Social media platforms can be a prime source of traffic and income for bloggers and business owners. However, there are several common social media marketing mistakes that keep people from reaching their utmost potential!
It is all too easy to get overwhelmed by all of the platforms out there; Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram… what should you focus on? Which platform is best for your business? Where are you most likely to gain a loyal following?
There are so many questions to answer, and even more possibilities and routes to take. Utilizing the power of social media marketing can help you target your ideal audience, get more traffic to your blog or website, and ultimately make you more money!
The problem is that there are several ways you can misuse these platforms that can result in a major waste of your time, and potentially harm your blog or business. Especially if you are a beginner looking to fast-track your way to the big leagues!
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Here are the top 10 social media mistakes for bloggers and business owners
1. Focusing on ALL Platforms
The fact is that you are only one person. And if your blog or side hustle is exactly that – a project that you do on the side of your full-time job – your time is quite limited.
While it may be pretty simple to set up an account on all of the major social media platforms, it is virtually impossible to maintain a constant, quality presence without a team. This means posting diverse content customized with the proper image dimensions and paired with a tailored narrative.
If you’re flying solo, trying to focus on all platforms may take away from the overall value of your content and the strength of any given presence. And you will lose a lot of time.
Eventually, you may fizzle out and lose focus on one or some of those platforms, ultimately abandoning any fans you may have already gained.
HOW TO AVOID THIS MISTAKE: Identify where your primary audience is, and select 2-3 platforms to focus on. Be aggressive in establishing your presence by posting consistently so that your audience learns that they can rely on you to provide them with the information they need.
As you become systematic, consider implementing other platforms into your schedule and informing your existing audience on where they can find you. But only do this once you have mastered your chosen platforms. This way, you aren’t over-exerting yourself in an attempt to be present everywhere. You will not only be better at what you do, but you will gain traction faster.
If you are able to get top-notch content out on several platforms… by all means, do it… as long as you are consistent! We would highly recommend using scheduling platforms like Post Planner, Buffer and Tailwind. These tools will allow you to share your social media posts on your selected platforms automatically and on specified days and times.
2. Focusing on ONE Platform
The unfortunate reality is that social media platforms are constantly evolving. From new features to changing algorithms, it can be hard to keep up.
In April 2019, Pinterest went public. Almost as soon as the IPO was official, bloggers across the web saw a HUGE decline in their Pinterest traffic. Now, we can’t say for certain that the drop seen around the world was technically because of the IPO, but it is hard not to assume.
This made a significant impact on those who rely almost entirely on Pinterest for their traffic. Now, most consider Pinterest to be a social platform, but it’s actually a powerful search engine. So, focusing solely on one social platform (or, search engine) rather than diversifying your presence via other platforms and methods may inevitably be to your blog or website’s detriment.
Also, you could be missing out on a completely untouched audience just waiting to hear from you! For all you know, those digital products that you are trying to sell are better off being marketed on Twitter than Facebook.
HOW TO AVOID THIS MISTAKE: Like the last mistake, choose 2-3 platforms to focus on. Through a series of trial and error, you will understand where your best audience is.
Where do you see the most engagement (shares, likes and comments)? How often do you gain new followers? How many leads (sales, email list sign-ups, etc.) does each platform generate?
Take the time to test each social media outlet to determine which ones are most deserving of your attention, and focus solely on them. Don’t rely on just one because you never know when your bread and butter will go stale!
3. Not Having A Social Media Marketing Strategy
Diving into social media marketing for your blog or business without a plan is a fast-track way to get buried alive.
There is no doubt that there are countless routes one may take with social media; from choosing the best platforms and identifying your target audience, to structuring a content schedule and establishing your brand identity… there is A LOT to it.
But running willy-nilly from platform to platform without a clue as to what you should focus on and when is a major blunder that will only hinder your growth process.
HOW TO AVOID THIS MISTAKE: Create goals and deadlines, have a vision and create a realistic plan that you can stick to. Invest in courses and educational material to determine the best course of action for your blog or business, and focus on one thing at a time.
4. Ignoring Comments and Direct Messages From Your Followers
These days, social media algorithms care more about valuable engagement, like comments, than it does ‘likes.’ This metric is HUGE and is the single most important factor in how well you will be treated organically.
Do NOT neglect your audience!
