Struggling with your social media strategy? Here are some telltale signs:
- Your content is non-committal, changing course as often as the weather.
- Your brand voice is a wide spray, more so than a chameleon’s colors.
- Your back-end data is confusing, like an exercise in quantum physics.
Whether you’re a solopreneur or a large-scale enterprise, know you’re not alone. From identity crises to data overload, maintaining a robust social media strategy is difficult for businesses—big and small. However, recognizing and relegating common social media mistakes is the first step toward improvement.
Like a #trueblue marketing maverick, we’re about to turn your social media mishaps into triumphs. And flaunt the one thing competitors can’t—your unique “brand genius.”
Fixing the Flaws of Your Social Media Strategy
Social Media Mistake #1: Branding That’s Inconsistent
Inconsistent branding is like trying to hit a moving target. Every time your social media strategy shifts—haphazardly rather than fluidly—you start from scratch with your audience. It makes your business less recognizable, more forgettable, and quickly lost amongst competitors.
In contrast, a strong brand identity is the backbone of one’s online presence (e.g., messaging, visuals, tone), displaying:
- Personality
Helping you stand out across crowded digital feeds - Character
Building trust and a sense of familiarity with your audience - Uniformity
Echoing the same message from the top down (across your entire team)
Your “Genius” Solution:
Create a style guide for your business, serving as the go-to resource for your social media strategy. This asset features parameters as to when, where, why, and how to dispatch content as well as intellectual property.
Include stringent guidelines:
- Logo usage
- Color palette
- Typography
- Voice style and tone
- Brand manifesto and values
- Visual imagery, naming conventions, and attribution
- Boilerplate and biographical information
- Approved taglines and hashtags
- Company-wide publishing rules/responses
So, how might this translate in the real world?
On Instagram, use Stories and Reels to showcase behind-the-scenes content or product demonstrations. On LinkedIn, leverage professional, in-depth content like industry insights or thought leadership. Remember, consistency doesn’t mean being monotonous or boring. It means being recognizably “you” across all channels, lobbying for who and for what you believe.
Social Media Mistake #2: Engagement That’s Muddled
Quick question: how often do followers interact with your content? And how frequently do you interact with your followers?
Good engagement warrants reciprocal connections with people who know and love your brand. Poor engagement indicates your message and medium isn’t resonating—if at all. And the consequences are far-reaching: reduced visibility on socials, spotty customer loyalty, and missed opportunities for subscribership and sales.
On the flip side, strong engagement can increase your reach and amplify your social media strategy. Engaged followers are more likely to become brand advocates, suggesting your products or services to others.
Don’t discount influencers, either. Over half of social media users rely on recommendations from prominent media personalities. Finally, high engagement provides valuable insights into your audience’s preferences and behaviors. You can use this data to refine your social media strategy, driving traffic back to your website.
Your “Genius” Solution:
Devise a robust checklist to analyze (and eventually) optimize engagement.
Measure where your business stands now:
- What posts (e.g. subject matter) land with most followers?
- What platforms does your audience hang out on?
- Who are the customers you’re reaching (or want to reach)?
- What else are they engaging with on socials?
- What are they venting about/feeling/accomplishing?
- How are you the “aspirin” or launchpad for their aspirations?
- And how are you conveying this message implicitly and authentically?
After brainstorming, put action into motion:
- Agitate audience engagement and traction (e.g. collect feedback about a specific product, roll out discounts, use their rhetoric in your outreach)
- Create—and stick to—a monthly content calendar
- Encourage (and incentivize) user-generated content (e.g. testimonials)
- Perform A/B testing to determine what content is working…and what isn’t
- Respond quickly to DMs, mentions, and comments
- Reassure with empathy, cultural sensitivity, and inclusivity
It’s no surprise, an active online presence is critical to brand success according to 90 percent of marketers. How does your social media strategy stack up?
Remember, engagement is a two-way street. Listen as much as you speak. Correcting this social media mistake can be your business’s secret weapon.
Social Media Mistake #3: Data That’s Nonexistent
For the B2B and B2C industries, ignoring data analytics is a lot like posting to social media blindfolded. You’re essentially visionless, throwing content into the void and hoping it sticks.
For instance—you depend on your car’s dashboard to indicate when you’ll need gas or an oil change. If evaded, your vehicle would stall. Running a business is no different; data revs the engine as a means to plan, pivot, and prosper.
Just the same, tracking analytics reveals what does (and doesn’t) resonate with your audience. It lets you uncover upticks in engagement and reach that might otherwise go unnoticed.
For example, checking metrics illuminates optimal posting times. Conversion metrics, more specifically, identify how your social media strategy translates to sales. Analytics also monitors audience growth and demographics, enabling a more tailored approach.
Your “Genius” Solution:
Invest in software, project management tools, or aggregate reporting to track vanity metrics, year over year averages, and hot zones.
For those who like to keep it simple, templates and spreadsheets are a great option. Google Analytics is another popular resource, keeping tabs on website visitors. Meta Business Suite already boasts built-in analytics for Instagram and Facebook users. And paid platforms, like Hootsuite, organize data snapshots across multiple verticals and channels.
Having a visual repository pieces the puzzle together:
- What are the bounce rates on your product landing page?
- How many conversions (sales or downloads) came from it?
- Why did your social post flatline? Was the call-to-action clear?
- Why do posts on Tuesdays perform better?
- How can you reach more followers as a result?
Think about what you’re most interested in learning, comparing, and changing in order to upsell your services.
Some metrics you may consider:
- Engagement Metrics: Engagement rate, likes and reactions, comments, shares
- Reach Metrics: Reach, impressions, social share of voice
- Conversion Metrics: Conversion rate, click-through rate, cost-per-click, cost-per-thousand-impressions
- Audience Metrics: Follower count, follower growth, social media sentiment, demographics
- Video Performance Metrics: View count, video completion rate, watch time
- Customer Service Metrics: Average response time, customer satisfaction score, net promoter score
BONUS! Check out our in-depth guide on using data to drive your marketing decisions.
Social Media Mistakes: The Advice Worth Taking
Avoiding these top three social media mistakes can truly transform your reputation. By focusing on consistent branding, cohesive engagement, and data-driven decisions, you’ll watch your social media strategy evolve and thrive.
The best part? One Part Social can help turn these insights into action. Your audience is waiting—let’s connect and course correct together. Sound good?