Skye Learning Blog

5 Social Media Marketing Mistakes

Written by Skye Learning Team | Aug 26, 2020 3:03 PM

Social media is a powerful marketing tool. Whether you’re looking to bring awareness to your brand, generate leads, or sell products, social media can help you achieve your marketing goal. Although social media marketing can widen your reach, it can also backfire if not done with care. Here are 5 social media marketing mistakes you’ll want to make sure to avoid.

Mistake #1: Setting and Forgetting 

Once you create your first social media marketing campaign, your main focus is probably on generating results. However, social media marketing requires testing and refining. Keep track of your results and regularly make adjustments based on performance. What works well one week may not work well the next. 

Mistake #2: Buying Followers 

Getting followers can be a challenge on any platform. Buying followers, however, ruins the algorithm. For example, Instagram usually shows a post to a few of your followers to start out. The more engagement your post receives, the more followers see the post moving forward. If you buy followers that are not interested in your posts, then your posts will not receive engagement, and the performance will be extremely limited. Instead, you’ll want to invest time and resources in engaging with and attracting true followers of your brand.

Mistake #3: Broad Audience Targeting 

There are millions of people who use social media, and that number is growing daily. Odds are, your target demographic is using at least one social media platform. If you target too wide of an audience, you may burn through your budget quickly or reach people who do not fit into your demographic. Always consider the demographic before posting organically or creating a campaign. 

Mistake #4: Skipping Hashtags 

Hashtags are a great way of getting your post in front of people with interests that align with your product or service. If you skip out on hashtags, you may be missing an opportunity to connect with people within your demographic audience. Before using a hashtag, make sure there are enough people interacting with the hashtag on a regular basis and that the hashtag is generating the type of activity you’re looking for. 

Mistake #5: Not Engaging With Followers 

Many businesses stay silent in the comment sections of their posts, which can be detrimental to your social media performance. Whether the feedback on your post is positive or negative, engaging with followers shows transparency and helps boost your post within the algorithm. Social media is meant to be social. Identify a strategy for responding to and engaging with followers that will build a community around your brand.

 

Skye Learning Certificate in Digital Marketing