Social media is growing by the day. Gone are the days where you used to ask someone if they had Facebook or Instagram, now it’s simply assumed.

“Follow us on Instagram” say the baristas at your local coffee shop.

“Tag us in your photographs” say the independent florists.

“Give us a Facebook share if you get a chance” says the tennis club you’ve recently joined.

With 4.66 billion social media users worldwide, it’s a rather sound assumption to make. Therefore if your business isn’t on social media already, it definitely needs to be.

However it’s one thing being on social media, and another being “good” at social media. Very often we see business accounts trying to do all the right things, but making some rather subtle mistakes. Within this post, we’re going to highlight some of the common errors businesses make on social so you can avoid them at all costs! You’ll be shining online in no time with no social media mistakes to be seen.

#1 MISTAKE: NOT PLANNING BEFORE POSTING

Social media is an amazing place to connect with your customers and show off the best parts of your business. However without sufficient planning posts can be messy, unstructured, and easily lost within the social feed.

A common mistake is to simply “follow the crowd”, making posts up as you go along based on other’s content. You should avoid this, and create a social media marketing strategy that is actually relevant for you and your specific business.

You want to establish your business goals by using social media and the actions you want your followers to take. Once you’ve done this you can work out the finer details, such as the themes you want to incorporate within your posts and the relevant times put content live.

Understandably finding the time to build this into a busy working schedule can be difficult. If this is the case for you and your business you can take a look at our social media packages here – every bundle includes a specialized social media plan.

#2 MISTAKE: ASSUMING EVERYONE IS YOUR AUDIENCE

Another common mistake businesses make on social is trying to create posts that cater to absolutely everyone, rather than specific and relevant ones. It’s like marketing meat products to a vegan – you wouldn’t do it normally, so don’t try and do it on social.

Instead, it would be better if you created your ideal client avatar. This way you know who your ideal customer is – their age, their aspirations, the content they’ll like. Once you’ve established this you’ll be receiving quality engagement with your content, which is more likely to translate into leads.

#3 MISTAKE: NOT FINDING AN AUTHENTIC VOICE FOR YOUR BRAND

A common mistake made by brands is creating a voice that they think their followers will respond well to, rather than being authentic to their brand.

You don’t want to create a voice that is cold and hard-selling, but you also don’t want to seem too casual or unprofessional. You need to work on creating the perfect balance. Spend some time figuring out the necessary tone that reflects your brand and connects with your audience.

#4 MISTAKE: USING IRRELEVANT HASHTAGS

Hashtags are great and by using hashtags you’re definitely putting in the extra effort to get noticed. However, you need to be specific with the hashtags you use.

An easy mistake to make is by exclusively using the most frequently used hashtags of that specific day. Just because certain hashtags get a lot of attention, doesn’t mean your posts will get the right attention. You want to use keywords that relate to the specific post in addition to popular ones. This way individuals who are interested and passionate about your themed post will find you. Making way for a strong B2C relationship.

#5 MISTAKE: LACK OF INSPIRING CONTENT

People use social media for a whole variety of reasons. It could be to connect with friends, to seek inspiration, to engage with other online users, or to check out their favourite brand’s products.

However, you may fall into the trap of providing content for just one of these areas – simply discussing what you have to sell. Understandably you have services and products that you want to be noticed, however, you don’t want to come across as cold and distant from your customer.

Therefore you need to use your social media platforms to build a relationship with your clients. Ask them questions, discover what their views are, provide them with a variety of posts that will inspire them to return to your page.

Once you’ve built up a loyalty and a relationship, they’re more likely to want to buy from you.

#6 MISTAKE: NOT USING THE STORIES FEATURE

Stories are a golden tool for businesses’. You can essentially promote your brand, your latest news, and your latest products directly to your followers without the worry of getting lost in their feed.

If you’re not using the stories feature then you’re missing out. You want to consciously remind your clients of your presence, and stories do just that. They’re simple, quick, and effective. Whether you reshare your own content or a relevant resource from another page on there, let people know you’re active!

If you’re looking for ways to jazz up your story, you can check out our top tips here.

So there you have it, some of the common social media mistakes and our top tips to avoid them. We’ve recently released three brand new social media packages that will take all the stress of keeping up with your socials. Why not check them out here?