Social Media for Business: Common Errors to Avoid

Don't fall foul of common errors made by many companies trying to manage their social media.

1. Have a Plan - and revisit that plan frequently

2. Don't focus on the number of followers you have - focus on their quality

3. Choose 2, 3 or 4 social media sites for your business - forget the rest for now

4. Remember to check out the competition! Also, visit your own website now and then

5. Using whatever means are available, monitor progress over time and use it to improve results

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A Social Media Plan doesn't have to be complicated. It can be as simple as checking in at 9am every Tuesday and Thursday, looking at messages and browsing through and reacting to your timeline. Have a post or tweet ready, with links to a blog post or website page.

Build your followers by ensuring that: posts/tweets are interesting (use #hashtags) and following accounts that could be your target clientele. Reacting to others' posts and tweets will establish a rapport and encourage them to follow you. Include a link to your social media from your website.

Focus on the best social media sites for your business. For business to business, this may be Twitter or LinkedIn but Facebook may be better for business to consumer promotion. Instagram requires a smartphone and frequently uploaded photographs for best results but it can be linked with Facebook.

Keep your eye on the ball! Check out your competitors at least every month but don't assume that their ideas are working better than yours- they may be thinking the same about you. Also, it's amazing how many website owners rarely look at their own websites once they've been published. The website owner is responsible for quality of the content even if a third party is being paid to update it. Some of the issues we've noticed are a website that is down/hacked or a home page refers to a future event that is now in the past.

Social Media usually offers some kind of analysis, such as number of views, most popular post/tweet, etc. Google Analytics, if included on your website, also provides information regarding visitor sources from social media, search engines, etc. Looking at the whole picture over a longer term (at least 2 or 3 months) provides an insight to what works and what needs work.

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How we can help
Should you need guidance on how to manage your social media or use Google Analytics, just ask. The BPc also provides low-cost social media management and visitor analysis/report services.
Contact us.