Social media is an incredible tool for businesses to boost their online presence. It’s practically free with a low barrier to entry making it the go-to marketing channel. However, while it’s an incredible tool to connect with your audience, there are many pitfalls that you may encounter. 

In this blog I’m here to talk about the possible slip-ups and “Oops, I didn’t mean to hit ‘post’” moments that nearly every social media manager has faced. I’ll also be talking about how to fix these mistakes in case you’ve accidentally made one or two:

Mistake #1: Not Having a Clear Plan and Strategy

When it comes to social media marketing, one of the most common mistakes is not having a clear plan and strategy. No strategy means not knowing when to post, what to post, or how to measure your social media performance. You’ll find yourself wasting time and resources that could’ve been spent elsewhere. This is why it’s so important to sit down and create a specific plan for your social media activity. 

Here are a few tips to help you get started on creating a social media plan:

1. Define your goals: What are you trying to achieve with social media? More brand love? More Leads? More Sales? Get specific. Make sure your goals are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-bound). This will ensure you’re creating goals that are easy to achieve but also set you up with a sense of challenge. 
2. Understand your target audience: Your target audience is the ones who will be seeing your posts. Understand who they are and what they’re interested in to have a better chance of winning big on social media. 
3. Choose the right platforms: Not all social media platforms are created equal. Some are goldmines for certain businesses. While others are a complete train wreck. Do your research to find the platforms that will work best for you. When you’re just starting and have limited time and success, focus on posting to 1 to 2 platforms instead of all. 
4. Create interesting content: If your content isn’t interesting enough, no one will care about what you say. This means no matter how long you’ve spent trying to craft the ‘perfect’ social media graphic, you won’t get users to stop scrolling if it’s not interesting. Use different forms of content to keep users engaged. Videos and infographics usually do the trick. 
5. Monitor your results: Keep tabs on your social media activity and performance. Regularly check your analytics to see how your content is performing. If your content isn’t doing so well, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. Luckily, the analytics will give you somewhat of an idea as to why your content isn’t a hit. So, you make adjustments as needed.

Mistake #2: Not Maintaining a Consistent Brand Image

Another social media marketing mistake I’ve seen time and time again is not maintaining a consistent brand image. Your brand image is a crucial part of your business. It’s what sets you apart from your competitors. Trust me, consistency is key with this one. 

Things like using different colours, fonts, and logos can be confusing for your audience. It also makes it harder for them to point you out from the sea of your competitors. The key to avoiding this mistake is consistency. Your brand vibe should be consistent throughout all of your social media channels, your website, and all your marketing materials.

The number one reason why many businesses fail to maintain clear branding is because they don’t have one in the first place. What are your core values? What do you want to be known for? When you have a clear understanding of the brand, it’ll be much easier to stay consistent 

You also want to create a style guide. Think of it like your brand’s rule book. This is where you’ll identify your logo, colours, fonts, tone of voice, etc. It helps keep everything on-brand and looking sharp.

Mistake #3: Not Reaching the Right Audience

No matter how much time and resources you’re putting into your social media marketing, if you’re not targeting the right audience, all your efforts will most likely go to waste. To avoid this mistake, you’ve got to know who you’re talking to. It’s surprising how many businesses play the guessing game here. If you don’t know who you’re trying to reach, you can’t possibly reach them. Spend some time to define your target audience and dig deep into the specifics. 

Once you know who your target audience is, you need to gear up with the right tools. If your audience is on Facebook, there’s no point posting on Snapchat. Your audience simply won’t see it. Tailor your approach and use platforms where your audience will likely see your posts.  

Despite having a complete understanding of who your dream client is, you won’t know what works with them straight away. The only way to know what your audience fancies is to trial-and-error different methods and approaches. Test different post formats, try different post types, and play around with your copy. Remember: what works for others might not be your cup of tea. This is why you need to see what works best for your business.  

A quick tip: There are hardly many overnight success stories when it comes to reaching your audience. It takes time to find the right approach. Patience is the name of the game so don’t give up if you don’t see immediate results. 

Mistake #4: Posting Low-Quality or Irrelevant Content

With the competitiveness of social media growing each day, brands are hungrier than ever to capture user attention. However, many businesses often fall into the trap that social media is a quick and easy way to get more sales. This used to be true over a decade ago. But, with brands putting more and more budget into their social media marketing, it’s getting harder for businesses that don’t have the resources to thrive. One of the main reasons for this is the poor quality of irrelevant content. 

Too often, businesses put out social posts that are poorly written, poorly designed, or both. The results? Crickets from your audience and a failure in engagement. Quality always beats quantity when posting on social media. A couple of high-quality posts a week can beat dozens of lacklustre ones any day. Your content also needs to be relevant. No point in posting content that no one will care about. 

Crafting high-quality content isn’t rocket. science. All you need is to understand your target audience, look into your industry, and stalk your competitors. Combine these three into a content strategy to help you give an idea of the type of posts that perform well within your niche. 

Mistake #5: Not Using Multiple Forms of Content:

We all know the saying ‘work smart, not hard’. And sticking to one form of social media content may seem like working smarter to save time, but is a huge mistake many businesses make. A smart social media strategy is all about mixing it up. People like to consume content in different ways. So, throwing in some videos, blog posts, and carousels can help keep your content fresh and experiment to find out what clicks with your audience. 

Diversifying your content gives you the chance to cater to different audiences. You know how it goes – some like to read, others are all about visuals, and then you get those who are suckers for videos. Stick to just one, and you might just be missing out on grabbing the attention of a broader audience. 

