Beginnings are tough for start-ups, especially those trying to make their presence felt on social media platforms. While it is a fact that social marketing can help fast-track the growth of your start-up, damaging your online reputation is easy if you don’t do it correctly. If you are trying to get your start-up company off the ground, marketing is one of the things you need to invest your time and money into, apart from developing a great service or product.
If you plan to use social media to take your start-up to new heights, here are ten mistakes you should avoid at all costs.
Not Having a Plan
Social marketing is not about getting online and posting all you can about yourself and your start-up. Before you make your attendance felt online, it is imperious for you to have a social media strategic plan in place. Your social media efforts need a solid foundation and a strategic plan that outlines your objectives and details your services. Contact your lead sales and marketing members and identify your target audience.
Not Being Devoted to the Plan
If you’re not dedicated to your social marketing plan, your social media accounts will end up being inactive, which will, in turn, create a bad impression. Your social marketing plan is not a sprint; think of it as a marathon. If the results make you impatient, tweak your performance by analyzing metrics, adapting to audience behaviors, and tracking competition.
Selecting Random Platforms
Given the rise in social media platforms, you might think it necessary to market your brand everywhere. However, all social media platforms have a different purpose and set of users. Consequently, each platform has a different social media marketing plan. The key to marketing effectively on social media platforms is outlining your target customers.
Being All Over the Place
As mentioned, all social media platforms have a different purpose and, as such, require different marketing plans. You might not have the time and energy to come up with appealing content for several platforms being a start-up. Furthermore, you don’t need to post on platforms that won’t get your desired results.
Posting at Inappropriate Times
Simply knowing who your target customers are isn’t enough; you also need to know what time zones they live in and what time they are most active. Remember the adage, “Timing is everything,” when posting. Depending on the audience you are trying to reach, the best times to post are 6 am to 10 am ET to reach an international audience and 7 pm to 10 pm ET to capture the primetime audience.
Posting Too Often
While not posting can be bad for your business, posting too frequently can also be a deal-breaker. Get the balance right: posting something once or twice a month can cause your brand to become invisible, and sharing a dozen posts a day is way too much. Find out what works for your brand and stick to it.
Boring Your Audience
It is possible to bore your target audience without knowing it, so be cautious of what you’re posting at all times. Please talk with your spectators, engage them in conversation, attract eyeballs, use humor, ask genuine questions, and give intelligent answers.
Self-Promoting
People will unfollow you if you only talk about yourself and your company. Instead of spotlighting your start-up, focus on your target audience. Talk about things that interest your end-users, and you’ll engage them in interesting conversations.
Giving Users a Reason to Laugh
The worst thing you can do for your brand is to give your target audience a reason to laugh at you. Avoid blunders by thinking about your posts and taking the time to analyze probable outcomes.
Not Understanding Your Marketplace
You must understand your marketplace before spending your first dollar creating an ad. Thoroughly analyze your customer demographics or buyer persona’s psycho-graphics.
Conclusion
Social marketing mistakes have the potential to put a company out of business. As a start-up owner, you can never be too cautious about what you post online. So, put adequate thought into your social marketing plans and ensure you don’t make the abovementioned mistakes.
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