Basic Social Media Mistakes Businesses Make
More often than it should happen a business follows me on Instagram and I click to check out their profile and I immediately face-palm because there are so many mistakes which are costing them money.
It could be a café that’s posting food porn that looks so good I almost lick my phone screen but they haven’t listed where they’re located.
Or a furniture company that has posted something I suddenly need but they’re not responding to comments asking for the price.
Or I see reviews and comments from customers go unanswered.
These are all fundamental faux-pas for a brand operating online and they’re super easy fixes. I’ll run through the four major ones below.
Business Details
“At this point I completely disengage and move on – and if I am doing this then others are too”
This contains all the basic business details that your customers need – contact details, location, website and what your business actually is.
I can’t count the number of times I have stumbled across a business that looked interesting on social media only to access their account bio and be no further enlightened as to where in the world they’re located and what their business actually is.
I might be able to find this information out via Google but frankly why is the burden on me to do all the work? It is at this point I completely disengage and move on – and if I am doing this then others are too.
About / Bio
It needs to say what your business is, your product and let us in on your brand personality. It gives the reader a reason to not only follow your social media account but also become your customer
Location
Heads up, the internet is a global beast. I need to know your café is in Hobart because it could easily be in Canada, Africa or Europe
Contact Details
The email address and phone number (if you have one) should be up-to-date and listed, if relevant
Opening Hours
Some of the social channels give you an opportunity to list these in detail, if this isn’t offered and you have the space consider popping into the bio field
Link
Utilise it! You can list your website, a promoted product, current offer, most recent blog post – be smart with how you want to use it to get the most bang for buck.
If you need more than one link you can use services like Link Tree - however this does distort your Google Analytics source data so you'll need to put some measures in place for that.
Engagement
“You can’t just post and run away”
Social media is social. It allows your business to contact your customers and followers directly to build relationships, loyalty and brand awareness. To be truly social on social media there needs to be a "friendly face" at the helm – you can’t just post and run away. Someone will need to periodically keep an eye on your accounts, respond to comments, mentions and show some love.
The other element to being social on social is to create a dialogue – no one likes that friend that walks up and talks at you incessantly. Therefore, there’s no excuse for you to do this on social media either, consider posting content that encourages a reaction or some interaction from your followers – perhaps ask them an opinion on something or tell a joke.
Insights
“Basically, it means you’ve got some control and you’re not screaming into a black hole hoping somebody will hear. ”
Confused as to what these are?
Well, insights are the data on post engagement, your followers and competitors, and your account. You can learn what type of posts were successful with your followers, the demographics and geography of your current following, when your followers are online – the list goes on.
By understanding this data you can post the content that your followers want to see, at a time of day where they will actually see it – all this improves the visibility and success of your page. Insights are only available on business accounts so if you’re operating your business from a personal page you may like to switch.
Basically, it means you've got some control and you're not screaming into a black hole hoping somebody will hear.
Location of Instagram Insights
Location of Facebook insights
Private & Personal Accounts
“Therefore all your hard work...is completely wasted”
This one is actually pretty simple: you need a public account as a business. A private account means all your content cannot be accessed unless someone has chosen to follow your account and you have approved that request – therefore all your hard work expanding the reach of your business, attracting new customers and building brand awareness is completely wasted.
Your content won’t appear via search or hashtags or any other viral means if you’ve got the privacy settings locked down. Facebook pages are public by default but some businesses choose to set up a personal account rather than a business page which is private by default and doesn’t offer the full features (one of which being insights) of a business page.
If you’re really serious about growing your business and using social media as a successful marketing effort than you need to switch to a public business account.
Recap
Get all your information right and when something changes - update it!
Use the available information so you're reaching your customers and posting what they want
Go public
Social media is social.
Are you a Tassie business?
Businesses owned & operated in Tasmania are eligible for free one-to-one digital marketing coaching thanks to the Digital Ready program.
Digital Ready is a program provided by the Department of State Growth that provides free coaching, presentations & resources to Tassie businesses who are looking to embrace the online space, connect with their customers and promote their business.
We’re proud to be one of the few coaches for this program, working with Tassie businesses & watching them succeed.
