Social Media: Are we making the right moves?

We continue to twitter, add blogs, post articles we feel are relevant to our “followers”, but are they really out there and taking all this information in; never mind acting upon it? Social Media can be frustrating, and seem that at times, we are simply getting no return for our efforts.  But we know at Morello Digital, that social media, has generated significantly more enquiries and ultimately business for our clients. So we know it works, and encourage you all NEVER to give up on it!

But we have put together a few of the common mistakes that are made in Social Media, in the hope that you can avoid the pitfalls, and ensure you make the time spent on social media much more effective.

1. Don’t follow people for the sake of it! You will spend too much time being interrupted by irrelevant tweets, blog posts and status updates. Results are achieved slowly, and over time. Followers, “friends” etc. does not equal sales necessarily.

2. You don’t need to use every social media tool. Focus on the social media sites that are most relevant to you and your business. The ones that are a good fit to you.  If you are selling holidays to the over65s, then designing a glitzy page and profile on MySpace will not be the cleverest move you will make.

3. No flash in the pan. It is not easy to keep going..we know that, and we sympathise with you.  If you are not prepared for the long haul, you simply won’t get anywhere.  You need to have a long-term social media strategy.

4. Don’t treat it as kids stuff either! Give it the respect that it deserves..it is not easy, and you must not take your company’s online reputation in any way for granted. Set expectations and create policies in-house to enhance your online reputation.

5. Social Media is not free. You can sign-up for accounts on Twitter and Facebook for free, sure, but your goals will not happen without a significant investment in time and money. Start allocating a budget and some resources to it ..no budget, no time = No results.

6. Don’t say things for the sake of it! Your company has far too  much to lose if you ruin your online reputation. Make everything relevant, honest, and in line with the values of your company and your clients.

7. Measure your progress..set realistic monthly targets for social media. Experiment all the time, but benchmark the time and money against the targets. Social Media, like all other marketing efforts, must result in a positive ROI/ Return on Investment.

8. It won’t happen overnight..small steps…

We know it’s not easy; but our clients continue to be surprised by the measurable results they are achieving working with us on their social media strategies. Drop us a line, and let’s see what we can do for you!