No matter how you slice it, reaching out, connecting and having conversations with customers online costs a business owner time and money. Could your social-media efforts be yielding better results?
Here's a list of the biggest mistakes I've seen business owners make with social media and how to avoid them.
1. Talking One-Way: Many business owners start posting status updates because they think that is all they need to do to grow their company online. But the way they do it cuts off any chance of having a two-way conversation. In today's messaging marketplace, consumers want to be heard. If you are just talking to customers but not letting them to talk back and engage with you, then you are wasting considerable time and effort online.
When you go online and post in a status update area, do not just talk at people; speak with them. Tag people in a post and ask them a question. Tagging simply means that you write directly to a person on his or her Facebook wall or Twitter feed. On Facebook you put the "@" sign in front of their profile name. For Twitter, this sign would go in front of their username.
Related: 20 Ways to Make the Most of Your Social Media Marketing
Also, take a few minutes to stop by the "neighborhood" of each social site that you frequent and say hello, find out what your neighbors are up to and post a quick reply. By actively engaging in these spheres, you keep your business top of mind.
2. Not Knowing When to Ask for Business: Many online businesses have conducted conversations with their connections for quite some time now, without translating this dialogue into any sales. Some companies fail to ask for business online or they ask for it too soon. You need to build some rapport first. People will buy from you only as much as they trust you. Set up a rule to convert conversation into clients or customers.
I follow the 3/3 rule, whereby I speak with someone no more than three times, for not more than three minutes on each occasion, freely offering tips, exploring another company's branding or directly helping them, before I ask that person for some business. When I do the asking, I send the prospective customer a closing script or a post to indicate how I can help further.
3. Shiny Object Syndrome: With all the flashy new websites and with social networking capabilities changing by the minute, no wonder you are swept up in checking out a new site or a fresh feature when you go online. But instead of spending countless hours exploring new dazzlers, devote only a set amount of time each day or week to review the new happenings online. Otherwise you will be sucked into a vortex of shiny objects and before you know it your week is over and you have not converted any online relationships into profits. Flag interesting sites or novel capabilities in a folder or on your calendar to revisit later for research and development.
4. Poor Messaging: A consumer can become overwhelmed by dealing with all the wrong messages that are crowding the Internet lately. Company owners are projecting the wrong image through what they say online. In some cases, their posts have absolutely nothing to do with their company, brand or personality.
Too many entrepreneurs do what I call panic posting -- just posting for the sake of posting and sharing ideas that do not highlight their overall brand image. If you have a serious company, don't post jokes and funny videos. Instead, post statistics and updates about your company's team members. If your business has a relaxed image, inject humor into your posts. A funny YouTube video can go a long way.
Related: 10 Laws of Social Media Marketing
5. Sales Faux Pas: Writing how much your products or services cost in a status update or post is not only a time waste, it is plain wrong. Would you walk up to someone before you have even introduced yourself and say that your latest product is now available at a certain price for a limited time? If so, you would probably end up not only talking to yourself (the person would walk away), but also you likely would lose the entire room of people as customers.
Try sharing the pros and cons about your industry or product category and ask people to provide feedback and participate. This is one way to bridge the distance between you and your prospects and get them involved with your company's brand. Ultimately newfound fans will promote you without being asked because they feel included. The fact that you asked and listened goes a long way.
Whether yours is a one-person business or it has 150 employees, take time every month or quarter to examine your social media practices. You could save thousands of dollars and hours -- and have more to show for it.
Related: Five Ways to Use Twitter You Might Not Know About
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Comments:
You have share a good and informative post and I think all these mistakes should be keep in mind and try to avoid these mistakes. And also remember one thing that internet users have very short attention span and you should show up something different in front of them if you want to be remember by them.
I was very glad to run across this article because I would have been posting just to be posting. An eye opener of practicl information. Thanks!
A really helpful article! Thank you!
This is one of the most useful article's I've read inspiring me to revisit the time I'm spending online. Posting within spheres can be intimidating; however, I agree it is absolutely necessary. Count me in as one of your newest followers on Twitter.
This article was very helpfull to clarify several issues. Thanks.
VARY GOOD MESSAGE ... THANK YOU 4 ALLOWING US 2 DATA DIGITAL INTERACTIVELY CONVERSE A2zMOBILE VIRTUALLY The world is vary different when it comes to Conversing with others as well as Communicating multi Culturally multi Ethnically being multi Lingual which is why so many Americans old & young alike do so poorly ... LETS KiiSS "KEEP iT iNTERACTIVELY SENSIBLY SIMPLE
Great article!If I may add something,in Ivory Coast or most african countries the biggest mistake would be the fact for a company to try to get customers through SM,i am not sure it will work.People who have the power to make a purchase/sales decision do not use SM and even if they happen to do so,they don't usually close their deals online. Moreover,trying to advertise through SM will generally generate a bad image and push potential customers away.They might see you as one who is trying to take advantage of others(as funny as it can appear,it happens).But i am sure that mentalities will change in the future(i hope). Thanks for the article.
