Let’s face it, in today’s world, social media is king. It’s where we connect, share, and get information on a daily basis. On average, 5.17 billion people worldwide use social media, spending approximately 2 hours and 20 minutes online each day. Crazy, right?
With this data in mind, it comes to no surprise that social media marketing has become a must-have tool for any business. It’s a goldmine for reaching new customers, building relationships with existing ones, and showcasing your brand in a fun and interactive way.
But here’s the catch: even with all this potential, many social media marketing plans fall flat. Unless you’re an experienced agency like Advertyzed, it might take a while before you navigate social media marketing challenges and achieve success on various platforms. So, what is a common issue with social media marketing plans?
This blog dives into the common problems with social media marketing that might be hindering your efforts. But hey, don’t worry! With the tips we provide, you’ll get to learn what conditions must be present before a company’s social media strategy will succeed. So without further ado, let’s begin!
15 Problems With Social Media Marketing Plans
A social media marketing plan is like a guidebook for your marketing efforts including paid ads. Oftentimes, brands that sell on social media tend to make common mistakes in their social media marketing plans that cost them hefty sums of money.
Below we’ve shared all the problems with social media marketing plans that our team has come across when working with clients. These going through these social media marketing issues and their solutions will help you craft a social media marketing plan that lasts for a decade.
1. Lack of Clear Objectives
One of the most pressing social media marketing issues is the absence of clear, well-defined objectives. Many businesses jump into social media marketing without a clear understanding of what they want to achieve.
Without clear targets, your efforts become a scattershot mess. You end up wasting time and money on random posts that neither bring in new customers nor get any likes or comments. This can leave you feeling frustrated and wondering why your marketing efforts aren’t paying off.
Solution
Simply set SMART goals. SMART goals are a way to set clear and achievable objectives. Each letter in “SMART” stands for a different part of making a good goal:
- Specific: Make your goal clear and detailed. Instead of saying, “I want to grow my business,” say, “I want to increase my social media followers by 20%.”
- Measurable: Keep your goals measurable. For example, you can measure the number of new followers, likes, or shares.
- Achievable: Set a goal you can realistically achieve. Don’t aim to double your followers overnight; instead, set a target that is challenging but possible.
- Relevant: Make sure your goal matters to your business. It should align with your broader business objectives, like increasing sales or improving customer engagement.
- Time-bound: Give yourself a deadline. Instead of an open-ended goal, set a timeframe like, “I want to increase my followers by 20% in the next three months.”
By following these steps, your goals will be clear and attainable, making it easier to stay focused and motivated.
2. Inconsistent Branding and Messaging
Imagine showing up to a party dressed in an entirely different aesthetic every time. People might wonder who you are and what you’re all about. That’s the same problem businesses face with inconsistent social media branding.
When your content, visuals and branding jump all over the place, it confuses your audience. They can’t quite grasp the heart of your brand. This happens when there’s no clear plan guiding what you create and post.
Solution
It’s all about creating a strong, consistent brand presence. Think of it like your social media style guide. Define your brand voice (Are you funny? Serious? Informative?), the tone you want to convey (Casual? Professional?), or the colors and logos that you want your audience to associate with your brand.
Then, make sure everything you post on social media aligns with this guide. Regularly review your content to see if it’s on track, and tweak things as needed to keep your brand image shining bright.
3. Ignoring Audience Insights and Analytics
Many businesses treat social media like a one-way street. They post away, but never stop to listen or learn. Social media platforms are like treasure troves full of what your audience likes and needs. Ignoring the audience’s response means missing out on golden opportunities!
Solution
The key is to tap into the analytics tools most platforms offer. These tools track metrics like how many people see your posts (reach), how many people like and comment (engagement), and even how many people click through to your website (conversions).
By reviewing this data regularly, you can see what’s working and what’s not. Think of it as social media feedback. Use it to refine your strategy, ditch the content that’s flopping, and double down on what your audience loves.
