Social media has become an excellent tool for marketing over the years. It has provided a cost-effective way to build an audience and advertise businesses in a way where one can build a strong connection with their customers like never before. It’s become a necessity for every business to have as half of the world’s population uses social media. Of those social media users, 54% of them use social media to research products. Yes, social media has proven itself to be an extremely helpful tool. But, as simple as social media marketing may seem, it’s also very easy to make mistakes. Improper social media etiquette can cost you followers, customer loyalty, and even your brand image. There are small mistakes such as not posting regularly or not responding to customer engagement on a post, but there’s one mistake that trumps them all – one that you should never, EVER make when running a social media account for your business.
Don’t oversell on social media.
When it comes to what to post on your social media channels, you can’t just sell yourself, your products, and your services demanding people to buy from you. When you pick up the phone and someone immediately tries to sell you something without your permission, what’s your first reaction? Often, you’ll just hang up the phone. Social media is your opportunity to mix things up and connect with your followers to build a trusted relationship so that when they need something, you or rather your business is their go-to place to buy from. If you’re constantly just trying to sell to them, what’s really in it for them to follow you? You have to give them a reason. Include interest posts, share articles, post vlogs, tell a joke, and most importantly, educate them as to why you’re an expert in your field – don’t just tell them what to buy and when to buy it.
Have you ever met someone at a party or event, and they couldn’t stop talking about themselves? We all know someone like that – constantly begging for attention, who also doesn’t tend to understand your personal bubble of space? That’s what it looks like to your followers if you’re constantly bombarding them with “buy my product” posts. When we encounter someone like that at a party, our first instinct is “how do I get away from this person.” You don’t want that to be anyone’s first impression when they see your business’ posts on social media.
So, what’s the solution to all of this if you think you’re an overseller on social media?
There are a few things you can do:
- Create a social media plan or calendar: Whether you plan a month or a year ahead, think about how often each week you will post and what type of content you will post. A couple of “buy my product posts” a week won’t hurt, but just be mindful of how often you’re making these posts and sprinkle in helpful information or quick videos that your followers will either find interesting or relate to personally.
- Leave the overselling to your advertising. If you’re worried about overselling yourself on social media, evaluate your content before you post it. Ask yourself if it’s something that sounds like an ad they would hear on the radio or read in a newspaper or if it’s something they would find on social media. It’s also a good idea to ask them if they find the content interesting enough to stop and actually read it or click a link you’ve included.
- Re-evaluate your goals with social media marketing: If your goal with your social media is to solely increase your sales, you’re on it for the wrong reason. Yes, one way that social media can help your business is by increasing conversions, generating new leads, and informing customers about your products and services, but it’s a lot more than that, and your customers know this too. They actually expect customer service through your social media pages, so if they ask a question, you had better have a plan in place to respond to comments and messages regularly throughout the day. If you don’t respond in a timely manner, they’ll be gone faster than you can say “How can I help you”, three days later.
If you’re ready to go from ‘social media overseller’ to ‘social media savvy’ we can get you there at 3SIXTY Marketing Solutions! We offer a variety of services such as our Social Media Starter Kits and our Social Media Training Courses to help you take your social media game to the next level! Heck, even if you don’t want the hassle of running your social media, we can do that for you as well! Click here to get more information on a hands-free approach. We can create and write posts customized to your brand and your business’s goals and post to your social media for you! All you have to do to get started is give us a call at our office at 705-252-4180 and we will take care of the rest.
