Social media marketing is a method that people use to drive traffic to their websites. In many cases, it’s very successful, and in many cases it isn’t. Let’s talk about some of the pitfalls as to why a lot of people spend a lot of money on social media marketing and don’t get results.

The most common mistakes are when people try to post content on too many channels. They tend to post across 10 to 11 channels. They also tend to post contents that don’t really have any substance. Some are probably reposting other people’s stuff that they’ve regurgitated. Finally, not checking or monitoring to see what they’re doing is actually having any kind of effect. Before they know it, they’ve spent 6 months paying someone to do the work for them and they’re just not getting any return on that investment.

How do you approach social media marketing?

Step 1 – Choose a Channel that Suits You

Choose a couple or even just one. Choose the channels or social media networks that are going to suit your business. If you’re a professional organisation, consider using LinkedIn. If you’re a “run off the mill” kind of organisation serving just your local community, Facebook is still a really good platform. If you’re really clever with short snippets, then obviously there’s Twitter. If you got a visual product, then you have things like Pinterest and Instagram. Choose the right channel that’s going to work for your business.

Step 2 – Make Sure you have Something Original to Say

Don’t add to the noise and clutter that’s already out there. There are already millions of rehashed contents on the web. You’re just going to get lost out there. Say something that’s original or different. Tell people about your business. Tell them what you’ve been up to in terms of improving your services. You can write some original content that’s actually going to inform your audience about your products or services.

Step 3 – Monitor What’s Happening Around your Business

Go to Google Analytics to see what your Twitter or Facebook traffic is doing. Make sure that you’re getting a decent number of leads for the amount of posts that you’ve put on there. Also, ensure that those leads that are coming are actually converting. Check if your visitors are actually filling in your contact form or actually buying products from you.

If you use Facebook and you have a decent sized marketing list, then you can upload your email addresses to Facebook and spend a small daily budget on advertising to that target market. This may be a remarketing type of exercise but you’ll soon realise that you’re spending a small amount of money effectively.

Social media is still an effective platform in driving traffic to your website. However, if you don’t choose the right channels suited to your business, posting contents with no originality and not regularly monitoring your business, you are just pouring precious money down the drain.