Are you skeptical if social media can really help your business? A client of mine first came to me with the social media presence of a generalist (her title on LinkedIn was simply “Financial Advisor”), though she wanted to specifically attract Business Professionals as her ideal clients. Once we worked together to clarify her brand (including defining her niche and ideal client), she changed it to “Financial Advisor for Business Professionals.” With that clarified branding she began reaching out to Business Professionals on LinkedIn, and began to develop clients and professional referral sources through that marketing channel!

To help you with your social media efforts, I’ve put together a list of common mistakes to avoid with your social media campaign. First, as I mentioned in my previous post on identifying weaknesses in branding, it is important to be consistent across different platforms. Your social media presence and messaging should reflect your branding clearly.

I also know how impactful this can be from my personal experience. Due to my defined niche and clear branding on LinkedIn, relevant referral partners, speaking opportunities, and even prospects reach out to me. It is important to be as clear as possible about your branding so that you more readily attract and gain notice from potential clients when they are looking for someone to meet their financial services needs.

Another pitfall to avoid is not giving your social media efforts consistent attention. Unfortunately, posting “once in a while” will not support an effective marketing strategy. Do you find yourself going through periods of consistent posting, only to let it fall flat a few weeks (or posts) later? If it’s not your expertise, it might be time to consider delegating it to someone else who can give it more focus, whether someone on your existing team or someone who can take this on for you on a part-time or consulting basis.

It is also crucial to stay organized so that you know what you have and are not reinventing the wheel each time you want to post something. Once you have, say, a blog post written, you might use that later for a speaking engagement, or break it down into a newsletter topic. Another reason staying organized is important is so that you can track which topics your community is most interested in.

A client of mine asked me if blog posts are really that valuable, and I told him that it’s about the overall marketing plan, with each piece working together. Rather than thinking of it simply as a blog post, you might think about it as building up your content library. If your clients want more education and you have a post written on that topic, you can simply send it out to them. Furthermore, if a client knows someone who might benefit, they can also share it.

If you would like to make sure that your marketing plan is solid and avoid these common mistakes, reach out to me today: susan@susandanzig.com