Social media marketing mistakes I’ve witnessed and want you to stop right now

social media marketing adelaide

Facebook is thirteen and a half years old. So why businesses still insist on running their own social media marketing astounds me. There are many passionate professionals in the industry that can help you avoid the most basic of social media marketing mistakes plus showcase your brand and your services or products in the best way possible.
 
Here are some fundamentals of getting your Facebook and Instagram marketing right that have stemmed from social media marketing mistakes that I’ve witnessed from businesses recently. Yes, even in 2017!

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Caption to capture attention

​Write compelling captions and status updates. ‘Try Product Name today’ is not compelling enough. Give your potential customers a reason to try your product. How will it enhance their life, make their day easier or affect their emotions? Be specific and clear and make one point per post.
 
If you ARE encouraging your customers to buy your product or service, make sure you are sending them somewhere by adding a link in your post.
 
And don’t post an image without a caption or some kind of indication of why you have posted it. 

The devil of duplication

Don’t post the same content. Facebook’s algorithm will disregard your content if you keep posting the same type. By type I really mean medium. Don’t post a single image every single day for two weeks straight. If you want Facebook to share your content with a wider range of people, you need to mix it up a bit with links, shared content, text only status updates, images and native video. 
 
This should go without saying but I witness it all too often and it destroys my marketing soul a little. DO NOT double up your content on Instagram and Facebook. If you are posting the same content to each platform (especially at the same time), you would be wise to invest some time into learning the differences between the platforms and how they act in the marketing space. Whilst I do think it’s occasionally okay to do this (I’m talking once every few months at most), posting the exact same content (and not even modifying it for the platforms) at the same time is lazy and ineffective. 

The fastest way to destroy credibility

​Bad spelling this destroys me (obviously) and it destroys your credibility as a professional business that can be trusted. Remember: ‘use correct grammar and spelling to convey a professional tone and generate trust from your audience.‘ 

As well as eliminating bad grammar it’s wise to limit your overuse of grammar. Quit! It! With! The! Exclamation points! There should be ONE exclamation point (at the absolute most) in your post.
 
Likewise, reserved for desperate MLM pushers, a post status overladen with emojis just screams tacky. Limit your emojis to one or two to portray an emotion or make a point. Don’t substitute every fourth word with one, or your brand will lose credibility, seem juvenile and have minimal business credence. 

Here are five reasons why every business needs professional photography.

Don’t give yourself a bad image

social media photosA professional food photo will leave your mouth watering.

Always shell out for professional photography. Especially if you’re in an industry where your business relies on visual mediums to sell your product/service, such as fashion, retail products, beauty items, food and beverages, design, real estate and property and experiences. If you are your brand, product or service make sure you arrange for professional headshots and stylised captures.

Using the internet to sell your product or service means you are removing certain senses that enhance the selling process, so images have the very important function of doing most of the selling for you.


Facebook posts with images see 2.3X more engagement than those without images. (Buzzsumo, 2015)

Off brand badness

Limit posting content that you’ve created, that doesn’t really tie in with your brand, as much as possible. There’s some leeway when you’re sharing content and there can be more a tenuous link between the content and your brand or your brand or product.
 
If you are creating content for your brand, make sure you are keeping on track with your branding/style guide. Stick to one or two fonts, colours and consistent images and style so that people who see your content immediately recognise that it belongs to you. Although you may long for freshness, deviating from a very clear and consistent (and instantly recognisable) look will damage your brand and render your content not just useless but confusing and diversionary. Don’t forget that your potential and existing customers aren’t as familiar with your content as you are, so they may not be longing for freshness like you are.
 
If you’re unsure, ask this question:
If I post this photo of a dog, will our viewers know what this has to do with our brand without explaining it?
 
This will help you be very clear on whether you should post it or not!

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