8 Reasons your Social Media Campaign is Failing and what you Should Do About It

As a result, 2 million businesses are now using Facebook to advertise their company, while 93% of social media users log on to their Pinterest account for the sole purpose of buying/selling. Another statistic reveals that Facebook brought in more than $9 billion of revenue during the last quarter of 2017.

On the other hand, many incidents of 2017 might make you lose your trust on social media. From the conservative Ted Cruz liking a pornographic tweet to a ‘racist’ Facebook advert of a black woman turning white after using Dove lotion – social media is full of surprises.

Simply put, if some marketers have found success on social media, it doesn’t mean success is guaranteed for your business too. In fact, social media can make or break you, and if a marketer does not follow the best practices, chances are their social media campaign may fail. To help the marketers with their social media campaign, here are eight of the most common mistakes along with ways to avoid them:

1. Not targeting the right users

As mentioned earlier, 22% of the world’s population uses Facebook, but that doesn’t mean you have to reach them all. In fact, only a specific community of social media users will be interested in your product/service, and it makes perfect sense to reach out to them only. Take the example of cereal companies who usually show ads of their product during cartoon commercials. Why? Because children are their most loyal customers and the colorful advertisements lure them into buying more of the sugar-laden goodies.

Conduct a thorough market research of your business industry and find out where your audience is. For instance, women use Facebook more while their male counterparts are more attracted to Twitter. On the other hand, Amazon app is the most popular amongst millennials, and most young adults claim to have the software installed on their smartphone.

Tip: Know your audience

2. Failing to communicate

Social media marketing is more than merely posting content online. It means to be social and successful on the associated channel; you have to interact with the audience at all levels. According to J.D. Power, 67% of consumers use a company’s social media channel for customer service. They also want a fast response. In fact, 42% of consumers expect a response within 60 seconds.

The example of Starbucks is not new for most of us. America’s favorite coffee place created My Starbucks Idea along with an exclusive Twitter handle to take suggestions from their customers. Till date, the company has received more than 210,000 ideas and has even implemented the best ones.

Tip: Your customer is always right. Listen to them!

3. Lack of consistency

Your social media account is like a job – you have to show up on time and do the given work. If you show up less, your audience is likely to forget you exist. On the other hand, if you post too frequently, your audience might get bored. So how to strike a balance?

The best way to manage social media account is to create a routine and follow it religiously. Experts also claim that there are optimal posting frequencies for the different social media channels. For example:

• Facebook posts should be updated 1-2 times per day
• 15 tweets on Twitter per day
• 2 Instagram posts per day
• Around 11-12 posts on Pinterest

Tip: Create a social media schedule

a. Avoid posting the same content

Being consistent doesn’t mean you have to be boring. Social media marketers often make the mistake of using the same material on all their social media accounts. However, you must remember that each social media platform is different. For example, Instagram and Pinterest users prefer images over content. On the other hand, you can add written posts along with videos and pictures on Facebook. Take into account the social media you are using and create content according to the platform.

Tip: Don’t bore your audience

4. Not using hashtag

75% of social media users add #hashtag in their posts. Tweets with hashtags also receive more engagement than those that are without them. A hashtag is an integral part of any social media marketing strategy. When done right, they can generate the right audience and even help companies create a unique brand for themselves. For example, Coca-Cola and Red Bull started their hashtag marketing campaign with #ShareaCoke and #PutACanOnIt respectively. The Red Bull campaign encouraged customers to share their images with Red Bull can in unique positions while Share a Coke trend started a sub-campaign for customers to win a chance to #ShareaCoke with celebrities like Ryan Seacrest.

5. Not using performance indicators

There are several ways to assess whether your social media marketing strategy is working or not. First, check out the metrics on your social media account. Are you gaining more followers? What about likes, tweets, and shares? Are they increasing? Google Analytics is another way to check whether visitors on your website are coming directly from social media or not. Analyze all areas, and if you find improvement in your sales, then chances are that your social media strategy is working just fine. But if you see less interaction with the consumers, then maybe you should revise your strategy.

6. Having unrealistic expectations

Always remember, a social media account won’t double your revenue overnight. And one thing that works for a specific company won’t necessarily work for others in the same niche. Take the example of tech giant Apple and Samsung. Social media has always been the priority of Samsung which also has a robust online presence. However, the most significant company in the world Apple opened a Twitter customer support account in the year 2017. Apparently, not having a social media presence hasn’t hurt the business of Apple in any way.

In reality, a social media strategy takes time and a lot of effort to grow. Thus, if you are expecting hundreds of responses after only posting a single tweet, then maybe it’s time to lower your expectations. Be consistent and with time, you will see an improvement in your followers.

7. Not taking help

As a business owner, you won’t have the time to handle all aspects of your social media singlehandedly. And of course, you can’t be there for your audience 24/7. Take the example of Waterstone Bookstore’s London location where the employee accidentally locked a man inside. The man sent out a tweet from inside the store, and luckily, the company had hired someone to monitor their social media which resulted in the immediate release of the man. Imagine what would have happened if Waterstone Bookstore had stopped listening to their customer for one day.

Final word

Social media marketing, if implemented correctly, can bring lots of success for your business. Avoid the mistakes mentioned above and do let us know how your marketing strategy helped your business. Good luck!

Author Bio:

About Ashley Rosa: Ashley Rosa is a freelance writer and blogger. As writing is her passion that is why she loves to write articles related to the latest trends in technology and sometimes on health-tech as well.  She is crazy about chocolates. You can find her at twitter: @Ashrosa2