Social media marketing done correctly has huge potential to build a community, grow your customer base and increase revenue. But with the social landscape changing quickly, it’s easy to make mistakes. Here at Celtic, we offer comprehensive social media audits, where we take a look at everything your brand is doing on social, from your overall strategy down to tactical, day-to-day initiatives. Through conducting these audits, we’ve noticed a few trends. Below are three social media marketing mistakes we’re seeing brands make, and how to fix them.
1. You’re trying to be in too many places
In the not-too-distant past, if a brand wanted to get started on social media, the first step was usually to create a Facebook page and maybe a Twitter account if they were feeling ambitious. Then other platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest started growing in popularity, so it only made sense to jump on the bandwagon. Now, we see a lot of brands who are trying to do too much on social media and they’re not really honing in on the platforms that make the most sense for their brand. If this sounds like you, we’d challenge you to consider these three things – who is your ideal customer and where do they spend their time? What are your specific goals for social media? Which platform fits your brand style? Then, identify 1-2 platforms that make the most sense for your brand and focus on building your community there. Your brand doesn’t need to be everywhere to see success.
2. You’re not investing in high-quality visual content
If you want your message to be seen by your audience (which, of course you do!) you’re going to have to create content that can break through the noise. Whether you’re posting images, graphics or video, high quality visual content is so important for social media marketing. If you have the budget, hiring a professional photographer is worth the cost. If not, you’ll want to invest in a quality camera or at least smartphone, and learn the basics of good lighting and composition. And don’t be afraid to play around with video, both live and pre-recorded. The more your visuals stand out, the better response you’re going to see.
3. You’re not A/B testing
A/B testing involves comparing two almost-identical pieces of content with one small variation to determine which is most effective. Testing this way isn’t a new concept, but we’ve found a lot of brands haven’t implemented it into their social media strategy yet. Instead of publishing a post once and forgetting about it, schedule the link or image to be shared multiple times with different headlines or copy. If you’re running a Facebook ad, try a few different versions with different copy, a different call to action, or targeted to a slightly different audience. You’ll never know what works the best if you’re not testing.
If you want to take your social media marketing to the next level, or simply want to make sure you’re maximizing your efforts on social, Celtic is here to help! Reach out on social media or send an email to create@celticinc.com for more information.