Social Media Done Wrong: What You Should Avoid This Year
October 15, 2018
Social media began as a way to mix and mingle online but has quickly become a touchstone for marketing. No matter what industry a business belongs to, advertising on social media platforms can make a huge difference to its success. Social media is not new, but it evolves constantly, making it important to keep up with new trends, updates, upgrades, and more.
While there are plenty of online guides depicting the best practices for online marketing via social media accounts such as Twitter and Instagram, there are very few explaining the pitfalls that should be avoided. Below, you’ll find an in-depth review of 3 key factors which should be avoided at all costs during your social media marketing campaign.
1. Impersonal Messenger Bots: This is something of a conversation starter among social media businesses as some claim bots are a saving grace for customer relations, while others insist they’re too impersonal. Here’s the rub: while bots are useful in answering FAQ’s or redirecting customers when your CSR is offline and unable to chat in person, a bot doesn’t send a personal message to the consumer.
Messenger bots have become popular over the past few years, something which consumers have noticed and even complain about in some instances. While most bots are helpful, some detract from a company’s unique brand by labeling it as something so generic as to require an automated presence and pre-set answer. This can make customers feel unimportant or undervalued; a social media mistake which could cost you followers and reduce the number of shares, likes, and positive reviews you receive.
These answering services have been described as confusing by older adults learning to use social media for the first time. If a consumer doesn’t immediately realize that they’re conversing with an automated message, it could become a frustrating and confusing interaction very quickly.
2. Trying to Grow Your Follower Base by Becoming a Follower
In the early days of Instagram, all it took to gain the interest of followers was to follow at random. Many users began collecting a fan base by simply clicking on and following any other user who caught their eye. This began a perpetual cycle of account growth and fast growing insta-celebrities. So, why should you use this tactic today?
The days of blind random following are long behind us, with many social media users preferring to be highly selective with whom they follow back. Not only do these users want to see compelling photos, videos, links, and updates on their news feed, they also want to protect their privacy and create secure accounts which aren’t being accessed or sold to 3rd party marketing interests.
Consumers getting hip to this process and avoiding it at all cost, and it can cause your account to appear spammy or fake. The latest social media rules and regulations have put a stop to all spam and fake account creation, meaning your account could potentially get deleted, or at the very least, frozen, if it’s assumed to be a dishonest profile.
Just as building a long-term relationship requires patience, confidence and organic interactions, so too does building a strong and relevant following base. Businesses looking to attract followers within their target market will have to take the time to attract or interact with them.
3. Too Many Hidden Backlinks in Content
Backlinks can be a great way to help consumers access your products and services, but when they’re overused, they appear spammy and dishonest. One of the major fads that hit the marketing world in the past few years was to overload content with backlinks mixed infrequently throughout a blog, landing page, or social media post. The hope, of course, is that customers will curiously click these links and find themselves shopping through the ecommerce site.
The problem with the backlink stuffing is that it’s become so prominent in online marketing that it alerts the customer to your overall plan, negating any true rapport you’ve built. A similar issue has been seen lately with the use of hashtags, which are helpful and fun in some situations and downright annoying and obvious in others.
To appear as a knowledgeable writer on your subject of preference, use engaging, genuine, relevant content which will draw in the consumer all on its own. If you require a little nudge here and there, one or two back links used in the right places can make a social media post appear helpful and encourage the customer to visit your official site without being pushy.
The social media game is still a bit of an open concept marketing tool as there are few rules to follow outside of the obvious. Be genuine, be personal, make contact, and don’t stuff, then you shouldn’t have any problem creating a social media brand which consumers feel comfortable with and are drawn to. 2019 is sure to bring its own set of social media rules to follow, but for now, these appear to be the main hot button topics of platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
If you’ve been making some of the above-mentioned mistakes, don’t be discouraged. The social media game is constantly changing, but it’s here to stay and many consumers have voiced their delight at being able to access the businesses they use services and products from. Nothing makes a company seem more accessible than being present with customers and clients.