Many online businesses use social media to promote their brand. Not using social media is perhaps the biggest mistake you can make as an online business. However, while almost any business owner can do social media marketing, it can be easy to commit mistakes.
While you use PPC and SEO to expand your business’ growth, here are the most common social media mistakes that you should avoid when launching your online store:
1. Failure to plan adequately
What are the short-term and long-term goals for your business? What marketing strategies are you going to use to achieve those goals? How much are you willing to spend on social media marketing, including ads? Launching your online store without a concrete plan can cost you in the long run. When you go in blind, you might not be prepared for the obstacles that might come your way, and you might be surprised at how difficult it can be to make social media marketing effective.
2. Launching with unattractive imagery
The biggest turn-off for potential customers is a poorly designed logo, banner, post template, pictures, etc. That said, one of the most critical steps in creating an online store is designing high-quality and attractive imagery. If you can’t do this yourself, you should invest in a graphic designer to do it for you. Otherwise, you might make a bad first impression on your customers when they click on your page (if they even click at all).
Keep in mind that pictures on social media pages deteriorate in quality when uploaded. To avoid ending up with low-quality-looking images, ensure that you make their resolution as high as possible.
3. Posting poorly written posts
Don’t know how to write an attractive call-to-action? Do you have trouble finding the words to describe your products? Do you make grammatical errors and typos more often than not? Don’t put your online store at risk of losing its reputation before it even grows. If you are not much of a writer (even if it’s just a simple Facebook post), hire a ghostwriter to develop templates that you can use to post on social media. If you can’t afford it, look at examples on the Internet and try to come up with your spiels. More importantly, proofread your work more than twice before hitting ‘post.’
4. Not posting valuable content
Your audiences want to see other things aside from what you’re selling. Let them get to know your brand by posting valuable content that is relevant to them. Emphasis on the words ‘valuable’ and ‘relevant.’
Social media content includes pictures, blog posts, videos, infographics, text posts, and more. When you’re starting, it’s best to diversify the content you post and figure out which ones work the best for your audiences. But all the same, ensure that your content is high-quality, worthwhile, and offers value to its viewers.
5. Having a low response rate
On Facebook, users can see how long it will take for your page to respond. If you take more than an hour or a whole day to respond, you might be losing potential customers who want prompt answers to their concerns.
You don’t have to stare at the message box all day. But respond to messages as early as possible. Don’t forget to set up automatic replies to let customers know that you are going to get back to them soon.
6. Not having a human persona
Your brand persona is one of the most critical aspects of your business. Thus, having the persona of a blank face can make your online store seem boring and too corporate.
Add human touch to your social media pages. Respond like a human would, not with a spiel that is so obviously done by a PR team. Post content that doesn’t feel too ‘corporate’ and out of touch. In doing so, customers can relate to you better and are more willing to trust your business.
Social media is a make or break for many online stores, regardless of what you sell. When done right, social media can be a compelling driver to your success. However, when you continue making mistakes, you can be causing permanent damage to your online reputation and, ultimately, your business.
Now that you know what social media mistakes to avoid, what do you think is the best platform to launch an online business? Let us know in the comments below.
