Regardless of industry, many businesses have encountered these social media mistakes at one time or another. As they say “the first step is identifying the problem”, and we’ve done just that!
Here are four common mistakes businesses make with their social media accounts and how to help repair them:
1. Being Promotional, Not Educational: Social channels should be used to provide educational, helpful content rather than to promote the business itself. As a rule of thumb, the ratio between educational posts and promotional posts should be about 80:20. 80% of a business’ social posts should appeal to a prospect’s basic questions and needs; the other 20% can be allocated to promoting the business. Maintaining this 80:20 ratio is crucial when aspiring to become the go-to source in the imaging industry – especially when appealing to the 20-30 year olds of the millennial generation who are new to Managed Print Services.
2. No Measurement: Often businesses can’t find the time to engage in social media, let alone measure its success. Yet measuring engagement such as which posts helped to attract new visitors to their website, or followers on Twitter etc. is how MPS businesses can make the most of their social media efforts.
“Only 21% of B2B companies say they are successful at measuring social media ROI.” – Content Marketing Institute, 2015
Businesses spend time analyzing the performance of all sorts of activities, why not dedicate the time to social media performance as well? After all, social media has proven to be just as important a customer touch point as a brick and mortar storefront.
3. Inconsistency: Have you ever seen a business’ Facebook page that hasn’t had a new post since earlier this year? How about since last year? We all have. For Managed Print Service businesses to reap the benefits of social media, they must remain consistent with their efforts. Just as the old adage “if you build it, they will come” is out of date, so is creating a social media account and just waiting for visitors to come. These days, you can’t just assume that people will find you to begin a conversation, you must consistently use your social accounts to show you are present and willing to stimulate a dialogue.
4. Lack of Experience: Many MPS businesses make the mistake of hiring a social media manager with the social know-how, but without the industry know-how. They see the need for a social media manager to alleviate the stress of effectively engaging online users. Millennials who are fresh out of university and searching for social media management positions know very well how to harness the power of social media platforms, but do they understand your Managed Print Service business and the imaging industry? Probably not quite yet. And that’s okay, so long as they receive thorough training on the intricacies of your industry.
Has your MPS business made these mistakes? How were you able to become more effective? Please leave a comment below and let us know what’s worked for you! Or is your business still missing the target with your social efforts? Tell us about it and let’s see about finding you a solution!
