In general, small and medium-sized companies have little budget allocated to advertising. That is why many entrepreneurs are trying to explore social media and use it as a marketing tool. The most popular social networking sites are intuitive and easy to navigate, making it easy to use them to get likes, share content and images, add friends, and gain followers. However, to reach the heights of well-developed business profiles, your social media presence must be managed properly and in great depth. By trying to do this, some of them are making mistakes that could ruin any social profile and make it useless for business and marketing purposes. In this article, you can see some of the most common mistakes that small and medium business owners should avoid.
1. Jump into the unknown. The first and most common mistake is exploring social media without preparation, planning, or at least some basic research. Most business owners are experienced in their fields of work. On the other hand, a social network that they would like to use as a marketing tool should not be treated simply as a place to share, share and chat. Twitter, G+ and Facebook can be part of your business strategy to attract more customers. Start by posting awesome content, cool pictures showcasing your work, fill in your bio, put in your correct address, etc. You should also include links to projects you have already completed.
2. Where is my pass? Once activated, some business owners simply abandon their social profiles. They just don’t open and update them regularly with at least some content, new images or videos. Your newly generated followers or customers will soon turn on you if you don’t respond to their questions or social interactions. You should check your account at least 2-3 times a week and if possible every day. This will take you only 10 – 15 minutes.
3. Spam! The online environment is filled with countless spam techniques that can easily attract any inexperienced Internet user willing to increase their online presence. Such spamming techniques easily lure business owners by promising quick and fantastic results. When used, the spam approach could give amazing results in a week. However, soon after, search engine spiders will detect and penalize the spam source for quite some time. Only stick to the most conservative and legitimate ways to popularize your social presence. For example, submit your Twitter account to trusted directories.
4. Too many profiles. Taking care of multiple profiles requires time and resources. It is really tempting to be “everywhere on the web”, but it is difficult to achieve that goal. Once started, your social profiles must be maintained and updated regularly. Review your resources very carefully and consider the time you can spend on them. Just choose the most popular networks: Twitter, Facebook, G+ and develop those marketing tools very well. Also, you can create a YouTube video channel and upload short videos of your work. The camera quality of any smartphone should be good enough to make a viral video.
5. Lack of advertising. Once properly developed and regularly updated, your social profiles should start to generate interest. However, this is enough to start. Some business owners will avoid paying for online advertising, while it is, in fact, a good investment. A properly targeted AdWords campaign will return every dollar spent on it.