Whether you are launching a new business or making the move to invest in a multi channel social media marketing campaign to help you grow your presence online, knowing how to get started is key to ensuring that you proceed on the right foot. Too many brands jump into social media, assuming that they will have time to perfect their strategy.
How Not to Start a Social Media Campaign
You can do far more harm than good leaping in without thinking – even if you start out with just a handful of followers. Keep reading to find out how not to kick-start your social media campaign, and what to do instead of these commonly made mistakes.
What is the worst thing to do when starting a social media campaign? Let’s take a look.
Treating all channels the same
Without a doubt, one of the biggest things to avoid is taking a cookie cutter approach to social media. Every single channel is unique, with very specific requirements and guidelines for word counts, image sizes and even content. A number of people will follow brands on more than one channel. When you share the same content across every channel, you run the risk of blurring your message and losing followers.
What to do instead: Invest in a strategy that tailors content that is unique to each platform, for a well-rounded campaign that is relevant, on target and designed to generate results across each channel.
Spamming news feeds
Another common mistake is trying to force or trick followers into liking, sharing or commenting on your content. Linkbaiting may seem like a fast way to get more clicks or shares but it can very quickly get you reported for violating community guidelines. It also puts off genuine followers who are hoping to interact with your brand.
What to do instead: Create social media content that is well-written, relevant and interesting. Use graphics, video and text. Focus on crafting posts that people want to share without being prompted or tricked into sharing.
Posting without a plan
Yet another thing that we see on a regular basis is brands that fill their social pages with meaningless fluff that has no purpose or goal other than making it seem that the page is active. Personal posts, potentially harmful or inflammatory posts, memes that are not appropriate or relevant, mindless updates and anything else that does not help you position your brand online is all a waste of your precious time and resources.
What to do instead: Invest in a well-rounded strategy that incorporates industry news, topical articles shared from trusted sources, shares from industry pages, your own blog topics, useful infographics and images, videos and other targeted content.
We hope that these tips make it easier to start your social media campaign in a way that is geared towards success.
