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Social media marketing is more important than ever for businesses looking to succeed in 2024 (and beyond). However, the ever-evolving algorithms bring new challenges that even savvy entrepreneurs can stumble over. These are five of the critical errors that we seen entrepreneurs make most often that could be undermining your social media efforts this year and provide solutions to get your strategies back on track.
With AI writing tools like ChatGPT and Claude becoming more accessible, it’s tempting to lean heavily on these technologies for churning out social media content. However, using raw AI output without revisions can (probably will) lead to generic, impersonal posts that fail to engage your audience meaningfully.
For example, I can immediately spot an AI-generated post like “In the world of social media marketing, businesses must delve deep and dive into engaging their audience…”. It comes across as stale and clichéd, potentially turning followers off with its overused phrasing and lack of authentic voice. ChatGPT can be easy to identify by anyone who has tested it more than once, considering it LOVES to start with “in the world of” and similar blurbs and really loves the words dive and delve.
Remember, AI has been trained on all/most of the internet, and probably 99% of what’s on the internet is utter crap. And you don’t want your content to be utter crap. But your AI-generated posts are based on 99% crap without thorough edits.
Use AI as an assistant, not a replacement.
While these tools can enhance your content creation process, you should still carefully edit and customize the output to reflect your brand’s unique personality and ensure accuracy. Don’t sacrifice authenticity for the sake of convenience.
I like to use AI to quickly help generate ideas, such as a quick list of types of posts I can create, topics I can visit, and similar uses.
Countless self-proclaimed “influencers” and “gurus” are peddling questionable advice under the guise of “expertise” (and yes I inserted air quotes). Following their sometimes unfounded claims blindly can lead you astray and cause you to implement ineffective, one-size-fits-all strategies.
Here’s one common example I see, when they claim that “You MUST post videos daily on every platform to remain relevant.” Or anything else that is a must always (I have very few must always, and most involve around the very foundational marketing pieces that I recommend all entrepreneurs have.) This recommendation not only contradicts data on optimal posting frequencies, but also fails to account for nuances across different platforms and audience preferences.
Vet any supposed experts by examining their actual results and credentials rather than making assumptions based on their perceived influence. Rely on data-driven strategies tailored to your brand instead of falling for unfounded claims pushed by Fakexperts. Stay true to what resonates with your audience.
And keep in mind, even if someone has found success in marketing their own business or making a profit in their own business, unfortunately it doesn’t automatically translate to them having success in marketing YOUR business. Honestly, if that were the case, everyone would be doing it and easily.
The skills needed to make your own business a success aren’t the same skills you need to make some else’s business a success. I’ve seen time and again that an influencer assumes because they did it once, for themselves, that their one way will work for everyone else, and it’s simply not true. It takes YEARS to learn how to help other people make money, across the board, no matter their industry, and no matter what marketing strategies they may want to avoid. Believe me, I have the experience, and I’ve taught other high-level marketers the unique and different skills they needed to learn to do this.
Operating your social media presence without a planned strategy is akin to setting sail without a compass. You’ll waste time and resources through inconsistent posting, missed opportunities, and a general lack of direction.
A robust social media marketing strategy acts as a roadmap, aligning your efforts with specific business goals and your target audience’s needs. Without it, your social media marketing can quickly become an ineffective gamble rather than a strategic investment.
Develop a comprehensive, customized social media plan. Define your goals, audience personas, content pillars, platform-specific approaches, scheduling cadences, engagement tactics, and measurement metrics. Review and optimize this living strategy regularly to maintain efficacy.
Even better, this is what I do: despite having over 20 years of social media marketing expertise, having been an early adopter of the earliest platforms and creating methodology to use those platforms for successful marketing … I still don’t do my own social media. I handed that off to my team years ago, for the better, and now I simply supplement their efforts when I have something timely that I want to include.
Freeing up my time, despite my expertise, is one of the best things I’ve ever done. It’s even more impactful for you to do so when marketing isn’t in your Zone of Genius.
While maintaining a consistent brand voice is crucial, failing to tailor your content to each specific social platform is a critical mistake. Every channel has its own nuances, audience expectations, and best practices that you need to adapt to.
Pushing out identical content across platforms or ignoring unique features demonstrates a one-size-fits-all mindset that will lead to subpar performance. Your Instagram posts should look and feel distinctly different from your LinkedIn updates, for instance.
Start by focusing on only one platform that you can do well.
As you add new platforms, take the time to understand what performs best on each platform you’re active on. Optimize content format, tone, visuals, posting frequency, and more to provide a native experience tailored to that platform’s preferences.
In my case, we curate a lot of my content, so I focus on primary overarching platform types: image, video, and text. So content for Instagram will be different than content for the podcast, which will be slightly different from content for email. It’s all the same content, but slightly customized by platform. This doesn’t have to take a lot of time (especially when it’s outsourced!), but you do need to consider the nuances.
While sharing updates about your products or services is expected, going overboard with self-promotional posts can quickly turn off your audience. An excessive hard-sell approach demonstrates a lack of awareness about what motivates audiences to engage and follow brands on social media.
For example, a post that simply states “Buy our amazing new product today! It will change your life!” comes across as self-serving and provides little value to the viewer beyond a sales pitch.
Focus on creating and sharing content that provides actual value to your audience first. Whether that’s educational, entertaining, or community-building content, prioritize giving before receiving. Sprinkle in authentic promotional posts when relevant, but don’t make them the centerpiece of your social presence.
A Better Approach: “We understand the challenges of (problem/pain point). Here’s how our product can help address that…”
By avoiding these five crucial mistakes and implementing the suggested solutions, you’ll be able to craft an authentic, strategic social media marketing approach that resonates with your audience and drives better results in 2024.
If you’re unsure about whether your social strategies need adjusting, our complimentary 360° Marketing Assessment can provide an evaluation and actionable recommendations for improvement. Connect with us today to start optimizing your social media game plan.
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