Tweet

7 Social Media Mistakes - Are you making them?

Written by: Ron McDaniel

Article Overview: If you are not getting results from social media, you are not alone. Are you making these 7 commom mistakes?

7 Social Media Mistakes - Are you making them?

There is a variety of problems with social media. I have identified the 7 mistakes that really make you look like a rookie that just learned about the Internet thingy. Don’t worry if you are making some of these mistakes, you are not alone.

#1 Trying to participate in too many tools
If you are siging up and building a profile on every new thing that somes out, you better be a writer for Mashable. No one can keep up with all the new things. Find some you like and do a good job in them.

#2 Expect that just setting up an account will yield results
Guess what - you have to do more than just set up an account to get results. If I had a dollar for every person that has told me they set up a LinkedIn account and nothing happened, I’d be rich.

#3 Not using the tools to connect with people
Nearly every site makes it possible to connect with other people. I think that is why they call is SOCIAL media. If you are not connecting, no one is finding you.

#4 Giving up after a short time
Social media is about making and sustaining connections. The only way you can grow your influence is long term. The more you use it, the more it will grow a community. If you grew the right community, then it will yield real business results eventually.

#5 Promoting yourself without providing value
The fact that you signed up for an account does not give you the right to push your product constantly. And it is a sure way to get people to run in the other direction.

#6 Not using the tools to link to other resources
Similar to not connecting to people, if you only link to your website or blog and never bookmark or link to other interesting resources, you will never gain the respect of your audience. Nor should you.

#7 Not intentionally building a target network
Don't pick the biggest network or the one that your kids said you should use. Find out where your current customers go and your target audience hands out online. Intentionally build value and influence in the right communities, even if they are smaller.

If you are a business person trying to get into this social media, I fully expect that you have made all of these mistakes. I know I have at one time or another. I promise you that if you get these things turned around, your popularity and influence will rise online, as will your pocketbook eventually.

Related Articles
  A Foolproof Way To Evaluate Marketing Advice
  12 Tips for the Social Media Newbie
  Social Media is NOT about Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin
  Social Media Mistakes
  “Should I or shouldn’t I”

Article Tags: blog, business results, good job, interesting resources, internet thingy, rich 3, short time, somes, target audience, target network



Related Forum Posts
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff
Re: Kevin needs "social glue" ideas - [quote="WebBizIdeas.com":gvtxsu7g]Hi, I like the idea of "10 items that could act as "social glue" because I am an internet marketer. But I agree with the rest that the 10 recent post is nice. Maybe we should open up a new section in the forums on Social Media...or Social Media Marketing. I will tell you that the world is about 1 1/2 behind when it comes to understanding social media. Building a section now will put EvanCarmichael.com is a great position a year down the road when people realize Social Media can produce more traffic than SEO. Jeff[/quote:gvtxsu7g] Hi Jeff, Thanks for the suggestion. Why don't you start a new post (with a poll) to see if there's enough interest in your idea for a social media section?
Re: UPDATES: New Campaign! New Layout! New Ideas! - GT - thanks for the FYI - I'm not sure if we'll put a link back. Something to consider though! Trent - the new category is "Social Network and Media" which was put in to compliment the Online Businesses category that currently exists. Overall the new categories are: - Looking For, Networking and Events - Review My... - Social Network and Media - Brags and Rants These came as a result of Ringo doing research on other forums and thinking about what could be improved on ours to give a better experience for everyone. I hope you enjoy them! David, I'm looking forward to reading your Brag / Rant!
Re: Marketing 2.0 - What Are Your Thoughts - Hi Shri, Thanks for posting this. I also read it and I believe Social Media is here to stay, until the next best thing comes up. Social media proved to be useful for me many times and I think everyone should use it for their business.
Re: Social Media Marketing Ignorance - [quote="vbn411":7qciluxl]Social Media is space that you have to be in to succeed in our current climate. People are going to be discussing your brand / product whether you like it or not, so you might as well join the conversation and add value. [/quote:7qciluxl] I think that's probably one of the most realistic way to think about it. There's no real textbook way of understanding Social Media, it's the networks of people and their interactions that will exist with or without your input. As for Jennifer, You can always have 2 Facebook pages. Many people do. There is also LinkedIn, which is like a professional networking version of Facebook. The only way to know is to try it.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Tweet

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Life is a Balancing Act!

How To Be A Management Legend

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.