Social media has enabled business owners to market themselves to a vast audience they wouldn’t have otherwise been able to reach.
Social media allows you to not only drive new business, but manage customer service, and even reactivate old customers.
However, as time has gone by, the audience people on social media have undergone some changes. When social media first appeared on the scene, it was easy and very effective to make a simple self-promoting blog post and watch the traffic and sales flow in.
Over the years, users of social media were flooded with this kind of simplistic advertising. They quickly grew tired of it and started blocking or unfollowing companies that were engaging in these types of spammy practices.
Nowadays,
social media marketing is all about providing value and a good user experience that keeps your followers engaged and participating in the conversation.
In this blog post, we’re going to look at the top five social media habits that could cause more harm than good to a business.
Self-Promotion
A little self-promotion goes a long way. Too much self-promotion and users tend to disengage.
Where is the line drawn between what’s too much and what’s just right?
The question to that answer depends entirely upon your audience. The vast majority of people will automatically ignore posts that are blatant (or even thinly veiled) self-promoting posts.
People are very good nowadays at discerning what is and what isn’t valuable and real. While it’s perfectly acceptable to self-promote now and then, balance it out by providing something of value or substance.
Lack of Value
Adding value keeps your social media audience engaged and coming back for more. If your post lack value, people won’t pay attention to them.
Video is a great and cost-effective way of adding value. Most newer smartphones have a very good video camera and can take high-quality videos that you can upload to the internet with ease. There are many great ways to use video to add value.
For example, if you’re a service-based industry such as a plumber, have one of your helpers pull out his cell phone on your next house call. Record a three to five-minute video on how to unclog a sink or some other useful tip, and then post it to your social media account(s) and website.
People will find it on their own and remember you the next time they have a sink blockage that isn’t so simple to unclog.
Lack of Human Feelings
If your social media posts sound like a robot had written them – devoid of emotion, filled with grammatical errors, and corporate brand-talk, then people will naturally be turned off.
Ditch the formality. Ditch the corporate-speak. Instead, talk to your audience like they were human beings. Use naturally-sounding language. Don’t hesitate to use the vernacular – however, keep in mind that your audience is probably very diverse, and any swearing or other off-color verbiage, politics, or religion can do more harm than good.
To get a good idea of what familiar-sounding language is like, turn on any late night t.v. talk show host and watch their opening monologue.
Notice their familiar tone of voice and how they speak to the audience like they were old friends. This is the tone you should be trying to mimic when making social media posts.
Duplicate Social Media Posts
If you have multiple social media posts and are sending out the same duplicated message with no variance, stop it. There’s a good chance many of your followers are subscribed to multiple social media accounts and will see the same post twice.
Try to mix it up a bit. While you can post the same video on multiple social media sites, add little extra value or insights into your Facebook post vs. your Twitter post. Tailor your message to the primary demographic on each respective social media site and watch the engagement soar!
Deleting or Ignoring Negative Comments
When you delete or ignore negative comments or concerns brought up by your audience, you’re telling everyone you could care less about how they feel. Instead, take the time to respond to each comment in a rational and professional tone of voice and mannerism.
This is called “reputation management” and will show prospective customers that you care about customer service and will make every reasonable effort to keep them satisfied. This, in turn, enables people to trust you and your business much easier and can even help increase sales.
Social Media Management in Raleigh
If your business needs help to manage your social media and marketing efforts, give AlphaGraphics of Downtown Raleigh a call. We’re not just a print shop – we’re also marketing experts that can help your business drive new sales, leads, and customers through your front door.
To learn more about how AlphaGraphics of Downtown Raleigh can produce and design your next project, you may
email us or
request a quote or call us at
(919) 832-2828.