How many of your social media pursuits end in success, and how many crash and burn? Let me throw you a curveball and say some of your successes are actually miserable failures.
Here’s 10.5 ways people screw up their social media campaigns without knowing it:
1. Inconsistent Message
Don’t fall into the trap of creating a new brand message based on what’s popular today. You can’t be a social media expert today and a stock broker tipster tomorrow, that’s not the way it works. Establishing street cred takes a commitment to a single purpose. Choose yours wisely.
2. What the Hell Are You Selling Me?
What do you sell and how can I buy it? My buddy Dan told me a story about a Vermont farm he wanted to buy fresh produce from. The farm participates on the social web, which is where Dan stumbled across them. There he is, credit card in hand, but the website he was directed to didn’t show him how to buy (even though it did mention an online store). Sale = Lost.
3. Poor Internal Messaging
How many times have you waited in line at the grocery store with a coupon for a product, then the clerk utters those five horrible words, “Manager to the checkout counter”? Look, if you want to use social media in a business capacity, it’s 100% essential that you get every department on the same page. Let people know what the message is, what their responsibilities are, and how to handle them.
4. Sham-WOW: Too Focused on Sales
Making money is good, but don’t put the horse before the cart. If people get a whiff that your whole reason for using social networks is to make money, they’ll ignore you (or worse, call you out). Value first, then money.
5. Not Focused At All on Sales
Just because you’re not pushing product, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t promote. My friend Nicole is a shining example of masterful PR.
6. Slow Response Time
This sort of fits in to number three on our list. If you advertise a marketing message that implies you respond to people’s questions quickly, you’d damn well better respond in minutes or hours — not days. Consider how your message is interpreted and don’t be afraid of being open about limitations.
7. Bad Programming
Each social network is different, so learn which ones work best at attracting fans/followers/customers. You can make this happen using social tracking tools like Hootsuite and Google Analytics.
8. Going Rogue
Don’t task people with managing and representing your business if they fly off the handle. All it takes is one attack on a well meaning follower for you to destroy any goodwill that’s been built. Pay attention to what your reps are saying to help avoid people going off message.
9. Failure to Adapt
What works well today will change — quickly. If you’re not open to new ideas, new social networks, and new ways to communicate…game over.
10. Forgetting What Got You There
Don’t lose sight of what ‘made you famous’. If you build houses, it’s cool that you’re not a ‘cultural icon’. Be good at sharing information about building.
10.5 Have Fun
If it’s not fun, why do it?