Don’t forget that different platforms also have their preferred content type. Instagram loves pictures, YouTube and TikTok are all about videos, and Twitter likes to keep it short and sweet. If you’re looking at adopting a multi-platform strategy, you need to adapt to the different platforms to stay relevant and increase engagement.  

Mistake #6: Focusing Too Much on Vanity Metrics:

Another common social media marketing mistake is getting too caught up in vanity metrics. These vanity metrics may look good on paper but don’t tell the real story of the quality of engagement. Plus they don’t showcase your actual business success. They’re just numbers on a screen. Having a bunch of engaged followers who take meaningful actions such as making purchases is far more important than gaining a large number of passive followers. 

Getting too warped into these vanity metrics can also lead to the temptation of buying followers. It seems like a shortcut to instant social media success. But this is not the case. Buying followers can ruin your reputation and make you look less legit. The worst of all is that people can tell when you’ve bought followers. With many brands in the past buying followers over the years, users are aware of the signals to look out for. So, while it seems like a great way to gain popularity, people will catch on quickly to your facade.

The best way to build a strong follower base is by putting in the work and creating content that speaks to your audience. Real followers mean real people, so don’t be afraid to show the human side of your business. 

Mistake #7: Not Engaging With Your Audience

Social media is a two-way form of communication and not engaging with your audience is a social media mistake you don’t want to make. Neglecting that engagement can lead to missed opportunities and a lack of connection with potential customers. 

In order to start engaging with your audience you need to be the conversation starter. Understand what gets them to talk, and create content they can interact with. This will help build a relationship with your audience and keep your followers coming back for more. It’s all about building a sense of community around your brand. 

The best of all is that social media algorithms push content that’s getting all the love. This will help get your posts seen by a broader audience. So get started by responding to comments, interacting with user-generated content, and creating interactive content. 

Mistake #8: Not Tracking Your Analytics

Analytics provide you with insights into your audience, content, and campaigns. Failing to keep a close eye on them can lead to not getting the full picture of your social media success. You won’t know what’s working and what’s not and you’ll also have no clue of what needs improving. Knowing what content clicks with your audience is the key to level up your results.

Neglecting analytics can also lead to throwing your resources into the void. You might be pouring time and money into strategies that aren’t backed by data. With analytics you’ll be able to see the most effective channels, content types, and also the best times to post. This means much more efficient resource allocation. 

​Mistake #9: Overposting or Underposting

We’ve all seen it time and time again. You get the brands that post too much that all you see is their posts on your feed. Then you get the brands that don’t post at all and leave you wondering if they even know what social media is. It’s all about finding the right balance because too much or too little of anything can be a turn-off for your audience. 

Let’s discuss the downsides to both. First off, overposting:

• Compromise on quality: Bombarding your audience may seem like the right thing to do, but the truth is, it’s all about quality, not quantity. Prioritise putting out high-quality, valuable content – less noise, and more impact. 
• Burnout: If you’re constantly churning out content, you run the risk of burning out. You any struggle to even come up with content ideas which can reduce your passion for social media marketing.
• Resource-intensive: Overposting is resource-intensive. You’re putting your time, energy, and sometimes money into posting content that may not even resonate with your audience. These are resources that could be better spent elsewhere.
• Lack of impact: Constantly showing up on your customers may seem like a good thing, but can do more harm than good. After the 5th daily post, they’re going to scroll right past and not even care about what you have to say. Important announcements or promotions can get lost in the noise if you’re posting too much. Remember: less noise, more impact. 

Downsides to underposting:

• Lack of engagement: Social media is all about engagement, and being MIA means missing those opportunities to connect with your audience. Regular posts mean you can be part of the conversation, and stay top-of-mind for your followers. 
• Inconsistent brand presence: Inactivity can give off ‘out of business’ vibes. If your audience sees that you’re not posting as frequently as they expect, they may unfollow you. This means that when you do eventually start to post more frequently, your once-loyal fan base is nowhere to be seen.
• Reduced sales: At the end of the day, businesses post on social media in hopes of getting more sales. If you’re posting less or not posting at all, your audience won’t know about your latest offers or promotions that you have going on. 

Find a posting schedule that works for you and your audience. Tools like Hootsuite and Zoho Social have built-in features that tell you when to post for maximum engagement. Be consistent – whether it’s a few times a week, or sticking to a set schedule. This will help make sure your audience can rely on you as a valuable source of information and they’ll keep on coming back for more.

Mistake #10: Not Learning from Competitors

Keeping an eye on what your competitors are up to is more than just a smart move – it’s valuable data into the latest trends and content strategies within your industry. Not learning from your competitors is a social media marketing mistake that could result in missing out on some game-changing insights that shape your social media game.

Competitor analysis lets you see how your competitors are performing on social media channels and see how your performance measures up. It’s a reference point for understanding your success and identifying areas of improvement. It can also help you figure out what clicks with their audience allowing you to fine-tune your own content. 

Mistake #11: Being Too Salesy

Social media is a social networking platform, not a sales pitch. Nobody likes to be bombarded with posts that are too salesy, and that provide no value to the audience. You’ll be viewed as a brand that only cares about making money rather than caring for your audience. This in turn ruins your brand reputation and breaks the trust you had previously built. If you’re constantly pushing your product or service 24/7, people will hit the unfollow button and move on. 

Instead, focus on being a value-provider and a relationship-builder, Social media users love authenticity, so put out authentic content that speaks to your audience. Once you start to steer away from the sales-focused content, you’ll start to see a boost in engagement. Algorithms get it too – they boost the stuff people enjoy, not the overly promotional noise.

And, let’s be real, social media is about building connections, not just racking up sales. If you’re too pushy, it’s like putting a strain on those connections. Instead of feeling a bond, your followers might think you’re just out to grab their cash.