Getting Hurt by Social Media: What Went Wrong?

Using social media as a part of your marketing tool is a very smart way to reach your target markets. A poorly managed business social media campaign, however, can easily backfire if the right measures are not put in place by key people in your organization.

So if you're using social media for marketing, what can go wrong? How might you be hurting your business rather than helping it thrive? Based on MarketingProfs, here are six likely shortcomings you should look out for in developing your social media marketing:

1.     Not displaying your corporate branding

When you want to use social media as your marketing tool, be sure to brand your organization across all social media platforms. It can be done by using your organization logos, colors, and tagline as well as using themes that relate well to your corporate image.

2.     Not using the right social media platforms

There are no one-size-fits-all solutions in social media marketing. Instead, you have to carefully choose social media platforms that suit with your business and integrate them into one solid social media marketing program.

3.     Having the wrong person in charge

Letting the inexperienced staff handle your social media campaign is never a good scenario.  So therefore, you need a team of trained marketing professionals who understand online communications and marketing in order to reap the full advantages of social media marketing.

4.     Lacking consistency

Sometimes, an organization has launched programs that start out well on their social media page but then all of a sudden, they never seem to update their program anymore on their page. This can convey the impression that the organization is neither organized nor committed and it can affect your organization image.

5.     Including negative content about your competition

Saying negative things about your competitors in social media is a big NO-NO. It will make your organization look bad to your customers. On top of that, it also can get you into legal issues.

6.     Not responding to comments from followers and fans

Social media is a two-way-street.  Many organizations, however often forget and use social media only as a medium to broadcast. Ignoring the comments and feedbacks from your customers is considered as one of the biggest mistakes in social media marketing and you have to avoid this.

Therefore, in order to avoid social media marketing failure, it is highly recommended for every organization to take these six shortcomings listed above into account so that they can learn from it and then generate a cohesive social media marketing plan.

Besides these six, can you think of any other shortcomings? Share your ideas here.

Cheers,
Ivan