A lot of good tips.... About talking 'with' your target... Often times I see posts made by businesses that ask a question with very little, if no, replies. I think it looks bad that they have 1000 fans and nobody will answer. What would you do about that??
awesome article!!
One of the biggest mistakes I see is what you can call the "ghost post." It's a page, twitter account, blog, etc. that is positioned (with all good initial intention) as the latest comprehensive news or discussion of a topic. But when the visitor clicks through to see "the latest," there is only one or two posts with the most recent being over a year old. At worst, this can be taken as you or your company being out of business. At best, it makes you look too unprofessional to follow up on your own plans. One thing worse than not using social media at all is posting evidence that you lack the discipline to use it well.
"If you have a serious company, don't post jokes and funny videos" I agree in general, if my company is serious I wouldn't of course build my whole marketing on homer, BUT - a parody of the company or the industry can make people laugh, and attach positive feelings to the brand, so I wouldn't avoid doing it as a rule.
Hi HGL - Would love to see the small print that says social media is a "medium that postures as a marketing medium." People may be using it as a marketing medium and it may have indeed turned into one, but it sure was not the original intention. As for the "battle experience in the competitive online trenches" of Ms. Hall, why don't you check out her web page and credentials. I would say she knows more about the "online trenches" than most people on this post. Jerry X Shea.com
Great article that help me alot
Its actullay very good advice i think specially more effective for B2B companies.. but i think i will disagree on #5 if we are providing services in more cheaper rate then other competition we sure should mention it.
And all businesses are not Social media prospects. But what we see so often is a total lack of Marketing Strategy developed before they JUMP in.
Th e"engagement " factor is critical. Asking question is easy, but be prepared to Answer, Edify and Continue
This is a good post, but there's one thing missing, related to the 'shiny object syndrome: make sure your target market reads and/or is influenced by social media. We used Twitter and Facebook to no great success, but blogs have worked well. John Heinrich, Chief Mentor American School of Entrepreneurship www.theasoe.com www.theasoe.com/blog
With the emergence of new technologies, there also emerges new rules and protocols. It's great to have a list of do's for small business owners to grow their advertising and reach potential customers.
Herschell Gordon Lewis may be wrong, but if I was betting between the above post and Lewis' diverging opinion, I'd put my money with Lewis. We buy from those we know, like, and trust. The latter especially implies the posture of authority, as in "buyer trusts the seller's authority." If there is to be social interaction, the marketer would do well to maintain control, like by asking questions of the potential customer rather than the other way around.
Well thats why social media marketing is such an effective tool, i often see companies that cannot grasp the value of SMM because of wha tyou said. In reality a SMM position is an important role for filling you sales prospective funnel.
Social media is very important and powerful tool on internet for all businesses. The most common mistake I see is business owners posting commercials on their face book pages.I agree with your sharing mistakes and all these tips will be very helpful for me and business owners.
The problem is most business owners dont have the time to go on social media sites and just chit chat and exchange ideas, there too busy running a business.
A real loser in the whole debt ceiling impasse debate was social media. All those tweets, all those Facebook status update urging Congress to do this or do that - meant nothing. It was all like American Idol voting - lots of votes and opinions that no one really pays attention to.
great information to those new to using social media to further their business!
I disagree strongly with several assertions. Example: " If you are just talking to customers but not letting them to talk back and engage with you, then you are wasting considerable time and effort online." This may be the point of social media as social media ... but it's a hopeless weakener for a medium that postures as a marketing medium. Does the writer have actual battle experience in rthe competitive online trenches? Herschell Gordon Lewis (hgl@herschellgordonlewis,com)
I've heard all these points before, but it's great to have the reminder again. There are so many people who use social media as a marketing blast still and don't understand that it's a communication tool, a give and take. I hope that - as social media develops more and more in the personal arena - businesses will start to recognize the importance of creating social content that is helpful, engaging and relationship building.
I think #2 really depends on your brand, its audience and whether the company is B2B or B2C. If your company is B2B and has a long sales cycle with a high product price-point, asking for business on social media really won't get you anywhere or cause action (though further proving your company's value via SM may condition people to purchase your product/service, but that is harder to track). But if you're a B2C selling cupcakes or a smartphone app, it's definitely essential to ask for business at the right time.
Great piece, I'd like to interject that it is painful to read a deluge of spammy posts. People think they need to sell to you and get in your face in 140 characters, and frankly, it makes me want to Unfollow rather than engage. Nice simple tips that make sense. I'm reposting on our Twitter feed at @jpatrickjobs