It’s no surprise that busy small business owners often make social media marketing mistakes. Social media marketing can be hard: it’s not like other kinds of marketing, it’s complex, it requires a lot of time and without someone to explain it to you, it’s hard to really understand it.
But like it or not, it’s important: these days, your customers are on social media, and they expect you to be, too. If you’re not on Facebook and Instagram, you’re leaving customers on the table.
In other words: you need to be on social media, and you need to get social media right. Meaning you want to keep mistakes to a minimum.
Here are 3 mistakes I see beginners make all the time (and how to avoid them!):
Taking A Long Time Between Posts
One thing I see happen all the time is this: people get really excited about social media for their business, they post a ton in the first couple weeks, and then they get bored with it and stop. Or, they run out of ideas, so they take time off from social media.
Unfortunately, that’s one of the worst things you can do! Running a social account is like tending a garden: you have to constantly put in the work before you can reap the rewards. Quitting social halfway through is like planting an apple tree and then not watering it: you’re not gonna end up with anything to eat!
What’s the problem with taking too long between posts?
It makes you look bad.
When people research you, one of the first things they’ll look at is your social pages. If those pages haven’t been updated in months, it raises red flags about you: Are they still in business? Do they know what they’re doing?
To prove you’re a pro, keep your social accounts active.
You’re leaving eyeballs on the table.
Every time you post, you put yourself out there. More people discover you. Some of those people follow you. And some of those people will end up buying something from you.
So, you should be taking every excuse you can to post. It’s free exposure, so long as you’re doing it right. Not posting is like suddenly stopping advertising, only worse, because you’re losing your followers’ interest, too! (And speaking of…)
Your followers will lose interest.
If you’ve got a few followers already — and not your parents, or followers you paid for, but actual followers — you’ve gotta consistently “water the plants” if you wanna keep ‘em.
Otherwise, they’ll get bored with you and forget. They’ll feel less committed to their relationship with your brand. And when you do start posting again, they’ll say “oh, these guys — I don’t want to hear from them anymore”, and hit unfollow.
WHAT TO DO INSTEAD
I’m not saying you should be spamming your social media feed every 30 minutes. Don’t do that either!
But you should definitely come into social media with a plan. Saying “I’ll post when I feel like it” is a great way to never post. Have a plan, and stick to it.
Here are a few ways to keep yourself on track:
- Find A Schedule That Works For You. Some people find it’s best to post once a day, some prefer 3-4 times a week. Test a few different schedules, see what gets you the most engagement, and then stick to it. (We like 3-4 times a week the best!)
- Schedule Posts In Advance. It’s hard to make new content every day. Plus, it’s emotionally draining. You don’t want social media to be another thing on your “to-do list” every day. Instead, pick one day a week (or one day a month!) and churn out all your social media content for that week in a half-hour.
- Hire Help If You Need It. Running a social media account is time-consuming and emotionally draining. Plus, it’s hard — and not everyone figures it out right away. Here’s a secret: if you can’t get social media right on your own, you can always hire someone to help you!
Posting Boring Content
This one’s simple: you have to give people a reason to follow you. And a lot of the content businesses put out there just don’t do that.
Think about someone who stumbles onto your social media page. What’s gonna make them hit the “follow” button? Well, you have to convince them you’re worth following — meaning you have to set the expectation that you’re gonna be posting lots of good content.
Here’s the deal: tons of people are posting on social media, and you’re competing with all of them for your customers’ attention. So boring content just isn’t gonna make the cut. If you want to make the most of your social accounts, you have to be better than the competition.
What makes content boring?
Posting Bad Pictures
Do you know that old saying? A picture is worth a thousand words? Well, you’re only gonna write maybe 20-25 words per post… so your picture is gonna say a lot more than your copy will.
Think about it: when people are lazily scrolling through their feed, they don’t see your copy. All they see are pictures. And they’re only gonna stop and read the post if they like the picture.
Unfortunately, so many businesses don’t put in the effort to post good pictures. Either they’re not skilled enough with Photoshop, they don’t understand how important pictures are, or they just don’t have the time to make good pictures. And their social accounts don’t get the results they could.
The picture is your best chance to get eyeballs and make new fans — so use it properly!
