Top 5 Small Business Social Media Mistakes

Social Media Marketing is no longer something you should think about doing for your small business. Social media should now be an important part of your business growth strategy.

There are , however, common mistakes that small businesses continue to make which is resulting in very little, if any, business growth via social media. In fact in most cases the small business owner blames the social media site for lack of success rather than looking at what they may be doing wrong.

Let's look at the most common small business social media mistakes and how making a few small changes can make a big difference.

TOP 5 SMALL BUSINESS SOCIAL MEDIA MISTAKES

1. Assuming your potential customers only use Facebook

This same principle applies for Twitter and Linkedin. Many small business owners pick the social media site they are personally familiar with and promote their business on that site only. In most cases this is Facebook. No business owner can or should assume that all of their customers and potential sales leads use that same social media site.

TIP: Spread your wings and have at least 3 social media accounts. You can link them all to update automatically so you dont have triple the workload.

2. Promoting your small business from a personal profile

There is nothing wrong with sharing more of yourself with fans via social media. It can be difficult to convey a personality via social media so letting people know there is a face behind the text can be highly beneficial. However, by combining a personal and business account not only are you informing everyone of the goings on in your private life, you are also missing out on many features available to business accounts on social media sites that are not available to a personal profile (your business is also missing out on SEO opportunities).

TIP: Take the time to set your business up with it's own social media profile.

3. Underestimating the financial value of a social media account

One area that  we at Small Business Gurus are involved with is working alongside brokers to calculate the value of a business. This may be when an owner is ready to sell or requires capital. Recently we have seen numerous business values increase due to the success of a social media account. Why? Because active fans are a potential database, and those databases sell for a fortune. There is obviously more to it than just having a fan base, but this is seriously a growth area.

TIP: Start realising that building a large fan base could well and truly be a financial investment in your business.

4. Engaging but not selling

It's all good and well to engage in banter with fans, or to have people LIKE or Follow you. However what good is having a bunch of likers if 2 years on nobody has ever been converted to a customer? Business is about making money, it's nice to be popular but business more than just having a fan base.

TIP: Be smarter with your social media accounts. Look at what you sell and research how you will promote that service or product via social media to generate sales.

5. Neglecting Fans and Followers

So the hard yards have been done and you have a bunch of fans of followers. Big deal! I hear the same thing over and over again. "We have 2000 fans". The problem is anyone can pay $5 on fivver.com and get 1200 fans in 24 hours, so numbers mean nothing to me. However, if I take time out to comment on a post from a page I like , I feel pretty good when the owner of the site answers me or thanks me for my time.

TIP: Don't neglect your fans or followers. Thank them, mention them and make them feel appreciated. You will be amazed at the rapport you will start building which will lead to potential business.

For help with your social media campaign email our social media team today.