If you ignore them, especially when someone comments something non-generic and of value, like a genuine question, compliment or concern, they’re expecting you to answer them. By not answering, you put yourself at risk of losing the follow and their attention, as well as getting poor public feedback should someone feel really offended by your lack of acknowledgement.
Ignoring Direct Messages (DMs) is also a common mistake, especially by big bloggers and influencers. While, understandably, it is extremely difficult to weed your way through the bevy of messages in your inbox (because there is a lot of spam), it is essential that you try to read and acknowledge those that need acknowledging.
HOW TO AVOID THIS MISTAKE: If your followers go out of their way to comment and engage with your content, acknowledge them! And in a timely manner. This shows that you care about what they have to say and reinforces why they followed you in the first place!
Also, engaging in real conversations with your fans will result in positive reinforcement from the algorithm. If you are looking to improve your organic growth, you have to prove that your account is authentic, and engagement helps with that.
If you receive several DMs a day or week, block out 30 minutes to read through them and at least answer the genuine questions and concerns. It can be difficult to answer them all, but a strategic block of time will help you keep up.
5. Paying for Followers and Engagement
DON’T! Just DON’T!
Unfortunately, it is all too easy for just about anyone to have an enormous following, even when they don’t post quality content. What they don’t know is that buying followers, likes and comments is the easiest way to lose your accountability in the eyes of social platforms like Instagram.
Buying your audience and engagement will automatically put you on a watch list, and will quickly decrease your organic exposure. Don’t be tempted by “get rich quick”/ “get big quick” tools.
More often than not, the follows that you are buying are fake accounts, without real people behind them. Bots do not equate to long-term, genuine engagement. These accounts will not like your new photos, they will not view your video content, and they will not leave relevant comments. And, a large chunk of them will inevitably unfollow you or delete their account. So, what’s the point?
Purchased likes and comments are also easily detectable, both by platforms and your genuine followers. It is extremely easy to identify when bloggers and influencers take an inauthentic approach in order to grow, and it is a huge turn-off.
HOW TO AVOID THIS MISTAKE: It’s easy to lose patience with the ever-changing algorithm and the follow-for-follow/unfollow culture, but you should always remain as authentic as possible.
Be real, engage with your audience, use relevant and underutilized hashtags, establish a presence within your community, create and maintain an aesthetic, and post top-quality content… and you will grow naturally.
If you have a marketing budget and are interested in using some of it to grow your following, put it toward real people, not fake accounts that will do nothing for you.
There is a HUGE difference between putting some ad dollars behind a Facebook page promotion and literally BUYING followers to your Instagram account. Facebook Ads allow you to target a specific audience in the form of “sponsored content,” or “promoted posts,” and if you catch their eye, they will follow you on their own accord, rather than auto-following.
6. Concentrating On Quantity Over Quality
A common misconception, both in the social media and the blogging world, is that you must churn out loads of content all the time. That it doesn’t really matter what you are posting, so long as it is kinda-sorta related to your niche, and allows you to keep up with a consistent posting schedule.
Posting just to post is a no-no.
Sharing useless content just to supposedly “maintain a presence” will not get you far. In fact, if someone follows you because they loved the series of recipes you previously shared, and then suddenly you start sharing tons of unrelated memes, they may get irritated and unfollow you. That’s not what they signed up for.
HOW TO AVOID THIS MISTAKE: Take the time to really think about what your audience is looking for; what you have to offer that is of value. Are you posting just to seem active? Or are you curating beneficial content that one would hate to miss?
Always have a method to your madness. It’s better to be known for your consistency than to spam someone’s news feed. It’s better to post 1-2 well thought out, high-quality items a week than to post schlock once a day.
Plan your content ahead of time, as far in advance as you can, so that you aren’t rusing to put together something that ends up being inconsistent with your brand and image. Remember: what you share doesn’t always have to be yours alone; you can share other people’s work that you think your fans would love!
7. Neglecting Your Profile Description
A generic, uninspired, and uninformative profile description is a surefire way to make potential followers click that big old X instead of that big old FOLLOW. Especially if you are in the creative space.
Gone are the days of A/S/L; information is vital! If your profile says anything along the lines of “21 y/o female lifestyle blogger from Austin, TX” …you’re doing it wrong.