Being Out Of Touch
Don’t be the “Hello Fellow Kids” meme! You want to make sure you’re speaking your audience’s language, but only if you can do it properly. There’s no bigger turn-off than a business that tries too hard to sound “hip”: it feels sleazy and inauthentic.
If you’re not “young” and “hip,” and you’re not 100% confident you can pull off a perfect internet voice, the next best thing is to not try at all. Don’t take too many risks with what you post. If it sounds weird to you, then change it.
Being Too Sales-y
People love to buy things, but they hate to feel sold. So they’ll love the occasional sales post, but if they come across your social page and every other post is trying to sell them something, they’ll feel put off, and they’ll dip.
So, make sure your social media account doesn’t read like the “promotions” tab on your email account. Make it look more like
It’s okay to announce special offers or sales, but make sure your account isn’t all sales posts. Sprinkle in some other content here and there. Try to sound like a normal social media user, if you can.
WHAT TO DO INSTEAD
Make “Value Posts”.
Every now and then, post something fun. That something can be related to your business, or it can have nothing to do with it — it’s up to you.
You can do this without being unprofessional — I’m not suggesting you spill out all your deepest, darkest secrets or treat Twitter like your personal therapist — but you can get a little bit creative while still being conservative.
Only Sell When You Have An Excuse
Retail stores learned this the hard way: if you constantly have sales, people get used to the lower prices, and they stop paying full price.
The solution? Only have a sale when there’s an “excuse” — like a holiday. Don’t have sales just to have sales.
As a social media marketer, you should do the same thing. Whenever you’re selling something, try to have an “excuse”… like a special deal, or a new item you want to highlight. That makes it more “okay” to make sales posts, which means you can get away with making more sales posts, and making more sales from social media, without upsetting your fans.
Post Pretty Pictures
When people scroll through their feeds, all they’re seeing are pictures. That means they’re gonna make a snap judgment about your post based solely on the picture. In other words, bad pictures mean fewer views, and good pictures mean more views.
So you’d better have pictures worth stopping for. You can make these in Photoshop, but it’s tricky… you’d better be a really good graphic designer.
(Side note: I make branded social media pictures that a) get your eyeballs and b) show your business off in the best light possible… check that out here.)
Not Leaving Comments
Okay, this one won’t make or break your social accounts… but it’s a good way to go from “good” to “great”.
Social media’s supposed to be a dialogue. If all you do is post, it’s gonna look like you’re just in it for the money. (Which may be true, but it’s a big turn-off to your followers.)
Leaving comments screams authenticity. It’ll make you look more “real” to your followers. Plus, social media algorithms seem to like businesses that are active in the comments section.
Plus, by leaving comments on other people’s pages, you can get more eyeballs! More people will see you, and those people might follow you.
Act Like A Real Person.
Don’t use the comments to sell or to do any blatant PR. Use the comments as a chance to say something funny. Engage with the community. Be likable. Comment how other people comment.
Stay Positive As Much As You Can
This one should go without saying. Be polite. Spread positive vibes. Don’t be a Negative Nancy. People shouldn’t ever walk away from your social media pages unhappy.
When Someone Has A Problem, Do Your Best To Fix It
This one can be nerve-racking. If people come to your social media page complaining about an issue with your product or service, it’s up to you to fix it. Respond to these, and you show your audience that you care about making your customers happy.
BONUS: Biting Off More Than You Can Chew.
Social media’s hard. Getting the right voice and sounding authentic is really tricky, especially for beginners. And managing multiple accounts can be overwhelming: it can feel like a huge time sink.
So don’t bite off more than you can chew, and don’t leave other parts of your business to rot because you’re spending too much time on social media. If you can’t handle it all yourself, it’s best to hire someone to help.
Check out Lemonaid — my social media and graphic design agency that’s designed to give you more results and more free time.
WHAT YOU GET WITH LEMONAID.
3 branded graphics every week. (we’re talking beautiful social media images — the sort you can be proud to post on your page.) This saves you time, makes you look better, and gets you more eyeballs!
BONUS: Every week, we’ll send you actionable social media advice and guidance you can use to up your business’s social media game. That way, you can constantly improve, and eventually, figure the whole social media thing out well enough to confidently run your accounts.
To learn more about Lemonaid and how we can help you with your social media — click here.