8 Social Media Marketing Mistakes Every Brand Makes

Social media is crucial to any business that exists nowadays, especially those who wish to thrive. Any brand that wishes to get as many eyes on its product as possible will need to leverage the power of social media to do so. And with the number of active social media users surpassing 2.5 billion in 2022, it’s no wonder that businesses want to take advantage of the power of social media as much as possible.But regardless of what a company’s niche is, its social media marketing strategy can easily make or break its entire business. In a digital market that’s becoming increasingly saturated and crowded with businesses, influencers and individuals, sometimes it feels like drastic measures need to be taken to stand out. Sometimes, this isn’t the best idea to take, and it can lead to making mistakes that can lead to some harsh consequences.Follower counts can start to decline, and page growth stagnates. The wrong move could lead to a slew of negative press, which can hurt a business even more. Let’s take a look at the eight most common social media marketing mistakes that every company makes and ways brands can avoid them.

Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes

Although social media is a treasure trove of new customers, many companies make grave social media marketing mistakes that can cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds. Managing social media accounts for a business isn’t an easy task, especially with the ever-changing landscape of the various social media platforms out there today.Some of these mistakes are pretty obvious, yet they are still mistakes that are made even today. Here are some of the mistakes in social media marketing that companies tend to make:

1. Too much automation

Despite automation technologies being a godsend to social media managers and marketers, one of the biggest social media marketing mistakes to avoid is relying too heavily on automation.From automatic posting to automatic replies, going too hard on automation can lead to audiences finding your brand too robotic and inauthentic. People can easily detect automation from a mile away and tend to avoid social media pages that seem like they’re run by robots rather than humans.

2. No engagement

A key aspect of social media is the very core of what social media is – social. One of the biggest mistakes companies make in their social media marketing strategy is not engaging with their followers' comments and replies. Avoiding engagement is a surefire way for people to dislike a brand and avoid following its pages.Despite engagement being a given, many companies still make this social media marketing mistake within their pages. Being a quiet page that only posts content about the brand to fulfil a “quota” is a terrible move.

3. Zero social media strategy

This is another very common social media marketing mistake to avoid. Running social media pages without a viable social media strategy is like baking a cake without a recipe. Tossing together ingredients randomly isn’t going to make the cake come out right, and the same applies to social media.Just because you’re posting content on social media doesn’t mean that you are deserving of engagement and reach. Finding success on social media can’t be done without a strategy. Don’t sleep on the benefits of a practicable social media strategy.

4. Treating all social media the same

This is particularly the case when it comes to older-generation business owners, but the fact still remains. Another one of the worst mistakes in social media marketing a company can make is to treat all social media platforms the same way. Each platform has its own uniqueness, and companies need to realise and utilise each to their specific advantage.When it comes to social media, one way for businesses to fail at this is by posting the same content across all of their different channels. What would work as a 210-character tweet won't work on a network that prioritises aesthetics, such as Instagram, since the app is one that puts visuals first.

5. Being impersonal

People have a strong desire to feel as though they are being heard, and one of the best ways to rapidly lose followers is to give them cold, impersonal comments that have been crafted in advance. To reiterate, this is one of the most widespread errors in social media marketing that is still being committed in the modern era.On top of automated replies, sending anything that seems impersonal can make a brand’s followers feel uneasy. Studies have found that over 50% of consumers spend more time with a brand with that they feel a connection.

6. Completely avoiding negativity

It might be very tempting to completely avoid any negative feedback or comments that you might receive on social media, but this is a very big social media marketing mistake. Any negative feedback, especially if constructive, should never be ignored and should never be hidden.To circle back to one of our previous themes, it is important for consumers to have the perception that they are being heard, regardless of whether or not they have something complimentary to comment on. A brand's presence on social media can suffer significantly if it completely ignores any and all negative feedback and comments.

