5 top social media mistakes small businesses must avoid

Mistakes happen all the time online. Most small businesses know that social media is increasingly important for raising awareness of their company, but many have fallen foul to reoccurring mistakes. Some of the time, those mistakes can't be helped, but other times, they are completely avoidable. Here's an outline of the top five social media mistakes small businesses make, but must avoid.

1. Too many platforms at once

When small business owners are motivated to use social media, they often want to create a profile on every platform available. But not all platforms are suitable for all businesses. Instead, think about what platforms your target demographic is most likely to use and commit to putting resources behind those.

2. Sell, rather than engage

Social media is an opportunity for you to communicate with your customers. Don't just promote your business offers; share your opinion on relevant, current stories and don't be afraid to get involved in conversations.

3. Not measuring results

If you are investing time and resources into social media, you must measure its success. As part of your social media strategy, set your goals and ensure you have a way to monitor results. Tools such as Sprout Social, Social Bakers and Hootsuite all offer analytics. 

4. Ignoring negative comments

When I first started running social media accounts, I was astounded by the number of companies willing to ignore, or even worse, delete negative comments. Eight years on, attitudes have improved substantially, but occasionally, small business owners will be faced with negative comments. Always address the issue in the public forum and then contact the disgruntled customer offline if necessary. Never, ever, ignore their feedback on social media.

5. Not investing enough time

Here's the bad news: building online communities takes time. So if you want to expand your online network, you have to be willing to put the time in. Taking on a freelance social media planner takes the strain off you and usually gets you better results than if you go it alone. And if you can't invest any time in social yourself, it's definitely best to get a flexible freelancer in to take the reins.

Small businesses can really benefit from social media, but only if they use it properly. If you have an online presence, then chances are you should be using social media marketing in some form. If you'd like to grow your social media platforms but aren't sure where to start, contact me to discuss your project.

Need social media help? Email me at katy@katyratican.com for a free quote. 

This article was originally written for LinkedIn.