08 Nov Three Common Social Media Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

Social media can be a wonderful outlet of self-expression and personal branding. It can be an amazing marketing platform to help communicate and build wonderful relationships with your target audience. It can also be a means to completely alienate your customer base and lose all credibility.  Isn’t social media awesome?
Although social media can be extremely rewarding, if not used correctly, it can also be costly. Here are some of the most common social media pitfalls companies perform and how you can avoid them, making you a social media all-star, and converting those “likes” and “pins” to real dollars in the process.
Foregoing the Bio
This is your chance. Your chance to captivate your audience. To let them know who you are and what your business stands for. This is your opportunity to let everyone know why they should trust you over your competition. Your chance to demonstrate your passion and enthusiasm. Unfortunately, many people skip this opening…a common mistake that can cost you dearly. The bio is often the first thing people see and therefore it’s a great opportunity to make them stay instead of checking out the next page. Be creative and give them a reason to follow you. And don’t forget to include your contact information and website url! You want to make sure they can contact you outside of the social media platform as well.
Forgetting that all Social Media Sites Are Not Created Equal
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest all have one thing in common: they are a means for communication. And that’s pretty much it for their similarities. So how do they differ? Well, they differ in the way people interact and communicate. Facebook deals with “likes” while Twitter focuses on “tweets.” You can “hangout” in Google+ while “pinning” in Pinterest. Unfortunately, these differences in communication can create problems with people when trying to engage their audience through several social media platforms. A common mistake is to use all the platforms the same and simultaneously blast your updates throughout all social media sites. Although this is certainly a fantastic way to save time, it also feels disingenuous to your audiences. This act is often associated with spam…and we all know how people react to spam. DELETE. The key is to understand each platform and communicate appropriately with the audience in that platform. This will create a more trusting relationship between you and your followers.
Focusing on Quantity Instead of Quality when it Comes to Followers
It’s a great feeling. To sign in to your Facebook account and find out someone has liked your page. Your heart leaps a little. You smile from ear to ear. Someone has read your content and enjoyed it so much, that they decided they wanted to read more. Awesome! Unfortunately, people begin to crave this feeling so much, that they start to turn to dubious methods to get their “like fix,” if you will. Some companies have gone as far as purchasing likes and followers or staging a fake Twitter hack. The problem with this logic is that likes and followers don’t necessarily equate to sales. The truth is, it is far better to have 1,000 highly engaged users than to have 1,000,000 who never participate or share your content. In other words, that one person who liked your page…treat them well. Because that one person can bring you a swarm of enthusiastic, loyal, and engaged fans. And that can actually equate to sales.
By avoiding these pitfalls, you can develop a loyal fan base of engaged and active fans. Once you have that, the possibilities are endless. Just remember to be authentic to who you are and what your brand stands for. With that piece of advice, you won’t be able to fail when it comes to social media.