Brands are not exactly new to social. Since 2011 the number of small-to-medium businesses on social has doubled from 15% to over 30%. But as more and more brands take their first steps into the social arena, there are still some rookie errors and incorrect assumptions being made out there. Here are the 5 common mistakes brands are (still) making on social media.
1. Over-committing and under-delivering.
Nine out of ten businesses manage their own social media profiles, which can often lead to social drifting down to the bottom of the To Do List. Which is totally understandable when you have a business to run, and your staff have more pressing matters to focus on. However, a half-baked social presence could be a time-waster at best and at worst, doing your brand damage.
Chose one or two platforms, and do them well. Commit resources to them, internal or with external support, and set aside a weekly number of hours to dedicate to social. Aim for at least 3 posts a week on each platform. Consistency is key with social, and many of the brands on the top rungs of the social ladder in Australia are benefiting from having committed early, and staying committed.
2. Misunderstanding the purpose of a cover image.
Now fair enough, most people are accessing Facebook on mobile now, I hear you say – so what’s the point of a cover image? Well it still matters. Even though cover images are not at their glorious, full-sized best on mobile, (and even though no-one has quite mastered the art of making a cover image look good on desktop and the variously nuanced mobile screen sizes), cover images are often the first impression a consumer has of your company on social. And if they found you on social before they’ve found your website? Then it’s their only chance to sum you up.
So, make it count. Your cover image is not the place to shout loudly about a promotion or a sale price. It is not the place to put a staff photo of your team smiling from a staircase. Nope. It’s the one place you get to make a visual statement about your brand.
How do you want people to feel? What is the essence of who you are as a brand? That is what you want to capture and upload in that important social real estate.
Hint? A professional photographer or designer is well worth the investment in this space.
3. Failing to be driven by strategy.
Ah yes, strategy. We are all guilty of throwing this phrase around boardrooms, without often understanding what it actually means. When it comes to social media, it means this: know what you are using social media for. Know who you are talking to. Know what you are talking about, and why.
61% of medium businesses and 37% of large businesses are operating on social without a defined strategy. Make no mistake, the brands doing well on social know what they are doing on social.
Start by taking the time to make a plan. A comprehensive Digital Strategy can be outsourced to supply your business with a direction and roadmap to ensure all staff contributing to social are on the same page and working towards the same objectives.
Remember, “social media is just a buzzword until you come up with a plan.” (Unknown.)
Proportion of Australian businesses that have a social media strategy in place.
4. Social media’s free, right?
Just because anyone can create an account on any platform for free, doesn’t mean social is free.
Facebook, more than ever, is a “pay to play” platform, with the best way to grow and reach your audience regularly through a combination of boosting posts, paid advertising and, surprise surprise, consistency. (Which equates to resources, which equates to dollars.)
So while social is *technically* free to use, it’s worth the investment in using it properly. And that means quality imagery, video, strategy, resources and developing or investing in the skills to analyse and optimize your content.
5. Ignoring video.
A recent Cisco report has predicted that by 2019, 80% of all content on the internet will be video. Stop and think about that for a moment – that’s a lot of video. Will your brand be seen and heard? Will you be ahead of the trend, or lagging behind?
There are so many ways to get involved with video nowadays, thanks to smartphones and innovations such as live video on platforms like Facebook and Persicope.
But don’t discount the value of investing in professional video in the mix too. It doesn’t have to be HD quality, and in fact the more fun, the better. Consider simple animations, stop-motion, cinemagraphs, Go-Pros and drones, to cut through all the competition.
To speak to Redhanded about your social needs, send us a message here: https://redhandedcomau.wpengine.com/contact/