Now that we‟ve talked about social media, it‟s important to note what social media is not. This is best answered by talking about the common mistakes companies make with social media.These mistakes fall into three categories: mistakes with strategy, mistakes with tools, and mistakes with messaging. Most of these mistakes are easily avoidable if a company is willing to take time to understand the users‟ wants and needs on each medium.
Common Mistakes Companies Make With Strategy
Some of the most common mistakes companies make with social media revolve around making decisions that aren‟t consistent with having good business sense. Because social media tools are free, some companies tend to take the pasta approach: throwing noodles at a wall to see what sticks. Here are some of the most common mistakes to avoid with social media strategy:
Not developing a social media strategy
Because social media is the hottest trend in marketing, companies assume that all they have to do is set up a Twitter account and a Facebook fan page. This is the equivalent of pulling random magazines out of off the rack and purchasing full page color ad in each one, then throwing together a quick and dirty PowerPoint flyer to run. Just like any other communication medium, social media requires a well-thought out marketing strategy plan.
Perfecting a social media strategy
Even though a social media strategy is important, don‟t wait for the strategy to set up your company‟s accounts. Reserving your company‟s name on various social media sites is of the utmost importance. Furthermore, because it takes time to build social media accounts, every minute you waste by not being there is followers you could be losing.
Gathering followers rather than building a network
There are no shortcuts in social media, and the bottom line is companies have to build relationships with their customers before they can sell anything. Social media may seem free, but the hidden time costs to build relationships Social media is not a quick way to make more sales; in fact, social media actually adds cycle time to the sales process. Just like any other process, a company must consider how much of its resources to invest.
Putting all eggs in one basket
It‟s exciting to see extraordinary results on one form of social media, and tempting to invest all your resources into what‟s working. Try to resist. With the speed at which technology changes, social media is starting to look similar to the fashion cycle: one day you‟re in, the next day you‟re out. Tools fall in and out of fashion all the time – remember Friendster, and more recently, MySpace? Companies that build a large equity on one tool will find themselves with nothing if the tool loses popularity.
Putting the horse before the carriage
Another cliché is the company that doesn‟t follow a logical process with social media and then wonders why it isn‟t seeing results. Common sense comes in handy here. For example, consider a company that doesn‟t currently have many customers, but creates a Facebook fan page and starts promoting it with Facebook ads. The keyword is “fan;” people who haven‟t experienced the product are not likely to join a fan club for it. Make sure your company is following a logical customer acquisition process by thinking about social media from the user-perspective.
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