As a digital agency in Orange County, we here at Zinc do a lot of social media strategy for our clients, as well as the management their social media campaigns. We’re constantly logged in to Twitter and Facebook, and we have a team of researchers who are always on the hunt for new information and important trends in social media marketing. Lately we’ve noticed some critical mistakes companies are making in their social media marketing efforts. Today we wanted to offer some enlightenment about what the top three mistakes are, and how to avoid them in your marketing.

Mistake #1: Not Having a Plan or Strategy

We see a lot of organizations putting out content for the sake of having content. While having content is obviously important, the key is to have a clear strategy about how to use content. It should align with the goals a company has for social media- whether it’s to educate their audience, drive revenue, or network. Publishing content just to have it out there is a huge mistake- the content and messaging should be part of a planned out, overarching approach to social marketing.

Mistake #2: Talking, Not Listening

It’s a natural tendency to talk all about how awesome your company is and how you can solve x, y, and z problems with your innovative products. In social media, however, you have to curb that inclination. Take the time to listen to your prospective clients. Listen to the market niche you belong in. Listen to what the experts and analysts are saying in your space. You will find treasure troves of information and great people to network with by listening instead of talking.

Mistake #3: Not Measuring

Measuring your efforts on social media is just as critical as measuring your efforts in other areas of your marketing endeavors. You need to know what messages are working, what time of day you get the most response, if the hashtags you’re using are getting leverage, and if your images and videos are helping with click throughs. How will you know where to improve and what to tweak if you don’t record metrics? This is a big one that we emphasize with our clients. It’s okay if you don’t get the results you were imagining in the beginning- but if you track them and keep an account of each message, you will be able to refine and improve going forward.

For more information or tips on social media marketing, or to talk to a member of our social media marketing team, feel free to reach out and connect.