Social Media has quickly become the fastest growing online phenomenon.  Originally Social networking was for college students and artists and musicians, but increasingly businesses of all sizes have jumped on the Social Media bus.  Small, medium and large sized business, retail store owners, politicians, journalistic publications, law firms, chain stores, restaurants and businesses from nearly every industry have chimed in.
Whether you have a brick and mortar retail location or are solely online, Social Media can help.  But as with any business strategy one can partake in, all of your efforts including, time and money are wasted if you do not know what mistakes you should avoid in order to get the most out of your online efforts.

Mistake #1 – Inactivity

Overwhelmingly, what seems to be deemed the biggest mistake made with social media is simply being inactive.  All too often, businesses will build their profiles, start off strong and then fizzle in their efforts to keep their profiles current.  Forgetting to post, infrequent updates, allowing your efforts to stagnate and not being committed to your social media plan will result in very few followers/fans/friends and ultimately no new business.  It is updates, new photos, new statuses, and other new information that will keep your readers coming back for more.  Although many say it is good to have multiple profiles, it can be more of a detriment to have multiple stagnant profiles than it is to simply have one that you can actually keep up with.   Consistency is key to the success of your Social Media campaign.

Gone are the days when customer loyalty remained regardless of how the customer was treated.  With the inception of the Internet and in particular with this form of new media, consumers have a vast array of able professionals to offer them the products and services they desire and therefore demand nothing less than customer service excellence, convenience and quick responses to their inquiries. Anyone can say they have great customer service, or respond quickly, have the best prices and so forth, but giving your followers what they seek is a great way to “walk the walk” rather than simply “talking the talk!” Staying active in your Social Media campaign is the easiest way to stand out in the crowd.

Mistake #2 – Failure to Plan

The second most prominent mistake is failure to plan out a Social Media Strategy.  The biggest myth of Social Media is “Build it and they will come.” You need to know who your target audience is, what your goals are and what is it you are trying to accomplish.  Do your research before setting up your profiles.  Is your target market on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter, what do they already know about you, and what are they already saying about your brand?  Once equipped with this information you can then set goals about who you plan to reach out to, how often would you like to post new content, what applications do you feel will help you meet your consumer’s expectations.  These are just a few of the questions you need to ask yourself and plan for when building your profiles and maintaining your accounts.

Mistake #3 – Producing Boring, Unhelpful Content

Simply staying active is not enough to be successful with Social Media.    It is imperative that the content you post is informative, well thought out, solution based and relevant to your target audience.   Producing weak, unfocused, unhelpful, irrelevance and boring content is a sure way to push your target audience away rather than pull them in.  Consumers search the Internet for solutions to a need that they have or may not even realize they have.  Give them what they are looking for by becoming a useful resource for them (and be sure to include many relevant key search terms within the content you post), and the likelihood they will come back to you will increase exponentially.

Mistake #4 – Spam

One of the quickest ways to turn off potential contacts, friends, followers and fans is to inundate their inboxes with Spam. You have to remember that as easily as consumers can let you into their profiles, they can just as easily kick you out, block you and add you to their Spam folder.  Unsolicited advertising emails, particularly those that are auto generated, are more often than not unread and simply deleted.  Even if someone subscribed to your website, blog or social media profile, they just ask quickly will unsubscribe if you give them even the slightest reason to.

Mistake #5 – Hard Selling

Obviously one of the goals of social media is to promote your business, products and services.  And although it is a necessary evil to provide incentive for people to come to you, if the only thing you do is “Toot your own horn” you making a huge mistake.  People don’t want to be “sold” on you or your products.  Anyone can say they are the best, the least expensive, the biggest, and so on.  Stay away from sales talk such as this.  Rather, show your target audience what you have to offer in other ways, through the content you post, the questions you answer and the knowledge you share.  Do not mistake Social Media for advertising.

