Techblog
3 social media mistakes SMEs should avoid
Social media is a powerful element in the SME marketing toolbox. But businesses must be careful to use these platforms with sensitivity or risk alienating customers.
Today’s social networks offer companies a simple yet effective way to connect with customers and provide them with valuable information that could potentially result in a purchase.
However, due to their open and viral nature, a single misstep on social media can result in negative impact for the brand. Unlike traditional advertising, which takes time to spread and is not interactive by nature, a spontaneous post on a brand’s social media account can trigger negative reactions in hours, if not minutes.
In fact, anything a brand does in the public domain can have a snowball effect via social media. Here are a few things to avoid on social media if it’s part of your SME marketing strategy.
Insensitive ‘hard’ selling
Studies have shown that customers don’t like being sold to on social media. Instead, they like a brand to engage them and provide valuable input for daily life.
Given this, if in the heat of the moment a business erroneously sees an opportunity in a fresh tragedy and decides to capitalise on it via social media, it is certain to pay a price. A case in point is a food website’s Twitter fiasco right after the 2013 Boston bombings. The brand projected the tragedy as an occasion to try their products. By the end of that same day, the brand expressed regret via their account and even apologised to people individually.
In the unlikely event of a tragedy, a business can show support and express heartfelt sympathy to the victims. Or it can maintain a respectful silence. There are no other options, especially on social media.
Not preparing for negative customer feedback
Reactions on social media are instantaneous and unpredictable. A brand that is not prepared to deal with this might be in for some unpleasantness when it reaches out to customers. Take for instance a global fast-food brand that created a hashtag for its mascot.
What was not expected was the stream of negative reactions from people who did not agree with the brand’s activities. This in spite of the fact that the company had faced this earlier and already put systems in place to anticipate and deal with such an incident.
This illustrates how volatile the social space is, and why businesses cannot afford to be laid-back about engaging customers. Before launching a new conversation, a business should listen and respond to what is already being said about its brand on the web. While this is not a sure-fire predictor of what will come next, it will give the business a better sense of how they are perceived online and help them prepare for various likely scenarios.
Inappropriate use of hashtags and trends
There are millions of conversations happening on social media platforms at a given instant. There is no harm if a business chooses to participate fruitfully in these conversations, but it has to make sure it understands the context before stepping into the exchange.
Otherwise, it can make a tactless move. Like what happened when a brand tried to plug its product via a hashtag for domestic violence. The business had not taken the time to recognise the background and reactions were swift.
The brand, which is known for its witty social media conversations, took the correct and difficult route by admitting its mistake quickly and personally apologising to many users. But the better approach is to prevent such an occurrence by researching the hashtag or trend completely before jumping into the conversation.
Singapore has one of the highest social penetration rates globally, which makes this a channel local businesses cannot afford to ignore. But customer engagement via social will prove rewarding for brands when it is done in a positive and perceptive manner. That means they have to
- avoid capitalising on news of tragic events to ‘hard’ sell
- have to prepare for negative reactions while engaging customers
- refrain from making light of sensitive hashtags for publicity
Social media is a powerful tool for SMEs to build relationships with customers and reach bigger audiences for their brand but it also has to be used responsibly to prevent harm to brand reputation.