The social media revolution is rapidly charging forward. Companies are using social media practices to optimize their presence in the online world; this will in turn drive traffic to their sites and gain potential customer interest. Since this social media practices are still fairly new and growing, companies often make mistakes and fall before they grow. Highlighted below are a few of the worst social media practices that companies can mistakenly conduct, which will inevitably result in disaster. Ways to avoid the worst social media practices are also strongly emphasized and encouraged for all companies.
Worst Social Media Practices: Not Listening!
Out of all the worst social media practices, not listening to customers is the biggest problem. Companies need to keep in mind that social media marketing and practices are not like traditional forms of advertising and marketing; they cannot keep publishing information without interacting and participating in conversations with their customers. To avoid falling into the trap of one of the worst social media practices, companies should encourage conversation with their customers by answering questions, thanking customers for their loyalty and ratings, listen to their concerns, and take them seriously. Avoiding the mistake of not listening will give companies the full benefit of social media practices. Companies should also make sure to listen to constructive feedback, ask their customers for feedback through social media outlets, and provide the best online customer service possible.
Worst Social Media Practices: Splitting up Social Media Marketing Efforts within a Company
Another one of the worst social media practices is one that companies believe will benefit them, but end up hurting them. Companies sometimes do not make social media a company-wide, collaborative effort. Instead, they split up social media practices and marketing among various departments and divisions, and try to create different social media campaigns. For example, one division of the company maintains a blog, another one maintains a Facebook page, and another one maintains a LinkedIn profile. This is inefficient because it often gives mixed, confusing, or incorrect messages and signals to customers.
Worst Social Media Practices: Don’t Forget about SEO and SMO!
Forgetting about search engine optimization and social media optimization would be a big mistake for companies launching social media marketing strategies or campaigns. Forgetting about SEO initiatives- target keywords, keyword density, link building, etc. – will drive less traffic to the companies site, and result in less interest and attention overall. Stay on top of your social media marketing strategies and efforts, and don’t fall prey to one of the worst social media practices.