Some common mistakes people make when it comes to social media marketing!

• I have created all pages in all channels possible. When I have something to say, I will copy paste it across all of them
• I have more followers and get more likes on my personal page, so I will just reshare on my personal page and get enough likes
• It is a maze – and I will figure a way out – someday!

The third is not entirely a mistake. It is a maze, but rather than creating your channels and giving them a slow death by deciding to sort it someday – give it the required attention from the day you step in.

Social Media is a wonderful tool to reach out to the world which is much more powerful than getting your own wings for real 😊. All you need is to focus on the following:

1. Understand your purpose: Here, we are not talking about the purpose of your business. The purpose of your social media accounts for the business. Yes, each account you create will and should have a specific goal. Is it to just let people know you exist, is it to increase traffic to your website, is it to influence? Generate sales? Clearly state your objective and make it measurable.
2. Understand your audience: This is a two-step process. You need to identify and understand your audience when you launch your business and then understand their social behaviour when you launch your social media channels. There is a huge difference in the social media behaviour of the online population that it is important for you to understand and act accordingly.
3. Understand the platforms: Each platform comes with its own nuances, benefits and disadvantages. Have you observed? Reshare contests works best with Twitter while influencer marketing works faster in Instagram. Pinterest is a great traffic driver for small businesses wherein
4. Understand the ‘hour’: Social media is constantly evolving. Did you read a strategy that worked for you last week? Sorry to break this – it will not help you this week. This is the most complex part of the maze. You need to keep a track of the changing trends in each platform to play catch up. There is no easy way around it.
5. Consistency: While reaching far and wide is one of the boons of social media, struggling for attention amongst the clutter is one of the banes. Unless you are out there, every single day, you are forgotten way more easily than you can imagine.
6. Creativity: Content is the king on social media. Unless the King is ornate with the best you can invest in (visual, humour, technology) etc., he is not going to get the attention.
7. Connection: Churning out great content is not the end of the story in social media. Establish the connection with your target audience. There are many ways you can do that. From taking occasional polls to interactive Live videos answering questions and simple comments on their posts – you can keep your audience hooked with daily strategies.
8. Have an Authentic Voice: If you are great in whatever you do, you should continue to do that and leave the social media to someone who is great in doing just that. To research on what content wins and create that from your daily business, to have the flair to post it in platforms that can get the maximum reach and constantly engage with audience – is a talent. Find someone who excels in that and the maze will seem like a ‘walk in the park’ for your business.

Communication has always been an evolving field and all generations have faced trouble with the launch of any new media. Social media is a blend of the easiest and most difficult tactics and trends out there – but we will get there – just like how we got there all along.