Mistakes Business Owners Make in Social Media

Business owners make mistakes too, you know… 

If we told you, you can generate new connections, foster existing relationships, manage customer service issues and generate new customers and new sales leads all in one medium (aka. social media), what would you say?

Recently an influential friend made the following post, ‘Make friends, not spam. Stop scheduling posts’. You can imagine the backlash from every social media manager who follows him. Scheduling posts allows your brain the time to think strategically, to engage with the content once it is posted and it allows you more time in your day. We work with our clients to create 30 days of content at a time and then schedule that content. The business owner can and should definitely post in the moment, when the inspiration hits them, but it certainly avoids the ‘feeling of a fire drill’ that happens on a Tuesday afternoon when you’ve been too busy to post in the morning. If you are live posting all your content, you’re probably wasting at least 20 minutes per day (unless you’re only posting Facebook live and Instagram Stories).

After twenty-three comments, he replied with the most important part of the story; “I think some people have missed the point that it is advantageous for business leaders to be present. And, that the vast majority of businesses contract a social media manager because they have no intention of being present. They are just checking off a box.”

Your social media should ladder up to your business goals.  As such the business owner must be active on social media. As the business owner, you can can generate new connections, foster existing relationships, manage customer service issues and generate new customers and new sales leads all on social media.

If you want to watch your business slide into oblivion and become irrelevant in today’s marketplace, here are the SIX THINGS you can do to drive your company to the grave: 

1. Don’t respond to comments

By not responding to comments on your website, you are missing out on valuable and sometimes qualified leads.
By not responding to comments in Facebook,  you are signalling to the Facebook Algorithm that the page is not monitored, the post is not interesting, and Facebook should not show the post to more people. The reverse is also true.
By linking your Twitter feed to Instagram or Facebook and not responding to the comments, or not listening to the chatter on Twitter. Twitter is one of the most powerful business-orientated listening tools around.
By ignoring the comments and engagement in Instagram. If you’re not sure what to post on Instagram to achieve your business goals – that’s a different problem.

2. By not being present in your social media

If you’re too busy, not a good writer, not a good enough – insert your excuse here – to create and schedule all your social media content, then communicate clearly with your social media manager daily. This person is the first experience your potential clients will have with your business. You should be giving your social media manager photos (daily) and little bits on content you find interesting or relevant for them to mould into a great post and share. You and your social media manager should create your editorial calendar and content bank together at the very least. (see definitions at bottom) 
The types of content that perform best on a business social media account? Time and time again, we see the same thing. It’s the behind the scenes shot with the business owner showcasing their craft in the photo.

3. Creating the content for yourself, not for your audience

Want to kill your social media accounts? Read like a public service announcement.
No one in social media wants to read drab, dreary posts about policy changes, unless you can make it funny or quirky. Working with amazing, successful business owners who create serious content which appeals to them, but completely misses what their audience wants, is a missed opportunity. The message was good but the tone and wording was not.  Your social media accounts are not just an advertising opportunity. You wouldn’t walk into a room during a networking event and lead with a sales message; you would probably lead with a comment to help get the conversation started; do the same in social media.
Create content for your ideal client. Give that audience a persona and make sure everything you do is for that audience.

4. Not doing anything.

FOP is a real thing. That’s fear of posting (FOP) and it has a technical name – Visiobibliophobia. Business owners tell us, “I would rather not post on social media at all if I can’t do it perfectly”. They tell us: “I don’t know what types of content to post” and “I’m worried I’ll waste time and money”.  There is a lot of anxiety surrounding social media and the ongoing concern that your content isn’t good enough to post. 
Start by creating a social media plan and content bank. By planning your content for an ideal client or persona you get away from FOP and you are using your creative brain to create the content. Once the content is created, you can review it – send it to an editor, or schedule it onto your social media accounts. This removes the fear of posting and gives you several smaller snackable tasks.

5. Linking your social media accounts or worse, crossposting!

You don’t have to look very far before you see your first offender: 

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Each social media platform has its own unique attributes and opportunities! By linking your social media accounts, you are missing out on valuable engagement opportunities. You can use each platform in a slightly different way and as such your content should be tailored to that platform. By posting exactly the same message everywhere, you’re also missing out on learning the nuances of the platform. By crossposting Instagram or Facebook to Twitter, all you get in Twitter is the link to Instagram – no one is going to click that. By crossposting Instagram to Facebook, you maintain all the hashtags – which you then have to go in and delete. Hashtags have no place in Facebook (OK, well maybe if you’re running a branded campaign).  Unlink those accounts and unshackle your mind to the possibilities of being present.

6. Not sharing knowledge

Share knowledge without expectation. Position yourself as a thought leader in your industry and let your passion and master of the craft shine through. Small businesses know their products, services, markets and audiences. This knowledge, when communicated on social media, will attract the interest of your ideal customers. A business owner must be present in social media or working closely with the individual who is scheduling the posts.

The take away message is this:

In order for your social media to ladder up to your business objectives, the business owner has to be present. They need to be partners with the social media manager. As a team, you can generate new connections, foster existing relationships, manage customer service issues and generate new customers and new sales leads all on social media in a few hours a day. Not only this, but you and your social media manager can work together to brainstorm content ideas, generate imagery and own your social media strategy!

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or don’t want to spread yourself too thin, focus on one or two platforms where your ideal customer is. You can ask us which social media accounts you should be on. We love to discuss all things social media.

~with love,

CarmellaCrew

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