While there are many benefits to social media advertising – such as the ability to personalize your message to your target audience and enhance and develop your brand – there are several risks that businesses should be aware of before they integrate social media into their marketing mix.
Let’s take a look at some of the risks your company is likely to encounter without proper guidance and a well-prepared strategy.
4 Risks of Social Media for Businesses
1. Damage to brand reputation.
Problem: Failure to match the quality of your company’s social media pages with your brand’s reputation can have drastic negative implications.
The image of a business today is largely conveyed through its online activity. This makes it essential to manage your business’ online content carefully.
To avoid damage to your brand, your business must be respectful of its audience and think carefully before clicking the post button. Insensitive posts have caused controversy for companies in the past, so be careful not to make the same mistakes.
Solution: A great way to protect your brand’s reputation is to provide social media training for your employees to teach them what constitutes appropriate content. Creating a social media policy and distributing it to your marketing team will give them the exact guidelines they should be following to ensure your brand’s reputation remains intact.
2. Inconsistency.
Problem: Businesses often rush into social media without a well-thought-out plan or a clear understanding of the potential pitfalls of a poor strategy. This leads to an inconsistent brand image, which not only lowers your engagement rate but also confuses your audience about who your company is and what it does or supports.
Incomplete or outdated social media pages will reflect poorly on your business if not managed, and a company Facebook page that hasn’t been updated in a year is no way to represent your brand.
Solution: The best way to avoid an inconsistent online image is to create a solid social media marketing strategy BEFORE you start posting, tweeting, live streaming, and all the rest. To do this, establish your goals, figure out who your target audience is, and, most importantly, stick to your plan.
Do research to understand which platforms are worth using for your business and which ones should be avoided. Ensure your social media plan is well-communicated and adhered to by all members of your organization, and routinely update your pages with unique and interesting content. This way, your brand will be able to maintain a consistent image and secure a top position among your competitors.
3. Overuse.
Problem: On the flip side of having outdated media pages, some businesses make the mistake of overwhelming their followers with too many posts that are tedious or unnecessary.
Don’t overuse the platform. The best advice here is to not mistake quantity for quality. Remember, just because you’re posting often doesn’t mean you’re posting well. Social media posts should entertain and educate customers, not antagonize and beg them for attention.
Have you ever been bombarded with advertisements when you visited a webpage? Or been served the same content over and over by a social media algorithm you didn’t ask for? It’s annoying, right? Well, excessively posting to your account creates the same experience for your followers, who will likely unfollow and remove you from their feed as a result. Even if you have a product or service that someone is interested in, they will lose interest in you if you keep bugging them about it.
Solution: Figure out what your customers want to see and how often they want to see it. A good place to start is by researching how often leaders in your industry post on social media. Is it 1–5 times a day, 5 days a week? 3–5 times a day? More? Less? In addition, knowing how often to post on different platforms, like Instagram vs. Facebook, is important and can vary depending on your industry.
The right answer to how often you should post varies depending on who you ask, so ask the people who matter the most, your target audience. Conduct surveys, take polls, ask questions, and engage with your followers to learn what they prefer.
4. Account hacking.
Problem: Your business’ brand is constantly subject to online scrutiny. The last thing you need is a hacker compromising the integrity of the product or service you have worked hard to build and uphold.
The smallest mistake in your social media approach can lead to mistrust from your customers, and a negative public perception of a brand is hard to bounce back from. Major businesses have fallen victim to the threat of online hackers before, and although these types of security breaches are very real, companies can safeguard against cyber invasions by taking important security measures.
Solution: Regularly update your passwords and create a central management system with built-in firewalls for your social media pages. Consider performing routine risk assessments to help spot flaws in your company’s account security and keep out unwanted digital invaders.
Being proactive to prevent security issues before they happen rather than reacting in a panic when they do will mitigate the threats to your social media account being hacked, thus keeping the public’s trust in and perception of your brand intact.
Being aware of these risks and knowing how to deal with them before your business engages with social media is the best way to stay in control of the content you post and manage it in a safe and responsible manner. Check out our blog for more ideas on how to navigate the risks and rewards of social media for your business!
What would you do with more time to strategize and grow your business?
We’re passionate about empowering business owners and marketing teams to reclaim their time and unlock their full growth potential. Our expertise spans a wide range of digital strategies, from PR and web design to branding and marketing campaigns. Send us your social media challenges and other marketing obstacles you face. We’re here to listen and provide tailored solutions. Together, we’ll devise a roadmap that propels your business to new heights of success. Schedule a free 30-minute consultation today.
About Millennium Agency
Millennium Agency is a nationally recognized, top woman led B2B branding, positioning, and digital marketing firm who creates value that builds emotionally impactful brands that influences your customer’s buying decision, giving you the competitive advantage. As your industry partner for B2B pharma/biotech, technology and manufacturing, our proprietary research-based framework makes a strong impact and accelerates your brand growth. While you focus on what you do best – running your business successfully – our team will build your brand, and drive leads. For more information, call 877-873-7445 or schedule time here.
