Social Media Mistakes Made by Businesses

I have become a student of social media. So, I tend to pay attention to what small and big businesses and how they do social media and online engagement. A lot of players are getting in the game now from Dell to Sears to Best Buy to some glaring omissions from Honda, Whirlpool and a few others.  After talking with others via Twitter, Facebook and even face to face (yeah, that is still done), I drilled down a list of 5 things that businesses both locally and nationally are doing wrong.

Brand Identity – the fact that it is pretty easy to get online creating profiles or some other presence via the popular sites it does not matter what platform.  But, they tend to leave info out from one platform to the next or they have too many cooks in the kitchen. So, much so that a consistent brand identity gets lost or miss communicated.  A company wide goal must be established with all messages ringing true wit all divisions.

Engage – This is perhaps my biggest gripe, when a company or a person just broadcasts their message with little or no response to questions or comments this will lead me into another key point in just a moment. But, when someone ignores people in the web 2.0 world it just tells me that they are there to be seen and heard but not learn and interact to the wants and needs of their customers.

Really, it is called social for a reason…

Appreciation – the “no fun” area…dell gives discounts, a pizza place gives free topping to its mayor and starbucks give a $1 off of frappes to its mayor. However someplaces treat their fans, followers and friends like a captive audience (which they are), but give no other incentive to stick around and be a member of the tribe.  They don’t recognize anyone for ideas, suggestions, compliments and God forbid if you complain, you just may get a form letter.

It really does not take a lot, just show some love

Control – Push and pull,leading and controlling, sometimes you just need to BE.  Seriously, let your fans lead the conversation, led them control the situation.  An open mouth really hears nothing at all.  Converse with them, some of the best ideas you get may just come from your clients.  Also, let them talk to each other without interference.  You just may be surprised at what they come up with to help you make more money.

Giving up – Quitting to early, not giving themselves time to get any kind of traction in the space. Expecting too much too soon. The ROI may see ma little out of balance in the beginning but in the long haul it will really balance out.  Dell has seen a $3 million dollar increase in social media sales,and they know that number will grow.  Hey, Rome was not built in a day and you cannot expect to conquer social media in a day.

Connecting with your clients via social media is not rocket science, but it needs to be carefully thought out with clearly defined goals. Take the time, spend the money and you can reap the rewards

For a free social media consultation give me a call at (219)841-5053 and no this will not be a prelude to a sales call

Dave

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