4 common social media mistakes that can seriously backfire with your audience

Social media marketing practices are always changing, but there still remain some persistent problems that some marketers can’t seem to give up on. If you’re concerned about potentially driving away your followers with well-intentioned but poorly executed marketing gimmicks, then here are the 4 most common mistakes you should avoid at all costs:

Same Posts on Every Platform

Do you post the exact same image and copy for posts on different social media platforms? Even if you change the copy or image, your followers will likely notice and unfollow you on one or multiple social channels if they perceive you’re not offering them unique content on every platform.

To avoid this dilemma, make sure you come up with fresh content for each platform. Even if you’re promoting the same product or blog post, write up new copy and find a new photo for each social website you post on.

Minimal Engagement with Followers

How often do you reply to followers’ messages, posts and comments that tag your brand on social media? If you’re not responding to at least 50% of your follower engagement, then you’re likely missing out on valuable opportunities to foster consumers’ relationship with your brand, extinguish customer relations fires before they bad-mouth your brand/products/services online, and organically grow your word-of-mouth marketing channels.

Don’t let your followers feel neglected, even if you’re too busy to respond to each person who comments on your page or post. If need be, hire someone else to manage your pages to ensure each and every customer always feels a personalized connection with your brand.

Too Much Hype, Too Many Sales Pitches

Even the most dedicated brand followers will grow tired of seeing the same flashy “SALE!!!” signs and messages telling them to “HURRY – TIME IS RUNNING OUT” if this comprises the majority of your social media posts. There’s a time and a place for deploying copy with elements of scarcity and urgency, but you should use these marketing tactics sparingly to avoid driving your followers away.

For instance, 1-2 posts per week (maximum) should urge your followers to click on a link or buy something. The rest of your posts should be informative, entertaining, or engaging – no sales, no rush, no hype. This is key to developing a highly targeted audience of potential customers who won’t flee your pages within days of following you because your posts will no longer overwhelm them with loud and obnoxious sales messages anymore.

Boring Calls-to-Action

On the flip side of having too much hype, it’s perfectly possible that you may be underwhelming your audience. If your usual call-to-action is something like “look at our website please,” “download a copy,” or “buy it now,” then you might be experiencing low engagement and conversion rates simply because your calls-to-action are too dull.

There needs to be some spark of excitement to drive potential customers to your website, which is why it’s so important to split-test ads with different calls-to-action: to see which CTA is most effective in capturing their interest and enthusiastically guiding them to the finish line, which is the checkout or download page on your website!