When it comes to social media, there is no doubt that it’s become quite pervasive. So much so, in fact, that it’s no longer a question of whether a business should be on social media, but a question of how best to do it, and how much time to spend on it.

If any of the following sound like you, it might be time to invest a little more time in social media.

 

1. You’ve been in business for several years, but have noticed several startups coming on the scene using similar terminology. Grab those social media profiles and get custom URLs using your brand name, before your new competitors take them from you.

2. Your last status update was over a year ago. Social media is a great way to communicate with your audience and a way for potential customers to discover you. Inactivity on your profiles tends to translate to a sense of inactivity and mistrust around your business too.

3. And, all the posts above-the-fold on your profiles are from other people. Brands with extremely engaged audiences will sometimes find this happening, but, on many feeds (like Facebook), posts from others show up in a different area.

4. You have no idea what the previous two items even mean. If you, or anyone on your staff, is unfamiliar with the basic terminology of social media, it’s definitely long past time to start learning (or hiring someone who knows their way around the social realm).

5. Your customers are actively engaged on a platform, but you’re not. You should be where your customers are. Engaging on the same social media platforms as your customers is a great way to participate in and track conversations already happening about your products, services, and/or brand.

6. Your competitors are actively engaged on the same platforms, but you’re not. If both your customers and your competitors are on a social media platform, you should be as well. Otherwise, your competitors will be the only brand voices your customers hear.

7. Your customers are getting engaged to your competitors on the same platforms! Wait, wait. That’s brand loyalty (but you’re still missing out). On a more serious note, if your customers are talking and your competitors are the only ones answering them, you’re handing opportunities to build relationships with your customers to your competitors. Social media, when used effectively, is another avenue to begin, build, and strengthen relationships with your customers (i.e.: creating, maintaining, & increasing brand loyalty).

8. You hear the word “hashtag” and think it belongs in a D.A.R.E. program. This one goes along well with #4 (not a hashtag). If social media terms baffle you, it’s imperative to do some research and learning before jumping in. Spending some time listening on social media before posting can help you become familiar with various terms and how they’re normally used within various platforms.

9. You use hashtags like there’s a prize for fitting the highest amount in one tweet or post. Hashtags are meant to aggregate similar content together for easy discovery and consumption. It’s also a great way to track and participate in discussions around a common topic. At least this is how they’re used on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and even Pinterest (hashtags on YouTube direct you to posts with the same hashtag on Google+). Multiple hashtags are fine, as long as they’re relevant, but too many becomes a distraction. They operate similarly on Instagram and Tumblr, but hashtags on those platforms tend to take on a life of their own.

10. You use trending hashtags without knowing anything about them (Cue potential social media disaster). Jumping into conversations using trending hashtags can gain you a lot of exposure, but you need to be careful. Educate yourself first about what the trending hashtag is about to determine if your message belongs there. Seriously, all you have to do is click on it and you’ll be able to tell pretty quickly whether it’s a topic your brand should touch and how to handle it. Otherwise, you’ll end up like some of these hashtag fails:

For any hashtag you use, do your research first and try to be empathetic – if the hashtag is dealing with sensitive, potentially triggering situations or occurrences, use it appropriately. Or, if you’re incapable of writing a tweet that isn’t selling or advertising, don’t use it at all.

11. You don’t have a strategy in place for handling negative responses, errors, or potentially damaging occurrences. Social media is instant; once you post, it becomes content for people to consume. You can bet they’ll let you know how they feel about it, which can sometimes result in backlash for your company. Having a plan in place with how to handle these potential disasters is the best thing you can do for your brand’s social strategy and reputation. Learn some of the dos and don’ts from these 35 examples of social media fails.

12. You don’t update your offered products and services. Out of date listings are, not only disappointing to the customers and potential customers who see them, but they also can reflect negatively on your brand. If you are featuring products/services you no longer offer, or don’t offer yet, you’re simply misrepresenting yourself and setting up unrealistic expectations for your visitors. Plus, if you can’t be bothered to update a social media listing (an extremely easy process), why would visitors think you’d be willing and capable of taking care of them? A lack of attention-to-detail can often translate into a lack of attention to your customers, at least in their minds.

13. Your profile lists dates that should change, but never do. If your profile lists that you’ve been helping customers for 7 years and that number hasn’t changed in over 7 years, you’re doing it wrong. As mentioned above, it demonstrates a lack of attention to detail, makes you look bad in front of your most important prospects, and means you’re missing out on showcasing experience that will help potential customers trust you more.

14. You still think social media has no value. When done haphazardly or ineffectively, social media probably won’t have much of an ROI for you. But, when done well and with purpose, it can provide great returns and each of your profiles can become a solid web property controlled by, and associated with, your brand.

Listen, we’re not saying you have to be active in social media or your business will fail. However, if your business is online, and your competitors are online, and, most importantly, your customers are online – chances are, you should be too. See you in the social sphere!