Yes, another one about social media. There are numerous articles you can find here which can tell you why and how you should use social media in your march towards success, but guess what - there are some things that can go wrong and this is what we will cover in this here article. The things you need to watch out for include:
1. Unclear goals - setting a goal is the number one thing do when going social networking for your business. Most of the people think that things such as "Expand profit" or "get bigger traffic to the website" or "Make more sales through the online store" are actual goals. Well, they might be, but they are quite unclear. Remember to set clearer goals with clear paths to reaching them and they will provide you with an easy way to follow the ROI levels of your campaigns.
2. Negative comments and customers - negativity is a part of the Internet, so when you set up your social media business profiles be ready for it. It's just a matter of tie before you get you first negative comment or review. When this happens, try to answer with respect, facts and understanding. More specific ways to handle negative comments can be found in our Guide to Responding to Negative Comments on Social Media.
3. Competitors - most of the time you will end up with some of your competitors in your community. It's a normal thing - they want to monitor the way you handle social media. At some point you will receive provocative comments and messages from them or they will get involve in conversations trying to guide them towards directions which can get you to share valuable information with them. Keep an eye out for such people.
4. Unaware employees - there is a widespread practice which states that all of the company's employees should be involved in the social media strategy. Most of the time employees write articles for the corporate blogs, take picture for the social profiles etc. But what about their personal profiles? There, unaware employees can and might post information about your company or things that can actually damage your online reputation. Appoint an administrator who can keep an eye out for such things.