Especially in the case of startups, social media marketing is a crucial aspect that will make or break your business. In my opinion, this is the best way to boost your newly founded business into another atmosphere. Moreover, you will gain some well-needed momentum which will help you build on. While sometimes it is not given much consideration, social media has to be done right so that it proves effective. To start off on the right foot, make sure you start by making a statement and begin strong. Be aware of what must be done and what must be avoided.
Being an up-and-coming contended, you only get one shot at making a good first impression among the people in your social media circles. If you waste this opportunity you’ll have some ground to cover and that must be done really fast. Here are the five “deadly sins” that you should avoid at all cost. Otherwise, you might just end up in Twitter’s purgatory of social media irrelevance.
1. Don’t get fooled into thinking you must be everywhere regardless of the fact that temptation will prove to be a worthy opponent. The perception among social media experts is that every such site has a generous amount of “hunting prey” and it would be a shame not to take advantage of it. Otherwise, another predator will. Providing relevant and original context on several social networks can prove to be a tad difficult at times. This usually results in laying down a poor foundation for the entire social media marketing process. Startup companies should only choose networks that provide the most targeted prospects and the largest audiences. When sales begin to significantly increase and you start building your dream team you can then try your luck with other social networks. However, always take into consideration that quality and not quantity should be your main focus.
2. If I were to begin a new startup, I wouldn’t use those extensive promotions that do not take into account audience engagement. You probably know a guy who has done it. If not, I assure you that it didn’t really end up great as it spelled social media suicide. I am not saying that self-promotion is a bad thing, but there should be some sort of a balance between enticing content and engagement on one hand and marketing on the other. The 80/20 rule works just fine. Get the balance wrong, you’re on a certain path to social media irrelevance. Forget about the old-fashioned one-way advertising as this will not work in today’s business environment.
3. Never forget to plan. What happens if people lack trust in your or simply do not know who you are? Your product or service, regardless of the greatness of it, will have to suffer. Going viral is unlikely to happen if you won’t create a buzz and make a statement so that people know you’re here and you’re here to stay. Quizzes, polls, videos will help, but they can only take you so far. You need to figure out a posting schedule and follow it accordingly. This will make your audience aware of your presence and make them know that you engage. Establish clear objectives because this will translate into the simplification of planning and execution.
4. Whatever you do, stay away from boring content. This will turn out to be counterproductive. There is a difference between talking with the audience and talking to them. Choose the former and leave those dull opening lines aside. If humor is not your strong point, find the member of your team who is the most funny and appoint him or her to the task. Also, if that doesn’t work, a genuine question or an intelligent response will do the trick. Show your audience your beautiful personality and they’ll love you for it. Do this and you’ll be selling in no time. The main goal is to attract attention and stimulate engagement. People cannot be bored, so be careful you won’t turn people off without even noticing that you’re doing it.
5. Enthusiastic is the way to go. Most startups begin to lose steam shortly after their birth. While this can be associated with laziness or lack of focus, most of the times it is attributed to impatience. While in today’s environment every second counts, social media marketing is more like a marathon rather than a sprint. You should tweak the performance by measuring metrics, track your competition and adapt to what the audience expects from you. You can gather all this data by focusing on their behavior. A loss in enthusiasm will translate into a fade of momentum. One key aspect is to get to know your audience and brace yourself for the trip of your lifetime. While this will mean you have to put a ton of effort into it, perfect your craft and continue engaging your audience. Sooner or later some cool stuff will come up that will show the audience that you really care about them. It should be an enjoyable thing to do so make sure to enjoy it.