4. Lack of Follower Engagement
One of the most common social media challenges is lack of engagements from your followers. It usually happens when your page is coming off more as a bot than a human. It’s a complicated situation but there’s an easy fix.
Solution
Actively engage with other pages through your social media presence. Comment on posts that have engagements and be sure to show your human side. Use memes when you comment on other posts and choose a witty tone. This will increase your page’s exposure and you’ll come off less as a bot and more as a human.
5. Overlooking the Importance of Content Quality
In the rush to get their message across, some businesses sacrifice content quality for quantity. Poor-quality, mediocre content that people tend to scroll past damages your brand’s reputation and results in lower engagement rates. This is perhaps one of the major problems with social media marketing that businesses often find difficult to tackle.
Solution
Take your time and focus on creating high-quality, valuable content that addresses the needs and interests of your audience. Record informative videos, write compelling captions, and design eye-catching visuals to make your content shareable.
There’s a popular rule in social media marketing – the 80/20 rule. It suggests dedicating 80% of your content to informative or entertaining posts, and only 20% to direct promotion. By following this rule you’re solving problems, answering questions, and entertaining your audience.
All of this makes it more likely that your audience will share, like and comment on your posts and will keep coming back for more.
6. Inadequate Budget Allocation
Social media marketing requires investment of both; time and resources. Without enough cash, you might struggle to create captivating content, run effective ads, or even use the fancy tools that track how well you’re doing. This can leave you with pretty lousy results.
Solution
Allocate a realistic budget for your social media marketing activities. Consider the costs associated with content creation, advertisement, tools, and labor required. A well-planned budget can help things run smoothly and efficiently.
Here’s a handy rule of thumb: most companies dedicate somewhere between 7% and 10% of their total income to marketing. This is a good starting point to make sure you’re investing enough to make a splash without going overboard.
7. Ignoring Paid Advertising Opportunities
If you’re trying to understand what is a common issue with social media marketing plans, yet you’re not using paid ads, you’re living under a rock.
Getting people to see your social media posts organically (without paying) can be tough these days. It’s like whispering in a crowded room – not many people will hear you. And with algorithms favoring paid content more, no matter how stunning your content is, it might get buried under.
Solution
This is where paid advertising comes in! Think of it like a megaphone for your social media. Platforms like Facebook Ads and Instagram Ads let you target your ideal audience with laser precision, so you’re not just shouting into the void.
Plus, you can track how well your ads are doing and adjust them to get the most for your buck. So, ditch the struggle of organic reach and consider using paid advertising to reach a wider audience and make your voice heard.
8. Lousy Crisis Management
A lousy crisis management tactic is one of the most encountered problems with social media marketing plans. You need to understand that social media can be a double-edged sword that cuts you when you least expect it. One minute you’re happily dealing with customers, the next a full blown situation can pop up in your comments. Yikes! That’s why having a crisis plan for social media is crucial. Without one, you might as well pack your bag and head out.
Solution
Here’s the fix: create a crisis management plan for social media meltdowns. Put together a team of experts who know how to handle the heat, figure out how you’ll communicate with everyone involved, and even have some pre-written messages ready to go for different situations.
Regularly review and update this plan, because just like the internet, things can change fast. With a solid plan in place, you can weather any social media storm and keep your reputation sparkling clean.
Pro tip: Leverage social media listening platforms to tackle any arising challenges beforehand!
9. Blowing Off Influencer Partnerships
Social media marketing is a whole new game in 2024. Sure, you can still create great content, but sometimes you need a little extra something to reach a wider audience and build trust. That’s where influencers come in.
90% of marketers swear by influencer marketing, saying it’s a powerful tool. Plus, 72% agree that influencers bring in higher quality customers. However despite these proven stats, most businesses fail to either recruit or find the right influencers to promote their products creating an endless loop of social media marketing issues.
