In today’s marketplace, there is no shortage of virtual assistants, administrative assistants, and interns who are involved in a business’s social media activities. A downfall that I often see is leaving an intern to manage your social media strategy likely means your feed will be filled with memes, stock photos, inconsistent brand colors and fonts, and your messaging doesn’t appeal to your target audience.
There is value in having a team to support your social media, but they need clarity, direction, and strategy.
Here are 3 common pitfalls and what to do instead:
Pitfall #1: Lacking brand cohesion
Don’t get me wrong, I use both Adobe Creative Cloud and Canva, depending on the project and need. While Adobe Creative Cloud allows for complete customization, Canva has gained popularity as an easy-to-use creative tool with free and premium versions.
Canva allows you to pick your content type—post, video, stories, and more and provides you with several design templates. You must customize these templates to align with your brand. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve seen businesses using graphics that are obviously made in Canva and have not been customized.
Another tip related to Canva is to not overuse stock photos. People are following you and your business to learn about the people behind the brand, so don’t forget to include photos of you, your team, and behind-the-scenes moments too!
Pitfall #2: Not using automation!
As business owners, you’re busy, and posting on social media is sometimes one of the last tasks that you get to each day, but you know it’s so important. Showing up consistently, sharing educational content with your audiences, and also offering insights into your products and services will help you to remain top of mind for your social followers and will help to encourage repeat buying from past customers.
Here are a few of my favorite FREE social media scheduling tools to help you set it and forget it (sort of!):
Facebook Creator Studio: To post on Facebook and Instagram, this free social media scheduling tool should be your go-to tool to plan and schedule your content.
Buffer: To post on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn, the free Buffer plan will allow you to schedule content on up to 3 social channels.
Later.com: If your social content includes sharing media to Pinterest, then Later.com could be your go-to solution as it allows posts from Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Pitfall #3: Ignoring analytics!
All social platforms provide data about your audience—their age, location, gender, post engagement, and follower count. Why aren’t you paying attention to this information?
Whenever I begin working with a new client, I always audit their social media platforms and I evaluate the data in their platform, and gain insights on what types of content their followers really enjoy. Data is so important. I also include it in monthly and quarterly reports, too!
Do you know what types of content your followers enjoy most?
Here are some content type suggestions:
Videos
Reels
Images
Carousel images
Stories / Fleets
Think of one new, or new to you, the content type that you want to implement next week!
If you’d like me to audit your social media channels, book a free 25-minute digital marketing consulting call today.