TLDR: Social media can be beneficial for a company as long as it is used correctly. Some common mistakes are described below.
Social media can be a powerful tool for any small business owner or entrepreneur. Unfortunately there are a handful of mistakes that are commonly made among this group of users. For example, the biggest mistake is simply ignoring social media altogether. It’s clear that no one is an expert on social media and it’s hard to quantify how much it contributes to sales growth but that doesn’t mean it can’t provide value. And some entrepreneurs might avoid social media simply because they are not familiar with it. Rather than avoiding social media give it a test run on your own before incorporating it into your business if you are unsure. An easy way to do so for a business owner who is uncertain is to create their own private account under a pseudonym so they can simply explore social media and observe how others use it. This can even include interacting with the social campaigns of your competition to get an idea of how they approach this arena. Then after at least acquiring a better understanding of social media can a business owner make a confident decision on if and how to use it. Another common problem is when a company does try to use social media but winds up trying to utilize too many different networks all at the same time. If your business doesn’t have the resources to fully manage more than a few social accounts then this strategy can do more harm than good. And that is especially the case when you wind up having and inconsistent branding and representation of your business across the various social sites. Entrepreneur explains, “So many entrepreneurs have one look, feel and message on their web site, but then totally different ones on their Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn profiles. Presenting one consistent brand in logo, look and message is critical. To do this, use only one or two photos for all your social-media sites. Customize your Twitter and Facebook backgrounds using elements from your website. Keep the keywords and core descriptions of who you are and what you do relatively the same across all sites. Oh and make sure all information is up to date and current….”
