SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING

(PART 1) 

T H E 8 S I N S O F  

O F E N T S E ( R A P A K G A D I ) O L U N L O Y O

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING?

Social media marketing (SMM) is a sub-set of e-marketing

and it involves the use of social media sites for the purpose

of marketing a product/service. As many businesses have

discovered, SMM is on the rise and it has many unlimited

benefits, some of which include helping a company to:

innovate, build closer relationships with

customers/stakeholders, reduce marketing costs, increase

brand reach and simplify market research.

AWESOME RIGHT? WAIT, THERE'S A BUT

Despite its benefits, many businesses are failing dismally at

SMM, leading them to assume that SMM is not worth

investing in… there are many reasons why businesses fail at

SMM, in this two part post I will highlight 8 of those reasons.

Avoid these 4 social media marketing sins that most

businesses are guilty of…and you will have a fighting chance

of thriving in your SMM.

SIN #1 - FAILING TO CONDUCT MARKET

RESEARCH

Research is the genesis of every stable foundation. The

main aim of conducting research is to identify potential

solutions to problems. When it comes to marketing, be it

direct or digital, market research is essential. Market

research can help minimise/eliminate some of the risks

associated with social media marketing.

MARKET RESEARCH

Market Research helps organisations

understand their online customers’ needs and

expectations. Research shows that online

customers usually have higher expectations

than offl ine customers.

DO YOUR RESEARCH

With that said, it is imperative to ensure that you conduct

market research and a thorough social media audit, which

should include social media monitoring/ social listening.

Social listening involves identifying and evaluating what

people are saying about your business, competitors and

industry on social media.

A social media audit involves conducting a SWOT analysis

across all your social media platforms (if your business is

already on social media) – it ranges from your choice of

platform, strategies, content, type/quality of followers, to

competitors’ strategies/activities.

DO YOUR RESEARCH

Research each platform and its rules of engagement e.g.

Do’s and Don’ts, Terms of Use, trends, hashtags/keywords,

strengths, weaknesses, and type of audience.

Hashtag research is imperative for platforms such as Twitter,

Instagram and Facebook. Never make the mistake of using

hashtags without first understanding their background, and

meanings (connotative, denotative, implicit and explicit).

THE 6 P'S OF SOCIAL  MEDIA

Your research should give you insights into

(I) Platforms - which platforms are best suited or your

business and its needs.

(II) Place - where your customers spend most of their time on

social media.

(III) People - who your ideal online customer is, their likes,

dislikes as well as their behavioural trends.

(IV) Partnerships – when it comes to e-marketing,

collaborations are important for sustainability. 

THE 6 P'S OF SOCIAL  MEDIA

(V) Promotion – if you want social media to work for you,

allocate a budget to it. Research should be able to guide you

about how much PPC, PPM ads cost across different

platforms, and also how you should structure your marketing

campaigns.

(VI) Product/Perceptions – it is important that you ensure that

your research is well positioned to help you understand

customers’ perceptions about your

brand/organisation/products/services. Customers enjoy

sharing experiences on social media so listen very well.

Feedback, whether good or bad, is ALWAYS good.

SIN #2 - FAILING TO SET SMART OBJECTIVES

Findings from your market research should guide

you in setting comprehensive social media

marketing objectives. These objectives should be

derived from your overall business and marketing

objectives. Social media does not work in isolation.

YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

MARKETING

OBJECTIVES SHOULD

BE IN-LINE WITH

YOUR OVERALL

MARKETING

OBJECTIVES.

SMART OBJECTIVES

Many businesses, both big and small, make the mistake of not

setting objectives for social media marketing. Although, most

of us know the importance of setting SMART (specific,

measurable, attainable, realistic and timely) marketing

objectives, most businesses still end up forgetting that social

media marketing needs its own set of objectives. These

objectives which should be in-line with the overall marketing

objectives since social media marketing does not function in

a vacuum.

SMART OBJECTIVES

It is important to identify the reasons why your business has

chosen to go social. You need to analyse your needs and

expectations before you even tackle social media.

Start by asking yourself the following questions:

What benefits are you expecting?

Why do you want to be on social media?

5 S'S OF   E-MARKETING

Here is a general overview of the five main objectives (also

known as the 5 S’s of e-marketing) for using social media for

business:

To sell – increase sales/leads

To save costs – by reducing marketing costs

To serve customers – by adding value and giving customers

extra benefits

To sizzle – by increasing brand awareness online

To speak to customers – get closer to customers

SIN #3 - VIOLATINGTERMS OF USE

All social media platforms have different terms of use

however most of the themes overlap, take Facebook and

LinkedIn for instance. Both these platforms have different

accounts for individuals and organisations. Individuals are

allowed a personal account otherwise known as a profile,

meanwhile organisations are allowed a business/company

page. Despite this clear distinctions, there are still many

businesses that violate Facebook and LinkedIn Terms of Use

by creating profiles for their businesses.

RESPECT THE TERMS OF USE

In its ‘Do’s and Don’ts’ (section 8.2. of its User Agreement)

LinkedIn clearly outlines that by creating a LinkedIn profile

“you agree that you will not create a member profile for

anyone other than yourself (a real person)”.

In the same breath, Facebook emphasises that ‘Facebook

Personal profiles are for non-commercial use and represent

individual people.’ 

PLAY B Y THE RULES

As tempting as it may seem, it is best to stay clear of Black

Hat practices such as creating a Facebook/ LinkedIn

personal profile your business. If you really have to, rather use

your personal profile for business instead.

Violating Terms of Use and rules of engagement on social

media has the potential to harm your brand and reputation.

SIN #4 - NOT HAVING A PLAN

Ever heard the phrase “if you fail to plan, you plan to

fail”? Well it also applies to social media marketing.

Approaching social media without a plan is very risky.

Despite this knowledge, most businesses still choose to

jump straight into action without having a solid plan of

action.

Your plan needs to include social media objectives,

strategy and campaigns. Other crucial elements to

include are:

PLAN, PLAN, PLAN!

Customer service – like it or not, customers will use your social

media platforms to compliment, complain or query (be it

directly via tagging or mentioning your handle directly or

indirectly via vaguely mentioning you casually). It therefore

becomes critical for your business to have a well-oiled query

resolution system that is known and understood by all

relevant parties in your business.

Crisis management – having a plan doesn't necessarily mean

that you shouldn't prepare yourself for the worst case

scenario. Your plan should include a comprehensive social

media risk analysis – because, prevention is better than cure.

THANKS FOR READING! LOOK OUT FOR PART 2 , WHERE I WILL BE

DISCUSSING THE OTHER 4 SOCIAL MEDIA SINS TO AVOID.

P L E A S E D O N ' T H E S I T A T E T O C O N T A C T M E I F Y O U H A V E A N Y Q U E S T I O N S

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