they misguidedly attempting to resonate with a younger audience perceived as stressed, depressed, and exam obsessed?
Image source Regardless of their intent, this approach only alienates Gen Z.
Before tweeting or posting on Instagram, define a tone that aligns with your brand and resonates with your audience. Utilize tools like the Hemingway App to ensure this alignment. Then, document your chosen tone.
5. Hashtag Mishaps
Hashtags are crucial for visibility. Engaging with trending conversations can expose your account to thousands. However, there’s a significant downside to consider.
Your brand becomes visible to a massive audience, meaning any misstep is amplified. Deleting the post doesn’t erase the mistake entirely, thanks to web archives.
Despite deleting a tweet and issuing an apology, DiGiorno Pizza still faces backlash for their insensitive use of a hashtag related to domestic violence. Screenshots of the offensive tweet continue to circulate online.
Remember, domestic violence is not a joking matter, especially when you want people to buy your products.
Similarly, attempting to capitalize on the death of a famous person for marketing purposes is in poor taste. Grieving fans won’t appreciate the insensitivity.
Image source When unsure, stick to basic, relevant hashtags and jokes that uphold your brand values.
6. The Silent Treatment
High engagement, particularly in the form of comments, boosts your standing with the Instagram and Facebook algorithms.
Responding to comments isn’t just about appeasing algorithms; it builds connections. Followers appreciate brands that acknowledge and value their input.
Image source Staying silent is a major social media faux pas.
7. Erasing Negative Feedback
You’ve likely witnessed brands engaging in heated exchanges prompted by negative comments, only to delete the entire conversation thread.
This is the epitome of inauthenticity. Transparency is key. Address negative comments objectively, demonstrating that you have nothing to hide.
If the criticism is valid, acknowledge it, express gratitude for the feedback, and strive to improve. If it’s simply toxic, ignore it.
8. The Perils of Blandness
On Instagram alone, people post over 100 million posts a day. The quickest way to get lost in the noise is to be uninteresting. Simply showcasing your products and proclaiming their greatness, posting uninspiring visuals, and avoiding humor altogether will render you invisible.
Admittedly, this mistake is harder to avoid than the others. However, thorough audience research goes a long way.
If you’re struggling to make your page engaging, seek inspiration from other creators or, better yet, ask your audience for their input.
Start Posting!
Establishing a social media presence is challenging, and these mistakes are easy to make. However, they could also spell the end of your social media endeavors. Keep them in mind as you strategize and start posting today!