7. Posting inconsistently

The majority of social media sites, if not all of them, rely on material that is steady and continuous. In spite of the fact that publishing new material on a regular basis is essential to business expansion across all platforms, a surprising number of businesses and brands continue to commit this common error in social media marketing.Consistency also applies to maintaining a company’s brand and voice across content and platforms. Straying too far away from the brand voice, especially for the sake of jumping on a social media trend, is one way that companies have made this social media marketing mistake to avoid. Doing so can create a disconnect from the brand’s audience, which can lead to alienating them as well as undermining the brand’s messaging.

8. Ignoring data and analytics

Much to many people’s dismay, data and analytics are your best friends in the world of social media. Yet there are plenty of companies who continuously make this social media marketing mistake and ignore the data available on social platforms.A “pray and spray” approach to social media is not a great way to grow on social media. Ignoring the analytical tools provided by social media platforms themselves means that you won’t know what kinds of content your followers actually like – which is a big social media marketing mistake to avoid.

How to Avoid Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes

If you have been making any of the social media marketing mistakes that we mentioned above, don’t worry. There is still hope to turn things around and find the growth your company’s social media pages need.Let’s discuss some of the ways how companies can avoid common social media marketing mistakes:

1. Develop a thorough social media strategy

Running social media accounts requires not just an overall strategy but one for each channel that a company wants to use. Going down this path without a valid strategy can mean that there is no solid goal to achieve and strive for, which makes it extremely difficult to know exactly what needs to be done.Social media marketing is just like any form of marketing – it needs a solid strategy. Creating a social media strategy isn’t difficult, but it does need time, effort and care to make one that works. Here are 9 general steps that need to be taken:

1. Set sensible goals
2. Define target audience
3. Choose the right platforms
4. Establish key metrics and KPIs
5. Seek inspiration from other companies
6. Develop a social media schedule
7. Consistently create and publish engaging content
8. Track performance
9. Adjust the strategy

2. Engage with your audience

Even if you have a busy schedule to keep to, it’s important that you put aside time every day to engage with your audience on social media. Audience engagement can make or break a company’s social media marketing strategy, which is why it’s a crucial step to take to avoid common social media marketing mistakes. As little as 15 minutes a day is plenty to start.Reply or react to comments, share the stories that your audience tagged your brand in and respond to DMs. Those are small yet significant actions that will go a long way to creating lasting impressions on your followers. Others are also more likely to follow social media pages that are seen to engage with their followers.

3. Leverage data and analytics

On social media, data is your best friend. It helps you become aware of what has been working in your social media strategy and what hasn’t. Data is a powerful tool that can be used to avoid many common social media marketing mistakes because it means that you’re listening to your audience.Data is also a way to ensure that you are meeting any KPIs that you’ve set within your social media marketing strategy. Gathering the information you need to keep up with your goals is tough to do manually. That’s why most social media platforms and social media management applications do the leg for work you.

4. Utilise the right tools

We’ve mentioned before that automation tools are a blessing to anyone working with social media. Although too much automation is one of the biggest social media mistakes to make, it doesn’t mean that companies should avoid it completely. Instead, they should utilise social media automation tools to their potential for their advantage.Scheduling tools like Buffer or Later can help you find the best time to post content and allows you to maintain consistency more easily. Being able to plan and schedule content in advance also means that in the event that a social media manager forgets to post, there would already be content waiting to be published.

5. Hire an expert

You don’t have to go on your social media journey alone. Hiring the right people to manage your brand’s social media profiles and those who know social media marketing through and through. They will be able to create and develop an efficient social media strategy and proficiently manage your social media accounts.If you haven’t hired a social media team for your business (emphasis on team!), now is the time to do it. This can either be done by hiring an in-house social media team or outsourcing social media tasks to a trustworthy creative digital marketing agency. Getting the experts to sort out your company’s social media is the best way to avoid all the social media marketing mistakes mentioned above.

Conclusion

Social media is a big aspect of people’s lives and, as such, is of great importance to companies if they wish to grow their businesses. But, in order to gain the best possible outcomes in growth, they need to avoid some of the biggest social media marketing mistakes that are still made today.Despite these common mistakes, there are still ways to avoid those mistakes and recover from them should they accidentally be made. However, the best way to prevent making these social media mistakes is to hire a team who knows all about social media and the best practices for each channel.