A company’s digital market plan requires many layers and campaigns working together to create a digital footprint that sends the right message about the company’s audience and ideals. With company accounts on many websites, including the top social media sites, it’s important to ensure the different moving parts of your strategy are going together. A digital marketing agency like Wren Interactive can help your company coordinate its social media and marketing.
Many top companies have their social media and marketing at opposite ends, leading them to accidentally sabotage their own message.
6 Ways Businesses Self-Sabotage With Their Social Media and Marketing
1. Not Diversifying
It’s easy for companies to assume that their presence is only worthwhile on one or two social media platforms and ignore the rest, especially for niche products. A fashion-focused product will have less of a presence on Facebook, while a product geared towards older customers might not find as much of an audience on Instagram. Understanding the core purpose of each social media channel is important, but we recommend having a presence on all of them to cast the widest net.
Twitter is the great equalizer of social media, as its short format and convenient search engine make it easy for any company to be found and build a brand. Facebook skews older and is declining in popularity in recent years, but its big advantage is it allows for more text and is perfect for any company that needs to convey more information. The image-heavy focus of Instagram skews young and is ideal for showing off your product’s most attractive features.
2. Keeping Content Exclusive
Original content is one of the most important parts of fusing your social media and marketing, and we recommend working with content creators to keep your website and social media update with blog posts and other content.
Many companies make the mistake of only posing original content on one platform, or alternating. You want your content to lead to your website and reach the biggest audience possible, so cross-posting is an important step to remember. Content can and should be adapted for every platform.
A common strategy is to post a short clip of your content on Twitter and Instagram, accompanied by an image, with a larger portion on Facebook. Any posting of content on social media should include a link to your website that makes it easy for visitors to learn more and make a purchase.
3. Not Explaining the Product
This is a common problem for companies pushing a lifestyle or fashion design rather than a practical product because they let the image speak for itself. This can work short-term, but long-term companies need to explain to the customer how the product will make their life better or solve a common problem.
This is where having multiple social media channels working together works to your advantage; because they all serve different purposes. Your Twitter and Instagram platforms serve as the “hook” due to their limited text and focus on images, but they should always lead to more information.
Facebook posts should be longer and explain the core concept of your product to hook customers. Ideally, all three platforms should direct customers to your website, where you can convert curiosity into purchases.
4. Not Having a Good Landing Website
All the work on setting up your social media and marketing strategy can be for nothing if your customers arrive on your website and are instantly frustrated by bad or outdated design.
Too many companies set up a website at their opening and let it stagnate for years, but a regular refresh is essential to keep business flowing. Your website should be fast, easy to navigate, uncluttered, and include clear signs to let customers know where to find more information and how to purchase.
Many companies also ignore the growing presence of the mobile purchase market, and not every site that works well on desktop computers is optimized for mobile use. More than two-thirds of customers make their purchases on mobile now, so any good website design team should make sure you have a version that works well on tablets and smartphones.
Ideal mobile websites are fast, easy to click on a touch-screen, and with well-spaced pages to ensure accurate redirection to the purchase page.
5. Treating Customers Like One-Time Visitors
The most successful companies don’t treat the point of purchase as the end of the relationship but the start of a more lucrative long-term partnership. This is where e-mail marketing becomes the third leg of the social media and marketing plan. Smart companies prompt customers to sign up for an e-mail list so they can keep them updated on the company’s future sales and product announcements.
A strong e-mail marketing list will keep your product in these customers’ minds, especially at purchase-heavy times of the year like graduation season, Valentine’s Day, and Christmas. It’s also an excellent way to cultivate a positive body of reviews by inviting customers to review you on major websites like Yelp and Google Reviews. The best way to get repeat customers is to make them feel like they’re a part of the brand’s “family.”
6. Ignoring Customer Service
Your social media pages are the first place most people will see your company, and they’re also the first place they’ll come when they have a comment or complaint. If you check the comments on any branded account’s Twitter or Instagram post, you’ll find a list of people asking questions and hoping for an answer from whoever is manning the account. Facebook’s built-in messenger system makes it easier to send private messages to an account’s page for fast responses.
The downfall of many brands’ social media accounts is that they don’t have someone regularly answering those questions. Getting ahead of a customer’s question or complaint is a good way to fend off a negative review and turn a dissatisfied customer into a satisfied one. Many companies are using chatbot software to answer common questions and redirect people, ensuring customers can get their questions answered during off-hours.
The most successful companies treat their social media as the hub of their customer service outreach. Unlike older methods like e-mail and customer helplines, you’re not dependent on having someone on staff to answer questions, and customers can see each other’s responses. That helps to cut down on the number of repetitions because the public platform creates a natural history of frequently answered questions.
Social Media and Marketing: Natural Partners
Whether you’re getting ready to launch your company’s digital presence or think it could use a tune-up, your social media platforms are key to long-term success in the crowded marketplace.
Ensuring your marketing strategy works with your social media presence to create a clear picture of your company’s appeal and demographic is essential, and a full-service digital marketing agency can help. Contact Wren Interactive for more information on our services or set up a consultation today.
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