Are you sure that your social marketing strategy is working as it should? Almost every company – from the Fortune 500 companies to start-ups – have a social media presence. However, that does not necessarily mean that these companies are taking advantages of the benefits that social media can provide. Some social media mistakes are just that, social media mistakes that result in a minor setback. Others are critical mistakes that ensure that your company is going to struggle to compete in a competitive New York marketplace.

Critical Mistake #1 – Failure to Have an Objective & Goal

You might be spending a lot of time on social media, but you need to know how you are going to measure key performance indicators, resources, budget, content plan, competition, tactics, and ultimately your goals. Remember that there is no one way to use ‘social media’ – there are a myriad of ways that social media can benefit your company. You can use it for lead generation, offering customer service, or use it to project yourself as a thought leader. These are just some of the ways that you are able to use social media.

Make a Goal!

While it might feel like you are achieving something with your social media strategy, you will never know for sure until you have measurable goals that you want to strive for. Without it, you are just “doing stuff” without truly realizing whether or not it is actually effective in your current situation.

Critical Mistake #2 – Not Realizing That You Have to Establish a Dialogue

One of the amazing things about social media is the fact that it allows you to have a two-way dialogue with your customers and prospects. Even those mega-companies are able to talk to their customers, and can respond to concerns, questions, and comments. 

Engage with the Community

This is an important thing to remember, because studies show that most customers (upwards of 72 percent of customers ) expect to hear back from a company within an hour! It is one thing to tweet something every single day; it is another thing entirely to respond to your customer if they are trying to engage with you.

It is understandable that it takes a great deal more time and effort to actively engage your audience, but it is going to create positive word of mouth and allows you to attract new customers. Remember that it might be worth it to invest in proper communication – because not doing so could lead to a great deal of negative word of mouth.

Critical Mistake #3 – Not Distinguishing Between Content & Interest

There was a massive influx of content in the last few years. The truth is that content is important – but content is certainly not ‘king’ as some marketing professionals have proclaimed. There is a large difference between content and actual interest.

You can write some amazing content, but if no one is interested in the story that you are trying to tell, nothing is going to change and your interest is not going to increase. You can write some really good articles that make some real interesting points – but if there is no interest from third parties, no one is going to read what you are putting on your website. 

Content ≠ Interest

This is why it is important that you be aware of what is living in the community. If you are unable to reach people, chances are that your (amazing) content is not going to garner views. This is all about doing your research before you ever start implementing your strategy.

Critical Mistake #4 – They Post – Disappear – Post

It is vitally important that your social media strategy be consistent. This does not mean that you have to post something every day (or even every week) but it does mean that you have to remain consistent. If you are able to offer some consistent information to your readers, chances are that they are going to keep coming back like clockwork to check out your new information. 

Consistency is King

Too many New York business owners are so involved with other things that they manage to forget about when the last time was that they actively posted something to LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook. The worst possible nightmare for any social media strategy is being inconsistent. This is a waste of your marketing efforts. With billions of social media accounts vying for attention, your business is going to fade away if you are not consistent.

Optimizing Your Strategy

By avoiding these mistakes, you are able to maximize the success of your social media marketing strategy. Once you have a better understanding of how to clearly target your audience, you are in a much better position to start garnering some more success. This is why more and more businesses throughout New York are relying on professional digital marketing agencies.