If you aren’t telling your visitors who you are and what you do, and if you aren’t using the essential keywords that they are looking for, you better hope that they give your content the time of day! While your profile description is not the end-all-be-all, it’s certainly a factor that people pay attention to. If you aren’t utilizing those characters, you’re making a social media mistake.
HOW TO AVOID THIS MISTAKE: Create a well thought out profile description for each of your platforms. Make sure the information you offer is consistent across the board and that if anything changes, all profiles are update.
What should your profile say? Consider any of these talking points:
- What do you write about? What do you specialize in?
- Do you sell any products?
- What is can readers/followers expect to gain from you?
- Who do you cater to? Who is your target audience?
- What are your personality quirks that a follower may love to know?
- How are you relatable to your readers?
Depending on the platform, your profile description space may be limited. Answering some or all of any of these questions creatively will help potential followers understand who you are and why you are deserving of their attention.
8. Posting at the Wrong Time of Day
Yes, there is such a thing as posting on social media at the right time of day. In fact, there are even days of the week that are better than others.
Think logically: do you think you are likely to get as much engagement on your Instagram post at 9 PM on a Friday night as you would at 7 AM on a Tuesday morning? What do you think your followers are doing at those times of day?
Posting at a low-traffic and low-engagement time of day is essentially wasting content. If you aren’t reaching the optimal number of eyes, what’s the point of putting up the content that you spent so many hours putting together?
HOW TO AVOID THIS MISTAKE: Study your audience to learn when they are online, and use scheduling platforms to choose the best days and times to hit ‘share.’
Scheduling platforms are optimized to identify the best time of day to publish your content, based on the overall data gathered across platforms and the behaviors of your audeince.
By choosing the best times to post, you will ensure that you reach as many people as possible.
9. Measuring the Wrong Numbers
A big mistake is measuring the wrong social media metrics. It is easy to assume a profile is doing well at first glance, but if you dig deep into the numbers that actually matter, you may find that there is a lot of room for improvement.
For example, lately, bloggers using Pinterest for traffic have been heavily focused on their monthly viewership, rather than numbers that actually matter. That number that sits under your profile name is not related to how many people are seeing your content. It is the viewership of all the content that you share. So unless you only share your own pins (which is a no-no), that number is not representative of your reach.
Instead of focusing on your monthly reach, you should be focusing on how many clicks your pins are generating to your website or landing page, and then measuring that number against your overall traffic and conversions.
Another common mistake beginner social media marketers mistake is focusing on the number of fans or followers someone has, rather than their engagement and conversions. Followers mean nothing if they aren’t engaging with your content. Engagement can mean anything from likes, comments and shares to clicks and purchases made through your social media links.
HOW TO AVOID THIS MISTAKE: Dive deep into both your social media analytics and your Google Analytics to determine what’s working and what isn’t. This is especially important if you are pouring money into advertisements/boosted posts.
Don’t focus on surface-level numbers, focus on numbers such as your click-through rate (CTR), your conversions, and your RPMs. These numbers speak largely on how well your social media marketing is performing.
10. Not Engaging With Your Peers
How can you expect your peers to engage with your content if you don’t engage with theirs? One extremely common social media mistake is expecting followers to come to you without putting your best foot forward to engage with their posts as well.
You can create as much beautiful, highly valuable content as you want, but that isn’t going to make thousands of people come flocking your way. No, these days, we live in a give and take world, where your chances of getting a like or a comment by a high-authority influencer increase when you like and comment on their content as well.
Also, engaging with your peers opens doors to future collaborations and opportunities. If you don’t put yourself out there and make yourself known, you may lose out on partnerships down the line. Why? Well, they don’t know who you are.
HOW TO AVOID THIS MISTAKE: Your growth is not just about your own numbers; it is about your involvement in your community. Engaging with your community peers is an important factor in how your social media account will grow organically.
It will also play a role in putting your name out there and being recognized. Commenting on pages within a similar niche may land you more followers, because, well, if they like your peer’s stuff and have a way to find you (via your comments)… chances are they will click to your profile and find that they enjoy your content as well!
Spend as much time (if not more) commenting on posts within your community as you do answering comments on your own. Leave GENUINE and VALUABLE comments of five words or more so you aren’t considered spammy.
Have you made any of these social media mistakes?
