Social media is a vital tool for businesses to enhance their online presence. In a global economy where social media is prevalent, businesses unintentionally make social media blunders. These fundamental mistakes expose a shortage of social media knowledge and can often be detrimental to businesses. Learning about the three social media blunders that every business should avoid can help you maintain content that is fresh and help improve your business brand.

Neglecting the Essence of Social Media

Many businesses tend to forget the word “social” in social media. They will post status updates on Facebook or compose tweets on Twitter, but it doesn’t progress further than that. They never take the time to read the replies or actively engage by responding to their target market. Ultimately this is the reverse of what social media is all about and businesses should take full advantage of the hundred of social media platforms at their disposal.

Many businesses usually take 2 to 3 months to select the best social media expert and a further 3 to 4 months for that expert to train your staff to use social media effectively. Instead, businesses should rather focus on their customers and learn how to engage with them more effectively. Significant time is spent by businesses researching how to use various social media tools, but understanding your customers and how they react on social media will be more beneficial in the long term.

Social Media Content that is Ambiguous or Unclear

As a business you want to create contagious content that is clear and understood by your customers on all social media platforms and content that is not confusing, as this can affect the integrity of a business.  You want to increase your business presence online and connect your target audience with the goals and objectives of your business – therefore publish content that customers can relate to.

By browsing social media platforms, you will be able to see many practical examples of businesses that push out meaningless content which is not consumer-focused. Create competitions, offer discounts and continually engage with your customers on all your social media platforms. By doing this, you create brand loyalty with your customers. 

Disregarding Unconstructive Comments

A large majority of unhappy customers usually make their problems known by tweeting the company or posting on their Facebook Page. Probably the biggest slip-up of all is when businesses ignore or don’t respond to negative comments. Responding to negative comments gives you, as a business, the chance to correct any problems the customer may have experienced. The last thing you want to do is lose customers, as a result of not responding to them.

A practical example of what many businesses do is respond to customers by means of generic explanations.  Take the time to respond to each person individually and understand their problem so it can be rectified. Apologize for any problems that customer’s experience and always ensure your customer that their concerns will be addressed.

Social Media is a crucial tool for any business; so listen to what your customers have to say and address their needs. Make sure your content is clear in a way that is easy to understand; to avoid any confusion. Apply these principles and your business will be well on its way in making the most out of its social media experience.

Much success,

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