SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING MISTAKES TO AVOID (PART II)

Last month, I shared a few common social media marketing mistakes and how to avoid them. This month, I would like to share some additional common oversights and ways to combat them.

Realize that there’s more to social media marketing and social media networking than Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Many industries are creating their own social media networks that you can utilize. A few examples include www.medicalmingle.com for healthcare, www.classroom20.com for teaching, and www.afsinc.org/facebook for manufacturing.

ALL SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING DIALOGUE IS TWO-WAY
Your social media marketing efforts are often just a one-way communication, while your social media networking for business can be two-way (see next point). With social media marketing, you can be pumping information out, but you don’t have to spend a lot of time responding. Remember, marketing is about positioning yourself in the eyes of the consumer; it doesn’t have to involve a conversation with people. A lot of people hesitate to get into social media marketing because they believe they’ll be spending all their time online “chatting” and sending messages back and forth. While you would be chatting and emailing if this were for personal use, for business use it’s typically one-way communication and doesn’t need as much maintenance.

USE SOCIAL MEDIA NETWORKING TO DIALOGUE WITH CUSTOMERS AND PROSPECTS
While social media marketing is a one-way dialogue, social media networking is often a two-way one. But remember that this isn’t dialogue about personal matters or trivial things. You’re getting a dialogue started with prospects, clients, resources, and vendors, as well as getting answers to your business questions. Even so, this dialogue should not take up a large amount of your time. You still need to produce your products or provide your services. You can’t be online all day just talking about business. You do have to get out there and get down to business.

DON’T THINK SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING IS PASSIVE MARKETING.
Traditional marketing efforts, such as TV, radio, and print, are passive. While you are communicating with your audience, you’re not engaged with them or getting direct feedback. With social media marketing, there’s a macro shift taking place. Because of social media marketing, you now have an engaged and active audience versus a passive one. Prospects and customers can easily get more information, explore your offerings, click on links, and take faster action. Business happens quicker, and with greater results.

GET CONNECTED TODAY
As technology continually evolves, the world of marketing will rapidly change. In order to get the best results with the least amount of effort, you need to be aware of the various pitfalls and take proactive action to avoid them. By being aware of these top mistakes people make with social media marketing and social media networking, you’ll be ahead of the curve and reaping greater profits from your online efforts more rapidly.