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7 Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes That Startups Should Avoid.

About 95% of small businesses intend on increasing their marketing budgets. As a startup, you need to get ahead of the curve! Otherwise, you might fall behind (and out of mind with your customers).

Here are seven common marketing mistakes you’ll need to avoid on social media. By dodging these mistakes, you can develop a strong social media marketing strategy. Social media provides great opportunities to connect with customers and grow your business.

Give your startup the strongest possible start! Improve your social media campaign by avoiding these simple mistakes.

1. Neglecting Research.

Before you start posting online, you need to develop a strong strategy. The best way to develop an informed social media marketing strategy is to get informed.

Too many startups make common marketing mistakes like neglecting research. How will you reach your target audience if you don’t know who they are first? Without research, your posts will fail to make the desired impact.

Don’t skip the planning process. Instead, you’re going to want to make a social media strategy that aligns with your overall business goals.

For example, let’s say you want to increase website traffic. Maybe you want to boost brand awareness instead. Start by creating SMART goals, which stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.

Once you know your goals, you can gather the research you need to accomplish those goals.

Start by researching your competitors. How do they speak with their audience? What types of posts are they creating?

Make a note of their hashtags and most popular posts too.

Learning about your competitors’ successes and failures can help you strengthen your own marketing strategy. To make an impact with your audience, you’ll want to stand out from the pack. Make sure your own strategy doesn’t mimic anyone else’s.

Once you have your research in hand, you can make a plan that dodges future mistakes!

2. Failing to Interact.

Remember, you’re not the only person posting online. One of the common marketing mistakes companies make is neglecting other brands. It’s not all about competing.

Instead, consider ways interacting with other businesses can boost your own brand.

For example, you might want to consider working with an influencer. Who do your ideal customers already know and trust?

You can work with an influencer to leverage their current brand authority. When they support your brand, consumers will take notice.

Don’t forget to interact with your followers too. Use social listening to keep track of their comments. Then, respond to their questions and concerns.

Communicating with customers is the entire purpose of social media marketing! Let them know you’re eager to help. As you interact online, consumers will see you’re helpful and reliable.

Staying silent, on the other hand, will make your brand seem robotic and distant.

3. Posting Too Much, Too Often.

When marketing on Facebook and other platforms, make sure to consider how often you post. Posting too often can make you look spammy. As a result, consumers might start un-following you.

In fact, 96% of consumers don’t even follow the brands they mention online. Usually, they’re complaining about those brands instead.

Start by creating a social media marketing calendar. You can use your calendar to make sure you’re posting often enough without spamming followers. Marketing automation can keep you organized too.

Make sure to consider your posts too. You don’t want to spam followers with sales pitches. Instead, people follow brands they love for tips and information.

Take a look at your research. What type of posts do your followers love most? Make sure to prioritize posts that benefit your followers.

Also, make sure you’re not posting the same type of content all the time. Instead, get creative. Try links to your blog posts, videos, images, or fun polls and quizzes.

However, you don’t have to stick to a set routine. Your content calendar is there as a guideline. If you have sudden, exciting news, feel free to share it!

Some companies also make the mistake of posting the same content on every platform. Instead, make sure to consider your audience on each account.

For example, your LinkedIn followers are probably looking for industry news. Your Facebook and Instagram followers, on the other hand, are probably looking for fun, engaging videos.

4. Getting Defensive.

You need to consider how you plan on communicating with customers online. One of the common marketing mistakes new businesses make is in their messaging.

Make sure you don’t come off as confrontational. If people post negative comments, know that’s normal. Remain professional and show your followers you want to help.

Otherwise, customers might find you offensive and start un-following.

5. Self-Promoting.

Most companies make the mistake of thinking social media is solely for promotion. That’s not the case. Too many self-promotions can feel disruptive.

After all, people don’t use their social media accounts to shop around.

Instead, think about creating a unique experience for your audience. Give them content and information they can’t find anywhere else. For example, you can use videos to show customers how to use your products in fun and interesting ways.

Try to create content that helps your customers. They’ll see the benefits of choosing your company based on the value you have to offer.

6. Hashtag Stuffing.

When using social media, many companies want to reach as many people as possible. With that in mind, they stuff their content with hashtags, hoping to reach a mass audience.

That’s not always the smartest move. Hashtag stuffing can make you look desperate. Instead, try narrowing it down to three per post.

7. Forgetting the Brand.

As you post online, don’t forget to keep your brand consistent. Otherwise, people who see your social media posts might not associate you with your website.

To keep your brand consistent, create branding guidelines for your business. These guidelines should include your color palette, tone, voice, message, and more. Documenting these components of your brand will keep everyone on the same page.

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News.

7 Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes That Startups Should Avoid.

1. Neglecting Research.

2. Failing to Interact.

3. Posting Too Much, Too Often.

4. Getting Defensive.

5. Self-Promoting.

6. Hashtag Stuffing.

7. Forgetting the Brand.

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