Solution
Find influencers who align with your brand values and connect with the kind of customers you want to attract. Once you’ve got the right partners, work with them to create genuine content that their followers will love.
In other words, skip the cheesy sales pitches and focus on something authentic and engaging. Track how your campaigns perform, and use that information to refine your approach. By following these steps, influencer marketing can become a powerful tool to elevate your social media game.
10. Inconsistent Posting Schedule
Social media is a fast-paced world. If you disappear for days or weeks on end, your followers might just forget about you. Out of sight, out of mind. One of the biggest social media marketing issues is having an inconsistent posting schedule.
Solution
Develop a content calendar that outlines your posting schedule. Batching your content creation can save you a ton of time and ensure a steady stream of posts. You no longer have to think about what to post at the last hour.
Moreover, you can also use scheduling tools that allow you to plan and publish posts in advance. By doing so, you can sit back and enjoy the fruits of your efforts (till the next month arrives)!
11. Neglecting User-Generated Content
User-generated content (UGC) is like a best friend for your social media marketing strategy. It’s content created by your fans – pictures, videos, reviews – that showcases your brand in a real and relatable way. But if you’re not encouraging this kind of content, you’re missing out!
With the help of UGC many businesses like MoneyGram have succeeded in generating maximum engagement and visibility for their brands. This also helps you collect data for future remarketing.
Solution:
Encourage your audience to create and share content related to your brand. Run contests, create branded hashtags, and most importantly, share the UGC love! When you feature your fans’ content, it shows you appreciate them and builds a sense of community. Everyone wins!.
12. Ineffective Use of Hashtags
Hashtags are like little keywords that help people find your content. But using the wrong ones, or stuffing your posts with too many, can actually hurt your reach. This is among the common social media challenges which keeps the right audience from finding your content.
Solution
Do your research! Find popular hashtags relevant to your industry and target audience. Think quality over quantity – a few strong hashtags are better than a bunch that don’t really fit.
13. Not Monitoring Competitors
Failing to monitor competitors can result in missed opportunities to learn from their successes and mistakes. Spying on the competition isn’t wrong, it’s a smart social media strategy! See what your competitors are doing well (and not so well), and use those insights to inform your own approach.
Solution
Regularly check out your competitor’s social media pages. See what kind of content they’re posting, what’s getting engagement, and where they might be dropping the ball. This intel can help you find ways to differentiate your brand and tackle many upcoming social media marketing issues.
14. Not Using Call-to-Actions (CTAs)
You want to encourage your audience to take action, whether it’s visiting your website, signing up for your newsletter, or buying your latest product? But if you don’t tell them what to do, they might just keep scrolling.
Call-to-actions (CTAs) guide your audience towards taking desired actions. Not using CTAs can be among common social media marketing issues that result in missed opportunities to convert engagement into tangible results.
Solution
Be clear and specific with your CTAs. Tell your audience exactly what you want them to do, and make it easy for them to take that action. Test different CTAs to see what resonates most and gets the best results.
15. Chasing Likes Over Results
Focusing solely on vanity metrics can be misleading. Likes and followers are great, but they don’t always tell the whole story. What really matters is how well your social media presence translates to achieving your business goals.
Solution
Focus on metrics that matter. Look at things like website traffic, conversion rates, and return on investment (ROI). These metrics will give you a clearer picture of how your social media efforts are impacting your bottom line.
Takeaway
Feeling overwhelmed navigating the world of social media alone? Social media can be a complex arena, and even the most brilliant marketing minds get tangled in its web sometimes.
That’s where we come in at Advertyzed. We will help you understand what conditions must be present before a company’s social media strategy will succeed.
We don’t just talk, we do the job! Our social media marketing experts will guide you through the process, help you avoid the common problems with social media marketing, and show you how to create content that truly connects with your audience.
Don’t let social media hold you back from achieving your marketing goals! Reach out to Advertyzed today and let us be your secret weapon. We’ll transform your online presence and turn your social media into a powerful marketing machine.