Social media marketing is no longer an intern’s job. In today’s B2B world, companies can’t expect to be successful without a social media presence. Yet most companies still struggle to understand and use B2B social media marketing effectively. Here are eight common mistakes that should be avoided at all costs:
Not having a concise social strategy
Having a well-thought-out strategy is crucial. Without one, you’ll have a hard time determining which social platforms to use and which campaigns to build. More than that, the strategy will tell you what activities you should engage in and how to calculate your success rates. Write down your goals, the way you plan to achieve them, and how these goals will influence the greater business objectives.
Using the same approach on all channels
Understand that each social channel has its own audience and its own purpose. Your target audience might use LinkedIn to keep up with the news regarding different industries and use Twitter to keep up with the latest events. Develop a marketing persona and a unique engagement strategy for each social media channel.
Not mobilizing your employees or other sympathizers
When most people see branded content, they tend to question its sincerity. Comments or posts made by people that are not part of the company are seen as more sincere. Encourage your employees and loyal customers to share your content. It’s a good idea to make the sharing process easy and accessible to
all your customers and potential customers by including social media sharing buttons.
Only pushing your own agenda
People engage with companies that engage with them. Post information that interests your target audience instead of pushing messages about your own company’s interests.
Getting complacent
Everything changes constantly, especially social media. Review and update your social marketing strategy regularly.
Expecting quick results
Instead of chasing the result, enjoy the journey. Measure your social campaigns using different analytics and be patient. Find patterns in your audience’s behavior and start optimizing your strategies according to stats.
Neglecting analytics
Every serious B2B organization understands the power of analytics. When there are no measurements, no metrics, and no feedback, there’s basically chaos. You have no certainty that your investments will pay off and you have absolutely no assurance that you are on the right track.
Ignoring search engine optimization
According to a Hubspot report, about 61 percent of digital marketers state that growing their organic traffic and SEO performance is one of their primary inbound marketing objectives. Search engine optimization works extremely well with social media.
Organic traffic from search engines will save you money and improve your brand’s authority and reputation. Organic traffic from social media channels can come in large quantities at one time due to your content becoming viral. Combine the two sources of traffic and you’ll set yourself up for success.
If you are avoiding SEO because you lack the necessary knowledge, follow and learn from blogs such as Moz, Backlinko or Kissmetrics. Once you understand the basics, you’ll understand how important SEO is to your long-term success.
The secret is to learn, measure and optimize. Social media is always changing; the marketplace is always changing; and your company is always changing. Stop repeating the same mistakes and learn from every issue that you encounter. Do your homework and search for the latest updates. When you’re the first to know, you’ll be the first to implement.
Olivia Ryan is a journalist who is passionate about topics of career, recruitment and self-development. She shares her insights regularly on AussieWritings.com and other relevant websites.
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