Mistake # 6 – Not Knowing Who Your Target Audience Is

If you don’t know who your target audience is, how can you know how to tailor your marketing strategy?  There are so many sites, applications, tools and avenues that your target may or may not be using.  Not knowing whom you are trying to reach can result in wasted resources including time, money and energy in an effort that is futile.

Mistake #7 – Failure to Engage

Unlike traditional marketing, Social Media is about building and maintaining relationships.  In order for it to be successful, you need to reach to your target audience and engage them in conversation that is welcoming, informative and helpful.  When people take the time to comment on your blog, you should offer a response at all costs.  Do your research and see what others are saying about you.  Thank those who compliment you and ask those who have negative things to say, what you can do to improve.   Send a quick note to those who friend, fan and follow you and always respond to direct messages you receive from them.  And remember to always keep in mind, when you engage a person in conversation, you not only engage them, but open yourself up to the ability to connect with each and every one of their potential contacts as well.

Mistake #8 – No Personalization

I personally would rate this as one of the most detrimental mistakes one can make with Social Media, but surprisingly, it does not get much lip service.  With so many businesses and industries using Social Media, and many more to come, people like to know who they are dealing with, including what they look like, their personality, their values and beliefs.  I know, for me, when I call other professions, I will first go to their websites or look for their Social Media profiles to see if there is a picture of them.   I like to see whom it is I am talking to.  Not to mention it is often so much easier to “connect” with someone and engage him or her in conversation if you have some kind of commonality.  People like to work with people they like and people also like to work more with people they “know” verses others they do not.  Gone are the days, at least for the most part, where someone will pick up a phone book and call a random business.  And for those who still do, they are much more likely to choose one with a person’s photograph in the ad.

Mistake #9 – Giving Up Too Soon

Social Media, is not something that works on it’s own. I liken it to a garden.  You cannot just plant seeds and expect them to grow, unless you are playing Farmville.  You have to cultivate your garden; prepare the ground by plowing, dig holes, plant the seeds, fertilize and water everyday.  In social media, you need to do your research (plow) to see where you are most likely to reach your target audience, sign up for your accounts (dig holes), build your profile(s) (plant seeds), personalize your profiles and tie them to your existing website/blog (fertilize).  The most important step then is to post new and relevant content consistently (Watering the garden).  Finally as with a garden, once you make your connection (harvest) you need to engage your contacts, (plant new seeds) in order to keep it growing.  Like your garden, Social Media requires a lot of work and dedication at first.  When given the attention it needs, it will grow resulting in harvestable relationships with your connections.   But it will take time and giving up too soon could result in a lot of lost business opportunities.  Again, what you put into it is what you will get out of it.

Mistake #10 – Social Media is not a One Way Street

So frequently, businesses forget that there are actual people on the other side of their social media profiles.  This manifests itself in many different ways.  First, everything you say is seen by those you connect with, therefore it is imperative that you “play nice” not matter what others may say or do.  Second, Social Media profiles are the profile user’s personal space.  You need to be mindful of invading that space.  Think of it as their home, if they invite you in, they can just as easily kick you out and lock the door for good.  Third, when in a public forum such as this, you need to keep in mind that not only can your contacts see you but so can all of their contacts.  Be sure to always stay professional, courteous and kind even when others are not being so nice themselves and most importantly, be yourself.  And finally, it’s not all about you.  If you join pages, or groups do not make it a point to always talk about you.  When you engage others, offer solutions to their problems, even if it is not you or your products.  Share insightful information about the topic in hand.  Participate in the conversation and what others are talking about, even if it has nothing to do with you.

In summary, Social Media is not advertising and it is not just a fad.  Social Media is here to stay.  It is a relationship-building tool and like most tools, if you do not use them properly, you will either get little benefit out of using it, or you will damage that which you are working on.  It is imperative to first know what you want out of your Social Media campaign, including who your target market is and then plan your strategy around the goals that you set.  Think of Social Media as a way to Build your Brand and Show Your Expertise and Build Your Credibility within the business community.