If your business doesn’t have a social media marketing plan, you’re leaving money on the table. Of course, smart business owners like you already know this. You’ve set up business pages, posted every day, shared photos, and sent out event invites to everyone in your database. But despite the likes, comments, and shares this has earned you, that engagement just hasn’t converted the way you expected. With the right adjustments, your lead generation efforts on social media will soon pay off—the key is to make sure you haven’t been making any of these nine common marketing mistakes.
You’re Ignoring Analytics
Social media marketing is worthless without analytics. Whatever tool you use to measure metrics like engagement, follower growth, page views, etc., don’t let the data you collect go to waste. Tracking analytics is the key to your lead generation success. Not only will it help you see what’s working (and what isn’t) with your current social media marketing plan, but it will also give you a clear idea of what changes you should make moving forward. It’s not about tracking everything—it’s about tracking the right things. Keep a close eye on which posts get the highest engagement and pay attention to which platforms you have the strongest presence on. And stay consistent with measuring this data. After all, the digital world moves fast; best practices are always changing.
You’re Targeting the Wrong Audience
If your lead generation efforts on social media aren’t leading to conversions, ask yourself if you’re reaching the right people. Identify your target demographic, then craft a digital marketing strategy that will work for that audience. A person’s age, location, and interests (among other things) all play a role in what products and services they buy. Think about your business’ niche, study what kinds of customers have interacted with your brand in the past, and then use this information to your advantage. It’s much easier to make loyal customers out of people who are already interested in what you offer.
You’re Using the Wrong Platforms
Speaking of reaching the right audience, don’t assume your customers are active on every platform—or that they use every social media channel for the same thing. When someone logs onto Twitter, for example, they’re looking for timely updates and convenient, short-form content. Instagram, on the other hand, is the perfect place for putting your brand’s aesthetic on display. Promoting your business by partnering with influencers on Instagram is another great way to use this platform. Similarly, remember that your audience can be wide ranging in ages. If your business caters to an older audience, you’d be better off putting most of your energy and resources into a platform like Facebook, which has a much broader range of user demographics.
You’re Ignoring Your Audience’s Goals
Once you capture the attention of the right people, you still have to keep them interested. People expect instant gratification from social media. The content you publish to your platforms needs to be timely and relevant to what your audience wants, needs, and expects from your business. Chances are that they’re following you in hopes of addressing a problem or desire they have, so do your best to resolve it for them. Your online relationship with your customers is a two-way street—you need to offer them valuable content in exchange for their business. Thankfully, there’s an easy way to find out what they want: Ask them! Publish a “this or that” poll on Facebook, Twitter, or even Instagram, and let your customers guide your next steps.
You’re Approaching Engagement All Wrong
Effective social media marketing is a real balancing act. Post too much and you’ll drive followers away. Post too little and you won’t gain any in the first place. You’ll need to strike a happy medium with how often you post to keep your customers engaged, but not annoyed. Similarly, your content shouldn’t come across as a non-stop sales pitch. Don’t just talk about your brand and what you offer—talk about the ideas behind it. If you own a fitness brand, for example, why not share a post highlighting upcoming fun runs in your area? The goal is for your past, present, and future customers to think of you as a trusted resource. So emphasize quality over quantity when planning your posts, and don’t be afraid to be an active participant in discussions on your pages. Replying to comments when appropriate, retweeting endorsements from happy customers, and posting interactive content (like surveys and contents) are all effective ways to promote engagement.
You’re Publishing Content Without a Strategy
Sharing an interesting article or a funny picture on your personal social media accounts is no big deal, but making impulsive posts to your professional pages is a major faux pas. Every piece of content you publish to your brand’s social media pages should serve a larger purpose. Set short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals for your digital marketing plan, such as gaining a certain number of followers within a certain timeframe, and then curate your online presence accordingly. Just make sure that these goals are all actionable and attainable and that they all relate to helping you gain (and convert) more leads.
Your Brand’s Voice Is Inappropriate or Inconsistent
The way people communicate is largely informed by the point they’re making and the person they’re making it to, and this concept definitely applies in the realm of social media marketing. A law firm shouldn’t use the same tone of voice in their social media content as a yoga studio, and vice versa. Before you start posting content to your various pages, identify the personality you want your brand to convey. Ideally, this personality should consist of traits you’ve identified in the leads whom you’re attempting to capture and convert. If your target audience is full of active young professionals, your content should sound like it was written by (and for) the same kind of person.
Your CTAs Are Weak (or Nonexistent)
More often than not, leads need a push in the right direction if you want them to convert. This is where calls-to-actions (or CTAs) come to play. Encourage your customers to reach out, take advantage of a promotion, or otherwise engage by writing clear, creative CTAs. In addition to offering an incentive or a solution, your CTAs should also create a sense of urgency. “Don’t miss your chance! Shop our summer clearance sale now.” is a far more effective CTA than “Shop our summer clearance sale.” Play around with different CTA techniques in your posts and see what works best for your brand. Generating leads with social media is often a matter of trial and error.
You’re Not Investing Enough in Paid Advertising
Unless you’re a celebrity, organic reach doesn’t have the power it used to. You can’t expect all of your customers to find you at random—you need to invest in ads on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to ensure your message is getting out there. The good news is that paid advertising on social media is much less expensive than most traditional marketing efforts. A healthy blend of digital and traditional advertising goes a long way, but you need to put resources in to get results out. Reworking your social media marketing plan to get more leads is no easy task, but the effort is well worth it. Of course, you don’t have to go it alone. Hurrdat is here to help you build brand awareness and drive more leads through a comprehensive social media marketing and paid advertising strategy. Contact our team today to learn more about our Social Media Marketing & Advertising services!